Victim services: restorative justice.

Existing law provides the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with jurisdiction over state prisons, as specified. This bill would require the department to establish and maintain an Accountability Letter Bank (ALB) program, with the goal of providing a voluntary opportunity for incarcerated persons under the jurisdiction of the department to be accountable for the harm they have caused and to express remorse to those they have harmed, and to allow victims, survivors, and next of kin to receive a letter of accountability from an incarcerated person when, and if, they choose to receive a letter that is addressed to them, as specified. The program would require the letters to be reviewed by an ALB program facilitator to ensure they are not harmful to the victim, survivor, or next of kin. This bill would additionally require the department to establish and maintain a Victim Offender Dialogue program, with the goal of providing voluntary opportunities for restorative justice processes between victims, survivors, and next of kin and people who are incarcerated or on parole, facilitated by nonprofit, community-based restorative justice organizations.