Rubicon Attorney Named to 2022 Social Impact Women to Watch List

By Sabrina Paynter April 15, 2022

Sarah Williams, Senior Staff Attorney for Rubicon Programs

“Reentry work is not something that I had thought about much before law school,” Senior Staff Attorney Sarah Williams says. “But I did it as a summer intern and it was a real way to help people, and there was a lot of hope attached to it. We’re connecting with people when they're on an upswing. Mistakes have happened, but now they're out and trying to get their life back on track. They deserve an opportunity to do that, and there are some real ways that we can help them.”

Williams’ dedication to supporting Rubicon’s participants has earned her recognition as one of 20 individuals on Nonprofit HR’s 2022 Social Impact Women to Watch list. The list honors “outstanding women who accomplish the impossible against all odds,” and Nonprofit HR received a record number of nominations from across North America this year.

A fellow Rubicon staff member nominated Williams and acknowledged some of the many ways that she interacts with and supports participants. “Sarah has co-designed and co-led workshops for hundreds of participants, explaining in lay terms complicated legal interventions that are available to address a wide range of common challenges, from record clearing relief, to professional licensing access, employment rights, housing insecurity and family reunification and child support,” the nomination letter said.

“We all very much believe in what we do here at Rubicon, how important it is and the services that we can provide participants and the relationships we've formed with participants,” Williams says. “We really care about them. We want the best for them and for them to be able to move forward and do the things they're meant to do.”

Click here to read more about Williams’ recognition as a 2022 Social Impact Woman to Watch and to see the full list of finalists.

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New Returning Home Career Grant Pilot Program to Improve Life Outcomes for Justice-Involved Adults

By Rubicon Author February 17, 2022

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA – Rubicon Programs, as the lead agency in the Better Careers Design Group (BCDG), will launch the pilot of the Returning Home Career Grant this month to support at least fifteen justice-involved adults in Alameda County. Collaborating on this project since 2020, the BCDG is a partnership composed of five prominent organizations: Rubicon Programs, Alameda County Workforce Development Board, Growth Sector, Alameda County Probation Department, and Third Sector. With seed support from the James Irvine Foundation, the project features two primary components aimed at improving quality of life and economic outcomes for adults who are returning home from incarceration.

The first component of the project is providing direct monetary and mentorship support to those re-entering the workforce following incarceration. Participants selected for the pilot will receive a $1500 monthly stipend for 9-18 months. This model represents a larger monthly investment over a longer period of time than other regional stipend programs aimed at providing a guaranteed basic income, representing a total investment of up to $27,000 per participant in stipends alone. The monthly stipend is unrestricted for the participants, meaning there are no reporting or expense tracking requirements tied to receiving the funds. Participants will have the ability to spend the funds as needed for basic needs such as shelter, food, transportation, or other expenses that would otherwise be a burden to cover while working towards their career goals.

Dr. Carole “DC” Dorham-Kelly, President and CEO of Rubicon Programs, emphasizes that unrestricted grant support is a vital investment in facilitating the individual and community shifts that the project aims to create. “Incorporating best practices from established GBI programs, minimizing restrictions on how beneficiaries can use the funds is essential to maximize flexibility and true impact on quality of life,” Dorham-Kelly says. “This level of unrestricted support to a community that has long been distrusted, discounted, and kept on the fringes aims to ignite new narratives of equity, inclusion, and worthiness.” 

The pilot cohort will be limited to referrals received from eligible Community Based Organizations (CBOs) providing pre-release and post-release services to justice-involved adults. Select CBO partners will nominate participants who are engaged in their programs and services, for whom this grant opportunity will alleviate barriers to employment and career mobility. In addition to financial support, the partner CBOs will provide one-on-one mentorship and goal support. Mentors will help participants map out their career pathways, explore county resources or services, and keep track of their achievements.

The second component of the project is developing a Fair Chance Hiring Video for employers. This multi-media tool will build the capacity and awareness of local employers who are uncertain of the benefits and considerations for hiring justice-involved job applicants. The video will feature snapshots of people leaving jail or prison, navigating various circumstances, pursuing career goals, and successfully entering diverse industries. The goal of the digital piece is to encourage more employers to support, train, and hire more justice-involved adults directly.

