California Policy Lab

Sentence enhancements are widely used in California and can greatly increase an individual’s prison sentence, which in turn increases the size of the state’s prison population at a given time as people are incarcerated for longer periods.1 Proposition 8, passed by voters in 1982, provided the first major addition to sentence enhancements in California since the passage of the Determinate Sentencing Act of 1976 (Figure 1). This law created what is colloquially known as the “nickel prior.” As originally written, if a person had previously been convicted of a serious felony offense, the enhancement added an additional five years onto any sentence for a new serious offense,2 regardless of when the earlier conviction had occurred.3 This fact sheet highlights patterns in the use of nickel prior enhancements for people admitted to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) before and after Senate Bill 1393 (SB 1393) took effect in 2019.4 As of August 2023, there are just under 14,000 people currently in prison who have a nickel prior as part of their sentence. Judges initially had discretion in dismissing nickel priors, but this discretion was eliminated by legislation enacted in 1986. Prosecutors retained the power to decide whether to charge nickel prior enhancements and if they chose to use the enhancement, it became mandatory for a judge to apply. However, prosecutors did not always charge eligible cases or would agree to dismiss the nickel prior as part of a plea bargain, resulting in eligible prison admissions that did not receive the enhancement. In 2019, SB 1393 reinstated judicial discretion to dismiss nickel priors “in furtherance of justice.” Since 2015, the nickel prior has been the second most common sentence enhancement (after the second strike enhancement) used in California for people admitted to prison. Over 11,600 admissions to prison had a nickel prior enhancement, which accounted for 11% of additional years added to base sentences, or over 58,000 years.5

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278.

Over half a million people experience homelessness in the United States each year. The policy response has been to provide short-term solutions, like shelters, as well as long-term housing solutions, such as housing subsidies or permanent supportive housing. This policy brief and related working paper focus on time-limited subsidy (TLS) programs, often referred to as Rapid Re-housing (RRH). TLS programs help individuals move into market rentals and financially support their tenancy, with typical two-year time limits. Our study estimates the impact of TLS over a four-year period for 3,677 adults who were enrolled in TLS in Los Angeles County. Sixty-two percent of TLS participants received the intended financial assistance to move into a rental unit. Our study sample includes all enrollees in the program, not just people who moved in and received the subsidy, which is necessary for the research design and relevant for understanding the effects for all who were enrolled.

California’s felony sentencing structure has become increasingly complex over the last forty years. Despite this complexity, this analysis also shows that changing just one section of the Penal Code — a default sentence that has not been adjusted since 1976 — would affect the sentence length of 71% of felony offenses in current law.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278

The Solid Ground homelessness prevention pilot was started in 2018, with a goal of serving families in Van Nuys, California (zip code 91405) who may be at risk of homelessness but who do not qualify for the homelessness prevention services provided by the Los Angeles County homelessness services sector.1 The pilot is administered by New Economics for Women (NEW), a nonprofit that administers a FamilySource Center. FamilySource Centers are located in high-need areas and are designed to assist low to moderate-income families with a continuum of services, including financial counseling and referrals to community resources. While Solid Ground was originally conceived as a two-year pilot, it was extended and NEW continues to operate it. The Solid Ground program was previously administered by the Housing Department and now falls under the purview of the Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD). Since 2021, CIFD has created seven additional Solid Ground homelessness prevention programs at FamilySource Centers throughout Los Angeles. This brief summarizes the key findings from three process evaluations the California Policy Lab conducted of Solid Ground over three years. Each in-depth evaluation is also available on the California Policy Lab website. Solid Ground offers two programs: “Full Solid Ground” and “Brief Solid Ground.” To qualify for Full Solid Ground, a family must be imminently at-risk of becoming homeless and score a 16 or more on the Prevention Targeting Tool (PTT). To qualify for Brief Solid Ground, a family must score 16 or more on the PTT or be imminently at risk of homelessness.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278

