California's Overcrowded Jails

A visual glimpse of the reality of our jails and prisons in California. This video was made back in 2009, and matters are only getting worse with the new revised budget passed by Governor Jerry Brown.

Lawmakers: State must crack down on diploma mills

California has more diploma mills than any other state in the nation, but it is not doing enough to protect students from the unaccredited colleges and vocational schools that issue worthless degrees, state lawmakers said at hearing yesterday.

“The increasingly diverse array of substandard education robs students of their time and money,” said Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, chair of the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review. “The most serious consequences occur when people are hired for positions for which they are not qualified. The challenge for the Legislature is to establish an oversight structure that prevents predatory practices."

Among the measures Dickinson will press legislators to consider: providing state regulators with additional resources to undertake more investigations, requiring more thorough reviews to identify diploma mills, and encouraging California's attorney general and local district attorneys to prosecute more diploma mills.

Dickinson outlined his plans after a joint hearing by the Assembly Higher Education Committee and the Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review. The hearing followed a recent Bay Citizen investigation, which revealed that many unaccredited or questionably accredited colleges and vocational schools had been operating in the state without regular inspections or evaluations by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education.

The Legislature established the bureau two years ago to strengthen protections for students attending private vocational schools. Laura Metune, who became bureau chief last month, told lawmakers that she has a staff of 20 assigned to enforcement, but is still assessing whether they can inspect all of the schools seeking state approvals.

“Our process is designed to make sure that these institutions meet minimum operating standards,” Metune testified. “We are required to do 1,500 inspections a year. We are in the process of figuring out whether we can meet that.”

Metune's appointment followed a series of Bay Citizen investigations that revealed the bureau had failed to properly oversee the state's 1,300 technical, vocational and other private postsecondary schools. The series found that the bureau failed to vigorously investigate complaints, monitor the quality of educational programs, and track or penalize unaccredited schools. The Bay Citizen later found more than 130 postsecondary schools operating with expired state approvals.

After The Bay Citizen began publishing its reports, Karen Newquist, the head of enforcement for the bureau, resigned. In addition, the state shut down a school featured in one of the articles.

“Your article clearly raised more awareness of the problem in the Legislature,” said Assemblyman Marty Block, D-San Diego, chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee. “We need a better understanding of what diploma mills are and to make a determination of who is best to regulate and to prosecute these diploma mills.”

Block introduced a bill last month requiring postsecondary schools to disclose crucial information to students, such as their accreditation status and job placement rates. If approved, the bill would take effect on Jan. 1, 2013.

During yesterday's hearing, consumer advocates testified about the diploma mill industry's rapid rise. 

“This is a really big deal. It is not mom-and-pop printing degrees with a laser printer on their kitchen table,” said John Bear, the author of “Degree Mills” at the hearing. “More than half the Ph.D.'s in California are fake.”

Bear held up a counterfeit degree from Harvard that he said he bought online for $39.

Steve Boilard, the managing principal analyst for education from the Legislative Analyst's Office, testified that it will not be easy to root out diploma mills. 

“It is not hard to find them if you are looking for them,” responded Marcia Trott, the former head of the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Schools, which shut down in 2007 after lawmakers deemed it ineffective. “There are plenty of laws on the books. We just have to have the political will to enforce them.”

Via: http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/lawmakers-state-must-crack-down-diploma-mills-16158

End the Use of Shackles on Pregnant Women

AB 2530 will strengthen protections on the use of restraints on pregnant women in correctional facilities. Two prior versions of this bill passed both houses of the legislature without a single “no” vote. Last year, under pressure from the California State Sheriffs' Association (CSSA) and both Alameda and Sonoma County sheriffs' departments, Governor Brown vetoed the bill. AB 2530 addresses Governor Brown’s veto by clarifying language and prohibiting the most dangerous forms of shackling. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) opposes the use of shackles on pregnant women in all but the most extreme circumstances. Pregnant women in correctional facilities are more likely to experience miscarriage, preterm birth, low birth weight infants, and potentially fatal conditions like preeclampsia. Excessive shackling could not only increase stress and lead to further complications, but also render doctors unable to treat women in emergency situations. AB 2530 provides medical professionals the authority to have restraints removed in order to treat pregnant inmates.

Take Action Now here 

AB 1616 - California Homemade Food Act

Do Lower Taxes Create Jobs? Let’s Look at the States

In the ongoing debate over tax cuts, both sides make arguments that sound plausible. Progressives and liberals claim that a state with low taxes can't invest in schools, roads, and other improvements that boost productivity. Conservatives claim that high taxes discourage entrepreneurs and push businesses to flee the state. Both arguments are logical—but both cannot be true.

