Tax-Funded Program Helps Ex-Cons Move Forward in LA County

This month marks the start of a new program that will use taxpayer money to help house and support ex-felons in Los Angeles County's jail system.

The Breaking Barriers program serves probationers in LA County who are adult felony offenders or AB109 early-release inmates and who have a generally moderate to high risk of reoffending.

The program keys in on those who are homeless after their release, including people who are couch-surfing, and those who have the desire to seek full-time employment.

"The goal is to link up to 300 individuals with the type of services they need to enable them to be self-sustaining, and quite frankly, move forward in their lives and lead law-abiding lives moving forward," said Margarita Perez from the LA County Department of Probation.

"Those are the individuals that are most likely to create harm in the community, so therefore you want to focus on that part of the population," she said.

The cost is estimated at about $6.2 million for 300 ex-cons over a two-year period. Perez said taxpayers should see this as an investment, and that it's better to pay to help ex-felons avoid going back to prison than to pay for their incarceration.

"If you lower the recidivism rate, you reduce all kinds of costs," Perez said. "Not only financially, but in terms of costs to society through victimization and all that goes with that."

This month, the program is being put together with leaders in different aspects of support being appointed now.

Brilliant Corners, based out of San Francisco, is helping to locate local property managers willing to accept ex-cons for housing with the intent being that they become self-sufficient and don’t have to relocate once they move on from the program.

"Ultimately, it’s better for them," Perez added. "It’s better for everybody if we’re able to link these individuals to the types of services they need, so they can be law-abiding citizens moving forward."