By focusing a portion of the pilot on confronting stereotypes around justice-involved job seekers, the project will address systemic barriers to career mobility in addition to individual challenges. The video will address common assumptions about justice-involved individuals in an effort to change employers’ hearts and minds, particularly about people with “serious” or “violent” convictions.

Donté Blue, Rubicon’s Chief of Programs, explains the significance of the video component to the project. “This video is important because we have always felt finding the best worker from the entire pool of potential employees is a good business decision,” Blue says. “But more importantly, while everyone in the community tends to agree reducing crime is a good thing, giving work that can sustain a formerly incarcerated person and their family is a proven crime prevention strategy at work.”

Through an equity-based continuous improvement plan, the BCDG will collect information from career grant recipients, engaged employers, and mentorship partners to better understand their experiences and outcomes and make appropriate adjustments over the course of the pilot. The goal is to learn from and improve upon the project over the course of the 18-month pilot so that participation leads to improved economic outcomes and quality of life for justice-involved individuals. The BCDG expects that the success of the project will lead to an extension beyond the pilot period.

Rubicon Programs received seed funding of $500,000 from the James Irvine Foundation for the pilot’s first year, which coincides with the 2022 calendar year. Without additional funding, the duration of support will be limited to 9 months, rather than the 18-month design. Additional unrestricted funding is being sought by Third Sector and Rubicon Programs to support the pilot through the remaining nine months, as well as to expand the project to serve up to 25 individuals. Ongoing funding to support the program beyond the initial pilot is also being prospected from public and philanthropic sources.

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Meet the PAB, the Rubicon Participants Who Guide Policy and Practice

By Rubicon Author February 8, 2022

Rubicon’s Participant Advisory Board (PAB) provides essential participant input and feedback on many aspects of our work. From being a part of interview panels for job candidates to joining strategy committees for new programs and events, PAB members have regular and ongoing opportunities to engage with and improve Rubicon’s work. Learn more about the PAB’s work here, then continue reading below to meet members of Rubicon’s 2022 Participant Advisory Board and learn about the work they are doing in the community.

Alex 

Joined: October 2019

Why I joined the PAB: It’s my passion to help the community and Rubicon represents that and gave me the opportunity to exercise my passion in a positive way.

My favorite project I’ve been a part of: My favorite project was going out and helping feed the homeless. It was awesome recruiting some other people here and helping them get their life back on track, letting them know what was offered here and how much they can make a difference—letting them know that there is still hope. I’m 65 years old, and I feel I have a great rapport with the community and partnerships that I have known for over 40 years. I feel they listen to me. My voice matters in the Richmond communities.

What I’m looking forward to next: I’m looking forward to making some changes with helping raise funds to house the homeless. I’ve gained good relationships with some realtors and landlords that are willing to partner with Rubicon and help and get some of our homeless housed. My goal is to get a system going that is supported by leadership to help rid our city of the poverty that many of our participants are living in! 

Darcy

Joined: January 2022

Why I Joined the PAB: I joined PAB to engage and connect with our communities, be a voice for change, participate in leadership development and to better serve the mission and vision of Rubicon Programs.

My favorite project I’ve been a part of: sitting in on, and participating in, interviews for staff positions.

What I’m looking forward to next: Working within the PAB to implement change in the community and within Rubicon so that the Rubicon mission of eliminating poverty in the East Bay can be carried out in a renewed and strengthened manner.

Darease

Joined: 2019

Why I joined the PAB: I joined when I found out how they help the community and that I will be playing a big role and involved in a lot of decision-making opportunities for Rubicon and other programs and events.

My favorite project I’ve been a part of: My favorite project that I have worked on is feeding the homeless, bringing them food, hot meals, hygiene kits etc. Also, when the holidays come around, we give out dinners and presents to the families that are in need.

What I’m looking forward to next: What I am looking for next is something big, as in us having more sponsors, people recognizing us, knowing who we are and what we do for the community and for Rubicon.

Gail 

Joined: March 2018

Why I joined the PAB: I joined P.A.B because of the opportunity to participate in work and a mission that I truly believed in. Most of all, it allowed for me to be a voice of impact, making contributions to processes and improving some areas of services to our community. I've always wanted to ensure that I was heard and that the voice of our community and participants were heard. I believed that poverty excluded many folks in our community. Bringing their voices to the forefront actually works to eradicate poverty in our communities.