This argument reminds of a sign I once saw a sign in a client's office which read, "In God we Trust. All Others Must Bring Data." What does the data tell us about taxes and incomes?

How higher taxes affect personal income

The Tax Foundation, a respected conservative-leaning group, has analyzed tax issues since 1937. They publish reports showing the average income and average tax load for all 50 states. Their analysis includes all state and local taxes.

I've charted this data (below) and added a green line to separate the states with high incomes from the rest. Aside from a few outliers, the trend is obvious: All but one of the states that enjoy higher incomes (greater than $50,000 per person) also impose higher total taxes (above 9 percent). At the same time, all but one of the states that keep taxes low (less than 9 percent) have lower incomes.

There is no evidence in this chart to confirm that low taxes lead to prosperity. In contrast, higher taxes accompany higher incomes, not the other way around.

Higher incomes or higher taxes: Which come first?

Although the chart shows high incomes and high taxes go hand in hand, it raises the question of which comes first: Do higher taxes enable higher incomes, or do higher incomes simply make high taxes acceptable? Frankly the evidence here is mixed.

One important state on the high-income side of the chart is Massachusetts, which owes its prosperity to great universities and to the successful technology companies spawned by their alumni. Massachusetts shows that taxes, when invested in leading educational institutions, can create prosperity even without other economic advantages. Northern California, if it were a separate state, would illustrate this point as well. Stanford University provides essential support for Silicon Valley. The leading private universities do not take direct support from state or local taxes, but they take a great deal of indirect state taxpayer support, since they are exempt from taxes on their property and income.

The other high-income states fall into two distinct clusters: the financial services cluster of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut (fueled by Wall Street), and the government cluster of District of Columbia, Maryland, and to a lesser extent Virginia (fueled by the U.S. capital and its lobbyists and government contractors). Wall Street and the nation's capital exert such strong magnetism on talent that these states may not need top quality education and infrastructure to maintain their prosperity. People who live there pay higher taxes because they value the things that higher taxes provide (better roads, schools, parks, transit, cultural amenities and more.)  In turn, these services and amenities attract tourists who bring even money to these already-prosperous areas.

How some states with low taxes generate healthy incomes for residents

A few states—Alaska, Nevada, Florida, Wyoming, and New Hampshire—impose very low tax rates yet their residents enjoy solid mid-range incomes. Do these states blaze a trail that other states can follow?

Unfortunately these states' success is tough to copy. Both Alaska and Wyoming have abundant and valuable natural resources (energy and minerals) coupled with small populations and little need for public services. Nevada, Florida, and Wyoming benefit greatly from tourism as well. And New Hampshire gets a free ride from Massachusetts-based high tech companies without paying the corresponding taxes.

How do low taxes really affect growth in income?

A new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economy Policy provides additional perspective. Researchers at this respected, progressive-leaning group looked at the net change in income from 2001 to 2010. They compared the nine states with the highest income tax against the nine states with the lowest income tax. The results, in the chart below, show that the states with the highest taxes actually had the strongest economies throughout a difficult decade.

There are no guarantees when it comes to taxes and economic development. But without abundant natural resources or heavy tourism or the generosity of a neighbor, no state in the United States has been able to sustain high prosperity without a robust tax base. The data speaks clearly on this point.

Let's trust it.

Via: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2012/05/03/do-lower-taxes-create-jobs-lets-look-at-the-states

Women and Victims of Violence Need You Today

Something sneaky and dangerous to women may happen in the House of Representatives this Wednesday. 

The Violence against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012 (VAWA) is ready to be voted on in the House. The bill was first passed in 1994 to protect victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. It is a good thing that VAWA is being reauthorized. 

However, Congresswoman Sandy Adams, a Republican from Florida, has introduced provisions to the VAWA bill known as HR4970 that would eliminate important confidentiality protections, undermine current anti-fraud protections, and roll back years of progress and commitment on the part of Congress to protect vulnerable immigrant victims. 

Because of the serious concerns outlined above, the full House must act to defeat these dangerous amendments to HR4970 that curtail protections and ensure continued abuse. 

Take a moment to call your local member of Congress to request that he/she strongly oppose H.R. 4970. Please click here and enter your zip code to find out who your local Congress Representative is. Then call (202)225-3121 and ask to be transferred to your Representative’s office.

Sample script: “Hi my name is ________ and I’m calling to urge Representative _________ to strongly oppose the Adams bill, H.R. 4970 which puts victims of violence in further danger of abuse.  I urge you to oppose the Adams bill because it rolls back protections for victims of violence."

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