Department of Corrections’ Parole Outpatient Clinic Program

From the Introduction section of the Auditor's report:
The Parole and Community Services Division within the department's Field Operations area is responsible for supervising and providing services to felons who have been paroled. The level of supervision a parolee receives is based on factors related to the offender's history of violence and current service needs. Case assessments dictate the placement of selected parolees in a category of supervision intended to prevent, detect, or interrupt behavior likely to endanger the community or themselves. The Parole and Community Services Division oversees 136 parole offices and four regional parole outpatient clinics (clinic) that provide services statewide. The parole agent is responsible for the following tasks: supervising parolees; arranging services such as housing, medical care, employment, counseling, education, and social activities; investigating alleged parole violations; and helping assess a parolee's risk to the community and the type of services he or she requires. The department employs more than 1,700 parole agents who are responsible for the supervision of approximately 121,000 parolees throughout the State....

Audit of the Prison Industry Authority Optical Program at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility

From the Introduction section of the Auditor's report:
In response to a request from the Secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has reviewed the corrective action taken by the Prison Industry Authority (PIA) as the result of an incident in the PIA's optical laboratory at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility (R.J. Donovan). Under contract with the California Department of Health Services (DHS), the PIA makes eyewear for Medi-Cal beneficiaries. In May 1999, the optical laboratory operation at R.J. Donovan was closed because it was found that inmates had gained access to personal information of Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

Audit: Inmate Day Labor Program, Sierra (SCC)

This report presents the results of the Office of the Inspector General's audit of the Inmate Day Labor Program at the Sierra Conservation Center and the accountability and handling of potentially dangerous materials used on projects at the center. The audit was conducted during April 2000. The Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) is located in Jamestown, California. Opened in 1965 with a design capacity of 3,926, the prison is now separated into two dormitory-type facilities for minimum custody (Level 1) and low-medium custody (Level 2) inmates and a separate high-medium custody (Level 3) facility. As of March 31, 2000, the center housed 6,383 inmates, or 163% of design capacity.

Audit: Inmate Appeal & Disciplinary Process, Salinas Valley (SVSP)

This report presents the results of the Office of the Inspector General's audit of the disciplinary process and procedures for handling inmate complaints at Salinas Valley State Prison. The audit was conducted during February 2000. In August 1999, the California Department of Corrections (CDC) formed a threat assessment team to assess the operations of the Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP). The threat assessment was conducted at the request of then-Acting Warden Anthony A. Lamarque of SVSP over concerns about the possibility of a consipiracy by a gang or gangs to assault staff at the institution. The assessment also included an evaluation of general conditions affecting the overall operation of the state prison.

Utilizing Managed Care Practices, CDC

From the Results section of the Auditor's report:
The department is required to provide medically necessary health care to inmates. In 1992, the department established a health care services division, whose mission is to manage and deliver health care statewide to the inmate population consistent with adopted standards for quality and scope of services within a custodial environment. The health care services division oversees the delivery of medical, dental, and psychiatric services at the institutions. To accomplish its mission, the division operates four licensed hospitals, a skilled nursing facility, 16 correctional treatment centers (CTCs), and 12 outpatient housing units. Each licensed hospital provides 24-hour acute care services to patients who require a high level of care. These hospitals offer medical, nursing, surgical, anesthesia, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, and dietary services...

Excessive Personnel Costs Due to Poor Management Practices

From the Results section of the Auditor's report:
The department could save about $17 million a year if average sick leave use among custody staff dropped to 48 hours per year and roughly $29 million a year if it reduced its average sick leave usage to a level comparable to that of the California Highway Patrol. Besides driving up costs, the extensive use of overtime to cover employees out on sick leave often allows custody staff to earn more than their superiors; many therefore choose not to accept promotions. The department's attempts to discipline staff who claim a lot of sick leave have been ineffective in curbing excessive use. Its efforts to control sick leave costs are hampered because it does not sufficiently track the reasons that custody staff use sick leave to determine a baseline level of back-up relief staff needed and to detect patterns of excessive use...

Wasco State Prison: Concerns About Institutional Safety & Security

From the Introduction section of the Auditor's report:
In April 1999, several events occurred at Wasco that raised concerns about the safety of correctional staff and inmates. One incident involved prisoners obtaining confidential information relating to correctional officers and administrative staff. In the same month, Wasco also suffered a complete power outage that lasted for nearly seven hours. The failure of a single electrical transformer terminated the institution's incoming utility power. Because the blown transformer operates on the same electrical circuit as the emergency generators, the generators were unable to respond...

The Cost of Incarcerating Inmates in State-Run Prisons

Each fiscal year, the department calculates and publishes the amount of incarceration costs per inmate. The department's calculation focuses primarily on those operating costs directly related to housing and supporting inmates, such as food, clothing, health care, and inmate activities. For fiscal year 1996-97, the department calculated annual incarceration costs at $21,012 per inmate. We reviewed the department's calculation and found that, although it appropriately reflects many of the operating costs, it does not include all costs incurred by the State. When we included all of the costs, we found that annual incarceration costs were $24,807 per inmate for fiscal year 1996-97, $3,795 higher per inmate than the department's published figure. The total difference of costs to incarcerate inmates between the department's calculation and our estimate is $517 million....

Early Intervention Program - CDC, CYA and Dept of Mental Health

This is the second time we have reviewed a report the CDC and the CYA have prepared on the impact of early intervention. In July 1992, we cautioned readers to be wary of the results of a similar report. These two attempts to measure the effectiveness of early intervention have therefore been inconclusive. In view of this, it would be imprudent for the Legislature or the CDC and the CYA to rely on these reports in deciding the future of the Early Intervention Program....

Early Intervention Program - CDC, CYA and Dept of Mental Health

From the Introduction section of the Auditor's report:

This is the second time we have reviewed a report the CDC and the CYA have prepared on the impact of early intervention. In July 1992, we cautioned readers to be wary of the results of a similar report. These two attempts to measure the effectiveness of early intervention have therefore been inconclusive. In view of this, it would be imprudent for the Legislature or the CDC and the CYA to rely on these reports in deciding the future of the Early Intervention Program....