2933.7. In order to foster greater participation in rehabilitative programming and to reduce interruptions in incarcerated people’s growth, self-exploration, improvement and skill building, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall conduct programming in a manner that accomplishes all of the following:
(a) Minimizes transfers from institutions, facilities, or sections of the institutions or facilities from disrupting an incarcerated person’s programming. To accomplish this, the department shall solicit and prioritize voluntary facility transfers first.
(b) Prioritizes, to the greatest extent possible, an incarcerated person that has transferred from institutions, facilities, or sections of the institutions or facilities for nonadverse reasons to resume programming. To accomplish this, an incarcerated person shall be prioritized for similar programs at the new institution, facility, or sections of the institutions or facilities. If a program is temporarily canceled or terminated, the incarcerated person shall be prioritized for similar programming if available.
(c) Offers programming to the greatest extent possible, even if the institution, facility, or section of the institution or facility is restricting in-person programming for reasons including, but not limited to, a security or medical concern.
(d) Ensures alternatives to in-person programming are offered and that those alternatives do not limit or negatively affect the quality or quantity of in-person programming.
(e) Minimizes programming waitlist times to the greatest extent possible, especially in those institutions, facilities, or sections of institutions or facilities where programming waitlists exceed one year by, among other things, increasing virtual or in-person programming opportunities.
(f) Minimizes conflicts with an incarcerated person’s work schedule.
(g) Is accessible in a timely manner to incarcerated persons that have recently changed status, security level, or facility.
(h) Offers a variety of programming opportunities to incarcerated persons regardless of security level or sentence length.
(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 579, Sec. 2. (AB 292) Effective January 1, 2022.)