My favorite project I’ve been a part of: I like working on initiating new projects to improve the opportunities of our participants. Serving on the interview panels allows for me to guide the organization in a way that is impactful. I enjoy connecting with community partnerships to share resources with our participants!

What I’m looking forward to next: I really would like to develop a program where we can help all of our participants obtain better employment, and implement a housing project where we can begin raising funds to help them connect these two important pathways. This focus will make great strides for our participants' success and for the organization’s fundraising efforts. When our participants can visualize change based on their contributions, they will move on to evoke change in the greater challenges of their communities. I want to influence our communities to fall in love with making a difference!

Rena

Joined: September 2021

Why I joined the PAB: I benefited so much from the services Rubicon offered.  When I was told about the role that PAB members play, not only with Rubicon, but within the community... I just wanted to be a part of that. 

My favorite project I’ve been a part of: Participating with grocery donations during the holidays to help families who are less fortunate have food to share with their families during the holiday season. It feels good to be able to help people.

What I’m looking forward to next: I'm looking forward to being able to serve in my community and help make change. 

Ricardo

Joined: May 2021

Why I joined the PAB: I joined P.A.B. in order to see what I can do to serve people in my community better who are affected by the same issues I have faced. I joined in order to see and learn and share my experiences to better understand the issues around my community that have plagued us for too long.

My favorite project I’ve been a part of: The most recent favorite project and board I was a part of centered around getting services in the hands of those who need them by having them complete workshops and gain literacy that will help build them into a better situation. This project also focused on the Impact Coaches at Rubicon and their role in all of this and how they can be best utilized in serving every individual they have the pleasure of meeting. This was such an amazing and great project to work with other members of P.A.B. who have helped me along my way directly or indirectly. It was very humbling and really was such a refresher to have them respect and compliment my ideas. I really feel as if the input I gave along with all the other members that worked on this project really made a difference.

What I’m looking forward to next: I am looking forward to a lot of things with P.A.B. The upcoming projects we will be working on are focused around employment, and I really am excited to see what the other members provide as far as ideas to realize the objective we are all working towards.

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Rubicon’s 2021 Legislative Advocacy Summary

By Rubicon Author January 19, 2022

Rubicon's commitment to lasting systemic change means that we go beyond our work with individuals to challenge the systems that keep people in the cycle of poverty. One way that we do this is through legislative advocacy. When a bill related to our work is introduced in the California State Legislature, Rubicon's team of attorneys will often receive requests from the public and our partner organizations to advocate for or against the bill, depending on the content. Below is a summary of the bills that Rubicon supported and opposed in 2021 and their outcomes in the Legislature, prepared by Senior Staff Attorney Sarah Williams:

