California Bill Would Help Job-seekers Move Into Self-employment

A Central Coast congresswoman is pushing a new bill to help job seekers move into self-employment.

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, introduced the Entrepreneurial Training Improvement Act of 2012 in late May. The bill would make training available for would-be entrepreneurs through local Workforce Investment Boards.

In 2010, the Department of Labor assigned Workforce Investment Boards to provide self-employment training. But they have shied away from training because present Labor Department guidelines are geared toward traditional job creation and placement, Capps said.

In California, Workforce Investment Boards oversee One-Stop Career Centers, including the Sacramento Employment & Training Agency.

"As we work to help small businesses grow and create jobs, we can't overlook the importance of the smallest of businesses -- our innovative entrepreneurs," Capps said in a statement introducing the bill.

Today, the bill is in committee. It focuses new attention on job seekers who are looking to create their own jobs by starting their own businesses.

Though entrepreneurial activity nationwide fell slightly in 2011 compared to 2010, Californians remain among the most likely to start their own businesses, according to the Kauffman Foundation, which promotes and tracks entrepreneurship.

In California, 440 adults per 100,000 started businesses each month in 2011, tying Texas and trailing only Arizona's 520 per 100,000, according to the Kauffman Foundation's Index of Entrepreneurial Activity.
Nationwide, about 543,000 businesses were created each month in 2011, according to the Kauffman index.

New Pew Study Finds 36 Percent Increase in Prison Time Served

Prisoners released in 2009 served an average of nine additional months in custody, or 36 percent longer, than offenders released in 1990, according to a report released today by the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project. The study found that for offenders released from their original sentence in 2009 alone, the additional time behind bars cost states $23,300 per offender, or a total of over $10 billion, more than half of which was for nonviolent offenders.

The report, Time Served: The High Cost, Low Return of Longer Prison Terms, also found that time served for drug offenses and violent offenses grew at nearly the same pace from 1990 to 2009. Drug offenders served 36 percent longer in 2009 than those released in 1990, while violent offenders served 37 percent longer. Time served for inmates convicted of property crimes increased by 24 percent.

"Violent and career criminals belong behind bars, and for a long time," said Adam Gelb, director of the Public Safety Performance Project. "But building more prisons to house lower-risk nonviolent inmates for longer sentences simply is not the best way to reduce crime."

Though almost all states increased length of stay over the last two decades, the overall change varied widely between states. Among 35 reporting states representing nearly 90 percent of 2009 prison releases, time served rose most rapidly in Florida, where terms grew by 166 percent and cost an extra $1.4 billion in 2009. Prison terms increased in Virginia by 91 percent, North Carolina (86 percent), Oklahoma (83 percent), Michigan (79 percent), and Georgia (75 percent). Eight states reduced their overall time served, including Illinois (25 percent) and South Dakota (24 percent).

Among prisoners released in 2009 from the reporting states, Michigan had the longest overall average time served, at 4.3 years, followed by Pennsylvania (3.8 years). South Dakota had the shortest average time served at 1.3 years, followed by Tennessee (1.9 years). The national average time served was 2.9 years. Download the report and state fact sheets.

A companion analysis Pew conducted in partnership with external researchers identified the public safety impact of longer prison terms, using data about nonviolent offenders released in 2004 from Florida, Maryland, and Michigan. The study revealed that many of those nonviolent offenders in each state could have served prison terms between three months and two years shorter with little or no public safety consequences: 14 percent of all offenders released in Florida, 18 percent in Maryland, and 24 percent in Michigan.

"Taxpayers, today more than ever, want their dollars to produce the best possible public safety results," said Gelb. "The idea behind longer prison terms is that they will cut crime and recidivism. But for a large number of lower-risk offenders, that just isn't the case. There's a high cost and little to no crime control benefit."

The study outlines a variety of steps that leaders in each of the three branches of state government have taken in the last few years to reverse growth trends in overall time served, including:

Reclassifying offenses or raising dollar thresholds and drug quantities required to trigger stiffer penalties. (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Montana, South Carolina, Washington)

Expanding opportunities for inmates to earn time off of their sentences by completing programs. (Colorado, Kansas, South Carolina, Pennsylvania)

Reducing the percentage of sentences that must be served before inmates are eligible for parole. (Georgia, Mississippi)

The report also summarizes recent public opinion polling that shows strong support nationwide for reducing time served for nonviolent offenders. The January 2012 national poll of 1,200 likely voters, along with similar surveys in Georgia, Missouri and Oregon, revealed that the public is broadly supportive of a wide range of policy changes that would shorten time served and reinvest prison savings in stronger probation and parole supervision programs.

