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Parole Eligibility Under Prop 57 Statutory Language  “Any person convicted of a non-violent felony offense and sentenced to state prison shall be eligible for parole consideration after completing the full term for his or her primary offense.  For purposes of this section only, the full term for the primary offense means the longest term of imprisonment imposed by the court for any offense, excluding the imposition of an enhancement, consecutive sentence, or alternative sentence.”  A state prisoner who has not committed a disqualifying crime as their most serious offense will be eligible for parole after expiration of the longest term that could be imposed for that offense, exclusive of any increase based on enhancements, consecutive sentences or alternative sentences.

First, determine that your primary offense is “non-violent.” Do this by making sure it is not on the list of “violent” offenses which are disqualifying.  Second, calculate the new parole eligibility date. Use the maximum term for the primary offense, exclusive of any add-ons for enhancements, consecutive sentences or alternate sentences (e.g., Three Strikes).  For example, a defendant who was convicted of (a) 3 counts of burglary with (b) one prior strike and (c) one prison prior. Before Prop 57, he would face a six-year sentence for the first burglary count, doubled due to the second strike for 12 years, plus the two other burglaries merit consecutive sentences for another 5 years and four months, and the prior adds 5 years for a total of 22 years and 4 months. Under the old parole eligibility criteria with 20% credits, the defendant would be eligible for parole after serving 17.86 years.  However, under Prop 57 only the longest term for the principal offense is counted. Therefore, parole eligibility is based only on the primary offense. In this example, for the primary offense of burglary the maximum term would be six years with no additions for consecutive sentences or prior prison terms, with parole eligibility after six years (less credits).  As another example, consider a defendant who was convicted of assault with a knife plus a gang allegation, a prison prior and a prior strike. Before Prop 57, he would face a maximum prison term of 4 years for the knife assault, doubled due to the second strike for 8 years. The gang enhancement would add 5 years and the prison prior would add another 5 years, for a total sentence of 18 years and parole eligibility (with 15% credits) after 15 years and four months.  But under Prop 57 only the longest term for the principal offense is counted. Therefore, the primary offense of the knife assault would carry a prison term of 4 years with parole eligibility after serving four years (less credits).

The last number of drug offenses was at 25,000 inmates in California. Many of them will parole to the Inland Empire. SOSU will sit with them, assess them, either train them for jobs or educate them for GED/Certificates, or Degrees, life skills, principles to enable them to work with others. We want to give these people a loving new start and a second chance at a new way to live. 

The U.S. represents 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of its prison population.     

•In 1980, there were 300,000 adults in U.S. prisons. Today, there are 2,300,000.     

•1 in every 28 children has a parent in jail or prison.     

•More than 2,500 juveniles in the U.S. are serving life in prison without possibility of parole. The U.S. and Somalia are the only two countries in the world that sentence minors to life.                           

•Since 1980, CA has built 23 new prisons - and 1 college.         

This will have a large impact on families, children, comunities. It will affect all of us, it is our goal to help them help us!     

• CA spends $55,000 per year per adult inmate.      

• 67% of CA inmates released from prison return in 1 – 3 years.

A cornerstone of the SOSU model is case management. All trainees are immediately placed with a case manager who helps them to create a goal-oriented service plan, guides their progress through necessary services, and holds them accountable as they move toward a better life.

Secure Base is SOSU's multi-disciplinary method of monitoring a trainee’s 18-24 month plan of action as they establish and attain personal, educational and vocational goals. This approach allows the case manager and support teams to respond in a unified way to trainees’ issues and ensure the best possible outcomes, often catching problems before they arise.

What is a recovery process?

Recovery is commonly defined as the process of getting better from an illness, addictionor otherwise returning to a state of physical and mental health.