California Assembly Bill 1376, titled Ending Endless Probation, will protect youth who have been sentenced to probation by creating statutory guidelines that limit the amount of time young people spend on probation and ensuring that youth do not unnecessarily languish on probation.

AB 1376, introduced by Rep. Mia Bonta, would positively impact more youth in the California justice system than any other bill in state history. Probation in the community ("non-custodial wardship probation") is the most common outcome for youth that come in contact with the justice system, impacting thousands of individuals.

The bill is sponsored by the National Center for Youth Law, along with the Burns Institute, Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, and the Western Center on Law & Poverty.

Why this bill is needed

Long periods of time on probation increase the likelihood that a young person will be charged with probation violations, sometimes resulting in incarceration, often for minor offenses. This practice goes against the fundamental principles of youth development and research, which find that keeping youth on supervision for longer than six months is not likely to result in public safety gains. In addition to this research, juvenile justice experts in the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Public Safety Performance Project have recommended shorter periods of probation for youth in several states in order to better align with the intention of providing youth with an alternative to a lifetime of system entrapment.

AB 1376 would also codify existing case law that requires that the conditions of probation be individually tailored, developmentally appropriate, proportional, and not excessive.