The report is based on National Corrections Reporting Program data from 35 states that was collected and verified by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The reporting states covered 89 percent of the inmates released in 2009, the most recent year for which figures are available. States not included in the study had not reported sufficient data over the 1990-2009 study period.



Via: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/05/4541301/new-pew-study-finds-36-percent.html

Los Angeles' Community Foundation Announces Bold, New Initiative For Black Male Youth

LOS ANGELES, May 3, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California Community Foundation (CCF), the public foundation for all of Los Angeles County, has announced a five-year, multi-million dollar investment in the future of Black male youth, in partnership with several private foundations and local, nonprofit organizations.  The goal of the initiative, called BLOOM, which stands for Building a Lifetime of Options and Opportunities for Black Men, is redirecting Black male teens who are or have been in the county probation system away from adult incarceration and onto a path of educational and employment opportunities, thus significantly improving their chances of success as adults while reducing the costs and consequences of juvenile and adult incarceration to California taxpayers.

Here are some key facts:

• Black youth comprise one in ten teens in Los Angeles, but approximately one in three youth under the supervision of the county probation department.
• Black youth are 11 times more likely than their white counterparts to be placed under the county probation jurisdiction.
• Black youth have a juvenile felony arrest rate 16 times greater than that of white youth.
• The homicide rate among Black males is 13 times greater than white males.
• The cost to taxpayers to incarcerate a youth in an L.A. County probation camp is approximately $100,000 per year, and to house an inmate in state prison is $240,000 per year.
• In 2011, 33 percent of youth under county probation supervision were Black males.
• In 2011, only 15 percent of students in L.A. community colleges were Black males.

The seed for BLOOM was planted in 2010 when the leadership of the California Community Foundation (CCF) asked if there was a role for philanthropy in addressing these realities.  CCF formed an advisory committee of more than 20 diverse members of the community, conducted and evaluated research, held numerous formal and informal conversations in the community, and concluded that an ambitious and hard-hitting initiative should indeed be undertaken.  It was determined that the initiative should focus on expanding educational and employment opportunities for Black males 14-18 years of age currently or recently under county probation supervision, and living in South Los Angeles.

"BLOOM is the only philanthropic initiative in the nation, we believe, wholly dedicated to Black male youth involved in the justice system," said Antonia Hernandez, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation.  "Because of the magnitude and seriousness of the initiative, we have formed a public-private-nonprofit partnership in Los Angeles to ensure its success."

"BLOOM is new and bold, and it's overdue," added Carl Ballton, chair of the community advisory committee, and president and CEO of the Union Bank Foundation.  "The initiative aims to begin improving education and job options – normal opportunities for most L.A. residents – for one of the most vulnerable, misunderstood and underachieving segments of residents: Black teenage boys who have had a run-in with the legal system."

Funding, job opportunities and other support for Black male youth through the BLOOM nonprofit partners are being contributed by private sector partners such as the Automobile Club of Southern California, Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation, Operation HOPE, The James Irvine Foundation and Union Bank Foundation.

BLOOM will address four areas:

1. Job and educational programs so that Black male youth are exposed to new and interesting vocational and educational paths, in partnership with public, private and nonprofit organizations;
2. Assistance through grants, technical and other support for community-based organizations serving them;
3. Communications to foster a more positive environment in which Black male youth are respected, encouraged and treated as potential assets in the community; and
4. Advocacy to address unfair practices that result in long-term encounters with the criminal justice system.

Several community-based nonprofit organizations already serving Black male teens in South Los Angeles have been selected as the first recipients of two-year grants through the BLOOM Initiative, including Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade, Community Coalition, Los Angeles Urban League, Youth Justice Coalition and Youth Mentoring Connection.

Also involved in BLOOM are the Liberty Hill Foundation, which will provide technical assistance and capacity building programming to the nonprofits, and the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, which will monitor and evaluate the BLOOM Initiative throughout its duration.

BLOOM was officially announced last night as part of a town hall for the community that included a panel discussion by subject-matter experts, followed by a question and answer period.  The event also served to introduce the spokesperson for the BLOOM Initiative, actor and activist Larenz Tate, whose credits include the television show "Rescue Me" and films such as "Ray", "Love Jones", "Crash" and

 "Menace II Society."