  • Bills supported by Rubicon that were signed into law:
    • SB 73 (Wiener) – probation alternatives for drug offenses
      • Summary: This bill would allow the court to sentence people to probation for certain drug crimes for which there are currently mandatory minimums requiring jail time.
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/5/21
    • SB 81 (Skinner) – judicial guidance on sentencing enhancements
      • Summary: This bill would change how judges use sentence enhancements and would establish a presumption that the sentence enhancement should only be used when there is "clear and convincing evidence" that not applying the sentence enhancement would endanger the public. This would lead to fewer sentence enhancements being applied. 
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
    • AB 1259 (Chiu) – expanding access to post-conviction relief of PC 1473.3
      • Summary: PC 1473.3 allowed people who were convicted by plea bargain to request that the court vacate their conviction if they were not informed of the immigration consequences of their conviction. This bill extends PC 1473.3 to all people, including those convicted by jury trial. 
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 9/30/21
    • AB 333 (Kamlager) – The STEP Forward Act
      • Summary: This bill provides reform in sentencing related to gang enhancements.
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature signed by Governor  10/8/21
    • SB 354 (Skinner) – family reunification
      • Summary: This bill would make it easier for people with criminal histories to foster relative children who are part of the child welfare system.
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
    • AB 1540 (Ting) – Resentencing under PC 1170(d)(1)
      • Summary: California Penal Code § 1170(d)(1) allows certain law enforcement officials, including the Secretary of CDCR or any elected district attorney, to request that a person be resentenced. This bill will create procedural steps to ensure that all PC 1170(d)(1) petitions are heard by the courts by giving notifications to loved ones about their referrals, establishing court deadlines and rights to counsel, among other procedural protections.
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
    • AB 118 (Kamlager) – Community Response Initiative to Support Emergency Systems (C.R.I.S.E.S. Act)
      • Summary: This bill would create a pilot program that will support community-based responses to emergency situations instead of police-based responses. 
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
    • SB 483 (Allen): RISE Act of 2021
      • Summary: This bill would make the repeal of sentencing enhancements from SB 180 and SB 136 (passed in 2017 and 2019, respectively) retroactive
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
  • Bills opposed by Rubicon that did not pass the Legislature:
    • SB 358 (Jones): Increased Punishment for Package Theft – Opposition
      • Summary: This bill would increase the punishment for package theft from 6 months in jail to 1 year in jail. Rubicon has opposed this bill.
      • Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
  • Bills supported by Rubicon that did not pass the Legislature:
    • AB 15 (Chiu) – Tenant Stabilization Act of 2021 - extending eviction protections
      • Summary: Extends AB 3088’s COVID-related eviction protections, which included certain procedural requirements and limitations on evictions for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19 rental debt.
      • Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
    • SB 355 (Becker) – fee waiver adjustments
      • Summary: This bill would increase the number of people eligible for a fee waiver of court filing fees by expanding the eligible list of accepted public benefits and increasing the income threshold from 125% of the Federal poverty guidelines to the low level of the HUD/HCD standards.
      • Outcome: Ordered to inactive file - did not pass Legislature this year
    • SB 82 (Skinner) – petty theft is not armed robbery
      • Summary: This bill would no longer allow California's robbery law to include petty theft crimes. It would create a new category of "petty theft in the first degree," which is more serious than simple petty theft but less serious than robbery. 
      • Outcome: Held in Committee – did not pass Legislature this year
    • SB 262 (Hertzberg & Skinner) – bail reform
      • Summary: This bill would create a fairer pre-trial system by 1) reducing bail to $0 for most misdemeanors and low-level felonies; 2) ensuring people accused do not remain in custody simply because they cannot afford to pay bail and do not assume any costs of court-imposed release conditions; and, 3) requiring bail companies to refund the premiums they receive from defendants who aren’t charged; have their case dismissed or make all of their required court appearances.
      • Outcome: Ordered to inactive file - did not pass Legislature this year
    • AB 29 (Bonta) – bail reform
      • Summary: Assembly version of SB 262, described above
      • Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
    • AB 717 (Stone)  - CA IDs
      • Summary: This bill will expand the Cal-ID program so that all people released from the custody of CDCR have a chance to receive a photo identification card before their reentry into society.
      • Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
    • SB 299 (Leyva) – Police Misconduct Victim Compensation
      • Summary: This bill would remove barriers faced by victims of police violence and other violent crimes in accessing California’s Victim Compensation program.
      • Outcome: Ordered to inactive file - did not pass Legislature this year
    • SB 731 (Durazo) – Sunsetting Convictions 
      • Summary: This bill would provide for automatic record sealing and expungement after a certain period of time has passed. A similar bill was passed in 2019 (AB 1076), but that bill was only prospective. SB 731 would be retroactive. 
      • Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
    • SB 300 (Cortese) – Sentencing Reform Act of 2021
      • Summary: This bill would reform California's "felony murder special circumstance" law to ensure that the death penalty and life without the possibility of parole cannot be imposed on those who did not kill, nor intend that a person die, during a crime. SB 1437 from 2018 reformed the first-degree felony murder rule, but it did not change “felony murder special circumstances.”
      • Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
    • AB 1509 (Lee) – Anti-Racism Sentencing Reform Act for Firearms
      • Summary: This bill would end the 10, 20, 25-to-life gun enhancement law and reduce it to 1, 2, or 3 years. It would apply prospectively and retroactively.
      • Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
    • AB 256 (Kalra) – California Racial Justice Act for All
      • Summary: The California Racial Justice Act, which was passed as AB 2542, prohibits the state from seeking or obtaining a criminal conviction or from imposing a sentence, based upon race, ethnicity or national origin. It also made it possible for a person charged or convicted of a crime to challenge racial bias in their case. However, it was only prospective and not retroactive. AB 256 would make AB 2542 retroactive.
      • Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
    • AB 907 (Santiago) – Reforming Driver’s License Penalties
      • Summary: This bill would make driving on a suspended license for failure to pay a fine and driving without a license infractions, rather than offenses that can be charged as misdemeanors leading to jail time. It would also limit the fine to $50 and prohibit the addition of other fees on top of the time, and reduce the DMV points to zero.
      • Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
    • AB 470 (Carrillo) – Eliminating the Medi-Cal Asset Test
      • Summary: This bill would eliminate the Medi-Cal asset limit for programs serving senior citizens and people with disabilities
      • Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
    • AB 1308 (Ting): Fair Arrest & Conviction Relief
      • Summary: This bill applies the state’s automated process of clearing an arrest or criminal record for eligible individuals to convictions that occurred between 1973 and 2022
      • Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
    • SB 222 (Dodd): Water assistance
      • Summary: This bill establishes a Water Rate Assistance Fund that would help people who are behind on their water bills
      • Outcome: Ordered to inactive file - did not pass Legislature this year
    • SB 223 (Dodd): Water assistance
      • Summary: This bill would help low-income people maintain water service if they are unable to pay their water bill
      • Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
  • Bills supported by Rubicon that passed the Legislature but were vetoed by Governor
    • SB 804 (Glazer) – CDCR Fire Training Program
      • Summary: This bill would create a forestry training center in the East Bay for formerly incarcerated people. It would also make participants eligible for entry-level forestry positions with Cal Fire.
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; vetoed by Governor
    • AB 990 (Santiago): Rights to Visitation While Incarcerated
      • Summary: This bill would make the right to visits for incarcerated people a civil right and make it more difficult for CDCR to limit visits
      • Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; vetoed by Governor

