Existing law establishes the California Conservation Corps in the Natural Resources Agency and requires the corps to implement and administer various training and educational programs, including the California Conservation Camp program. Under existing law, incarcerated persons in the California Conservation Camp program work on projects supervised by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Existing law requires the department to utilize incarcerated persons assigned to conservation camps in performing fire prevention, fire control, and other work at the department.
Existing law allows a defendant who successfully participated in the California Conservation Camp program as an incarcerated individual hand crew member, or who successfully participated as a member of a county incarcerated hand crew, except as specified, to petition the court to have the pleading dismissed, as described, thus releasing the person of any penalties and disabilities of conviction, except as otherwise provided.
This bill, the Enhancing Workforce Development for Incarcerated Firefighters Act, would establish the Incarcerated Firefighter Community Reinvestment Fund, to be administered by the Department of Finance, in consultation with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The bill would require the Department of Finance, beginning July 1, 2026, and based on specified data, to calculate the savings to the state derived in the prior fiscal year from the use of incarcerated firefighters in wildfire suppression, fire prevention, and other emergency response activities, instead of the use of nonincarcerated firefighters for those purposes, and to transfer that amount into the fund. The bill would require the Department of Finance, by January 1, 2027, and subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, to develop and implement a grant program to distribute moneys in the fund for specified purposes relating to assisting formerly incarcerated firefighters after they have been released from prison, including providing workforce training and housing support. The bill would require the Department of Finance to report to the Legislature, on or before January 1 of each year, various data including the cost savings and data related to recidivism. The bill would also require the Department of Finance, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to each post a copy of the Department of Finance report to their internet websites.
The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in consultation with specified entities including local fire departments and accredited firefighter academies, to establish a postrelease hiring program and accompanying procedures for hiring formerly incarcerated firefighters. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, on or before January 1 of each calendar year, until January 1, 2030, to submit a report to the Legislature regarding, among other things, the number of individuals enrolled in the program and recommendations to enhance or expand the program.
The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in consultation with specified entities including the Chancellor's office of the Community Colleges and the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, to establish a uniform fire science and emergency medical technician curriculum for use in all correctional facilities that offer firefighting or emergency medical technician programs.
The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in partnership with, among others, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to develop a tiered training program that includes certain modules for advanced leadership. The bill would also require the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, in collaboration with, among others, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, to establish a firefighter apprenticeship framework that integrates in-custody training hours with recognized apprenticeship credits toward advanced firefighting licenses or certifications.