California Community Foundation (CCF) is a public, charitable organization serving Los Angeles County since 1915.  It encourages philanthropy by individuals, families, companies and organizations, and serves as a steward of their charitable funds and legacies.  It also makes grants to nonprofits and collaborates in addressing the needs of vulnerable members of the community.  In addition, it engages in community problem solving with business, civic, government and other organizations.  For more information, visit www.calfund.org or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/calfund.

Media Contact: Barbara Lee Phone: (213) 452-6258 E-mail: blee@calfund.org

A New Way of Life Reentry Project Susan Burton

Susan Burton confronts 3 police officers in front of her resident where she house women and their children, after they came to do a compliance check under AB109. The officers handcuffed the woman, searched her twice, tore her room and closet up and told her that it was protocol and that they would be back. All of this took place while Board of Supervisor Mark Ritley Thomas was down the street visiting another resident of Susan where the woman had just told her story to MRT and his crew.

Susan speaks to some of the issues concerning AB 109 and calls up the woman that the police harrassed earlier that day to tell of what took place.

Chief of the police officers that came out speaks to the townhall meeting about AB 109 at the Community Coalition headquarters. He indicated that there should be some changes and that they were working on reviewing how officers do compliance checks. 

Trio of Bills Take Aim at “Buy Here Pay Here” Car Dealerships

by Damien Newton

A trio of state legislators have introduced legislation aimed at “Buy Here Pay Here” dealerships in California.  These dealerships, where used cars are sold at a marked up price with loans that have abnormally high interest rates, are often used by people of lesser means as a last resort to get a car.   These dealerships not only sell cars, but provide their own financing, creating two ways to benefit from the overpriced sale of a used car.

Last year, Ken Bensinger at the Los Angeles Times wrote a three part series exposing some of the business practices of these dealerships that create extra hardship for disadvantaged car buyers.  This year, he has continued to follow-up on the issue as these bills were introduced and begin to move in the legislature.  Here is a brief explanation of each piece of legislation:

A.B. 1447, Introduced by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-LA)

A.B. 1447 would actually change three parts of the business strategies of Buy Here Pay Here dealerships.  First, dealers would be required to post the selling cost of the vehicle on the body of the vehicle.  This would prevent dealers from setting prices at the negotiating table based on their estimate of what the seller could afford.  The legislation also prohibits Buy Here Pay Here dealers from harassing references for the buyer after the sale, requiring cash payments in person from drivers and disabling and tracking cars with GPS systems of payments are late.


“This industry preys on people who have no other options for getting a car,” said Feuer.  “In many parts of our state, auto travel is the only way for parents to get to work on time, or to pick their kids up from school.  Instead of helping Californians get back on their feet by providing needed transportation, these dealers are promoting an endless cycle of debt and joblessness.”


Critics of Feuer’s legislation either argue that instead of passing laws to regulate the entire industry the state should focus on supporting existing laws or that the law is written so broadly that it applies to legitimate car dealerships who include LoJack with their car sales.  Bensinger talked to several opponents in his piece for the Los Angeles Times on A.B. 1447.


S.B. 956, Introduced by Senator Ted Lieu (D-LA)


Senator Lieu’s legislation focuses on the lending practices of the dealerships instead of the car sales.  By handling financing in house but being licensed as a car dealer, Buy Here Pay Here dealerships were able to get around many state financing laws and consumer protections.  Lieu’s legislation would:

• Impose regulations on dealers offering Buy Here, Pay Here installment loans by requiring them to obtain a California Finance Lender’s license, which would provide consumers with an array of protections.
• Limit used-car installment loans to a maximum 17.25 percent interest, which would give California the strongest cap in the nation.
• Change the way Buy Here Pay Here used car dealers are able to repossess vehicles to include grace periods and make it easier for buyers to reinstate a repossessed car.

“Unscrupulous dealers are pushing these types of previously unregulated loans to sell cars for far beyond market value, at interest rates as high as 30 percent,” explains Lieu.  ”They need to either find a conscience or display a sign: Rip-offs R Us.”


Representatives of the industry are arguing that Lieu’s legislation will make it difficult for dealers to sell to people with bad credit.  To here their argument, read the bottom of Bensinger’s article on S.B. 956.


A.B. 1534, Introduced by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont)


Wieckowski’s legislation seeks to reduce the amount that dealers would mark-up their vehicles by arming buyers with information outlining the real value of the vehicle.  A.B. 1534 would require dealers list a value for the car based on a third-party valuation source, such as Kelley Blue Book or the NADA Guide.  The value would take into account the car’s model year, condition and mileage.  While it would provide knowledge to the buyer, it wouldn’t place any restrictions on what the car could be sold for.