Updated as of 12/6/21

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Rubicon’s Legal Team Provides Necessary Relief in Trying Times

By Sabrina Paynter December 9, 2021

When it comes to finding sustainable employment, many people don’t recognize the variety of ways that even minor legal issues can become barriers to work. That’s why Rubicon Programs has a team of lawyers whose goal is to identify and remove legal barriers to employment, both at individual and systemic levels.

Rubicon’s legal department works with participants at multiple points during their journeys through the programs. In the Foundations workshop series, staff attorneys offer two workshops, “Getting Started with Legal” and “Looking for Work with a Criminal Record,” that introduce program participants to the legal support that they can engage with at Rubicon.

Pat Kaspar, Senior Staff Attorney for Rubicon Programs, says the key to supporting participants is through preventative rather than reactive services. “We want to identify potential issues before things become a crisis,” Kaspar says. “Sometimes, people might not even know what is a legal concern until it’s too late; that’s where we can ask questions to learn more about their situation.”

In addition to the group workshops, attorneys meet with participants one-on-one to perform “legal checkups” that help them determine the next steps. Attorneys and participants work together to decide what might work best for their particular situations before coming up with a holistic strategy together.

“It’s nuanced,” Kaspar says. “Especially in family law, we have to decide what makes sense in the long haul. Litigation isn’t always the best option.” Because of the emphasis on individual participants’ goals, Rubicon attorneys spend a lot of their time outside of the courtroom negotiating and advocating on behalf of participants.

Senior Staff Attorney Sarah Williams says that Rubicon attorneys have the benefit of working with participants over many years to help improve their outcomes. “That’s something a lot of attorneys don’t have, is helping people take little steps,” Williams says. “We can see the whole person and their progress over years and years.”

The legal team also participates in regional and statewide advocacy, as invited. Attorneys respond to requests from other community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and legislatures to write and sign letters of support for policy proposals that align with Rubicon’s values. Williams also compiles an annual legislative update for Rubicon staff so that those working directly with participants can know ahead of time about how new laws might be affecting people differently each year.

Aside from working with participants who might need to appear in court, Rubicon attorneys provide an array of legal services that cover record expungement, traffic ticket forgiveness, housing, employment discrimination, and appealing denial of employment based on the Fair Chance Act, among others. The legal services are designed to reduce barriers to employment and economic mobility that might otherwise prevent a participant from moving forward in life.

“We’re with participants as long as they’re active and engaging with us,” Kaspar says. “One participant showed me that my business card was the only card that he had in his wallet. It’s comforting for people to know that they have someone they can call if something comes up.”

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