When someone is arrested and cannot afford bail or a private lawyer, they stay in jail and have to wait several days before they are assigned a public defender at arraignment. This time in jail imposes legal, social, and economic costs, from a higher chance of conviction to loss of employment or wages. Low-income individuals bear the brunt of these costs because many cannot afford to post bail to secure their own release, nor can they afford to hire a lawyer to negotiate their release. The County of Santa Clara Public Defender’s Office designed a program to address these problems by providing legal counsel to low-income people shortly after their arrest. In early 2020 they piloted the Pre-Arraignment Representation and Review (PARR) program using a rotating schedule that offered PARR services one day per week. This quasirandom implementation enabled the research team to estimate the impact receiving PARR services had on release and case outcomes. Participation in the program decreased jail time and convictions, and increased case dismissals. This policy brief is a condensed version of a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper: The Effect of Pre-Arraignment Legal Representation on Criminal Case Outcomes.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278

This policy brief highlights patterns in racial/ethnic and gender disparities in police stop rates, actions taken during stops, and stop outcomes in California, as reported in the Racial Identity and Profiling Act (RIPA) data for calendar year 2021, which includes data on nearly 3.2 million stops. Many of the patterns reported here have been documented and explored in detail in prior annual reports published by the RIPA Board as well as in an independent analysis of the data from a prior year.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278

During the past ten years, there has been a dramatic rise in the size and length of new auto loans, especially since the start of the pandemic. The average new auto loan (for a new or used car) in California is now over $34,000, and is a full $7,300 more than it was just 3 years ago. Loan lengths and monthly payments have also risen considerably over that period. The share of car loans that are 30+ days delinquent is also starting to tick upwards, from 1.5% in mid-2021 to 2.7% by the end of 2022.1 This publication uses nominal dollars, but the California Credit Dashboard includes an option to adjust for inflation.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278

Sentence enhancements are used to add time to an individual’s base sentence. California uses over 100 unique enhancements. This report analyzes data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to understand the role of sentence enhancements in California’s corrections system. It fnds that enhancements lengthen average sentences and are more likely to impact the sentences of men and Black and American Indian people who are sentenced to prison, application varies by county, and that enhancements contribute to the overall size of the state prison population.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278

The Solid Ground homelessness prevention pilot was started in 2018, with a goal of serving families in Van Nuys, California (zip code 91405) who may be at risk of homelessness but who do not qualify for the homelessness prevention services provided by the Los Angeles County homelessness services sector.1 The pilot is administered by New Economics for Women (NEW), a nonprofit that administers a FamilySource Center. FamilySource Centers are located in high-need areas and are designed to assist low to moderate-income families with a continuum of services, including financial counseling and referrals to community resources. While Solid Ground was originally conceived as a twoyear pilot, it was extended and NEW continues to operate it. The Solid Ground Program, which was previously administered by the Housing Department, now falls under the purview of The Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD) and since 2021, they have created seven additional Solid Ground homelessness prevention programs at FamilySource Centers throughout Los Angeles.

Year Three of the Solid Ground pilot program began on October 1, 2020 and ended on September 30, 2021. The goal of CPL’s Year Three report is to document:

● program activities during Year Three of the Solid Ground pilot,

● participant demographics, household composition, and prior homelessness services enrollments as observed in the Homelessness Management Information System data (HMIS) of the 71 Brief Solid Ground and 34 Full Solid Ground participants who enrolled during Year Three,

● financial assistance, other assistance, and services that Year Three Brief and Full Solid Ground enrollees received, and

● income, employment, and living situation for enrollees at enrollment for both Brief and Full Solid Ground participants and for the 34 Full Solid Ground participants, at exit.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278

In 2022, California passed the CARE Court Law. Eight of California's 58 counties, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, are working to implement the law in 2023, with the remaining counties following in subsequent years. This brief estimates how many people in San Francisco may be eligible for referral to the CARE Court, based on an analysis of people who are already receiving urgent and emergent care services. This brief uses data from San Francisco’s Coordinated Case Management System (CCMS) linked to data from the San Francisco Sherif's Office and San Francisco District Attorney's Office.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278