This legislation is receiving the same argument from Buy Here Pay Here representatives, that any restrictions on their industry will reduce people of lesser-means’ ability to have access to a car.  It’s also receiving some more credible blowback from dealers worried that the wording of the law would require all dealers of used vehicles to be constantly updating stickers and signage to reflect the new prices.


The automobile industry is expected to weigh in on all three pieces of legislation, but all three bill authors remain optimistic that some legislation regulating this vampire industry will make it to the Governor’s desk.  That’s the value of having a paper with the reach of the Times shine the light on an industry that is doing more harm than good, no lobbying effort will ever be able to turn that light back off. 

by Damien Newton for latimes.com

Many Returning Home from Prison, War: More Services Needed

By Carla María Guerrero

After leaving prison, Stacy Johnson (left) and Lori Hogg found the services they needed at A New Way of Life to stay off the streets and reintegrate into the community. (Photo by Joshua H. Busch)

Stacy Johnson had no idea what to expect when she was dropped off last August in front of a well-kept home in a quiet neighborhood in South Los Angeles. The 45-year-old had just been released early from serving her third prison sentence. She arrived at A New Way of Life Reentry Project hoping to make a fresh beginning after what had been a tumultuous twenty years.

Every year thousands of men and women like Johnson leave California prisons and return to South L.A. in need of jobs, housing and other supportive services. Their numbers could grow even higher under the state’s new prison “realignment” law, which transfers responsibility for “nonviolent, nonsexual, nonserious” felony offenders from state to county authorities.

According to Los Angeles County’s Criminal Justice Committee, an estimated 9,000 men and women who have served their prison sentences will be released to the county’s supervision by midyear and nearly 15,000 by mid-2013.

At the same time, the end of the Iraq War means the return of a significant number of veterans to the community. They share many of the same critical needs for jobs, housing and health services as those exiting prison. For both populations, locating these services in a community affected by deep budget cuts and the economic recession can be difficult.
But once found, these services can make a huge difference in whether an individual coming back from war or prison successfully reintegrates into the community.

Crucial Help
For Johnson, connecting with A New Way of Life and its founder, Susan Burton, has already changed her life immeasurably. She is in school full time and has been sober for almost three years. Eventually she would like to find a full time job and get her own place.
“I owe [Burton] everything. I came out of prison with nothing. I would’ve been back on the streets, probably using [drugs] again and staying in motels,” said Johnson, who knows firsthand how easy it is to fall prey to addiction.

At 22, Johnson started using crack cocaine and her life started unraveling. That same year, she was convicted of voluntary manslaughter after she picked up a knife to protect herself from being raped. Her assailant died and Johnson got twelve years in prison. After leaving prison she tried to rebuild her life around a new job and a new boyfriend. But he was abusive. She turned to drugs again, lost her job and her freedom, and gained one strike.
After serving two years, she lived in motels or on the streets and took drugs to numb the desolation. “When you are on drugs, you are weak. You are so vulnerable,” Johnson said. She went to jail a third time after being arrested for crack cocaine possession.

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the state has one of the highest recidivism rates in the country. Nearly seven in ten former inmates will return to prison within three years.

Realign Priorities
For Cpl. Lauren Johnson, a 28-year-old African-American veteran of the Iraq War, knowing about the services and support available is key to successfully reintegrating back into communities.

“My experience was different from most veterans returning home because I was knowledgeable about the resources and services available to me,” she said. Originally from a Texas community with a strong military presence and culture, Lauren Johnson knew what benefits to tap into to help pay for school after her tour in Iraq.

Now working for Congresswoman Karen Bass, Lauren Johnson connects veterans with resources and services in South L.A., including referrals to Veterans Affairs and local organizations that provide housing, employment training and other services.

“It is imperative for us to mobilize for veterans once they come home. They’re used to unit cohesion and sometimes it can be a bit scary when you no longer have that camaraderie and that network you’ve been used to,” she said.

Social service advocates fear additional budget cuts will further erode the safety net in South L.A. at one of the most crucial moments.

“There needs to be an investment in housing, prevention, intervention and education … instead of systems of supervision and further incarceration,” A New Way of Life founder Burton said. “There needs to be a realignment of investment into people and communities so that crime won’t rise but opportunities for jobs and training programs will.”

Carla María Guerrero is the communications assistant at Community Coalition