Re Entry Facility
January 13, 2011
Vacaville City Council supports AB 900 re-entry facility on grounds of CMF
In other matters, the council voted 4 to 0 to support the building of an inmate re-entry facility on state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation grounds near the California Medical Facility. Councilman Mitch Mashburn recused himself due to a potential conflict of interest.
Thus far, two sites have been proposed. Costs at either location reportedly are comparable. While prison officials preferred one location due to better accessibility, the council was divided...
LINK - TheReporter.com
September 1, 2010
Re-entry prison facility on hold due to site issue
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may have to go back to the drawing board when it comes to finding a site for the proposed prison re-entry facility.
The proposed facility would house Solano County prisoners who are serving the final year to 18 months of their sentence and would help to acclimate them to the community once again.
After talks of building the facility in Fairfield had fallen through, the CDCR had hoped to build the facility near the intersection of Cordelia and Chadbourne roads, adjacent to the sewage treatment plant in an unincorporated area of Solano County...
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
June 9, 2010
With prison hospital, Stockton learns how to bargain
If there's a bully in California government, it is the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The CDCR likes to pick on Stockton by dumping prison facilities here.
Unfair? Costly to you? San Joaquin County groans with three prisons already? Too bad. We're opening three more: a re-entry facility and two prison hospitals.
That's how the CDCR operates. CDCR is the unjust agent of a dysfunctional state that runs roughshod over poorer and politically weak communities.
This time, there was a second player: a court-appointed federal prison hospital receiver. For J. Clark Kelso, too, Stockton's needs were an afterthought...
LINK - Recordnet.com
December 12, 2009
Former NCWF gets ready to become state’s first “Re-Entry” prison
Few local residents know much about a former women's prison that sits idle on Arch Road about two miles east of Highway 99.
Aside from the wind, little has blown through the prison's concertina wire fences since the state closed it in 2003. An occasional film crew has set up, and correctional officials use the empty cellblocks to practice tactical maneuvers.
The prison will soon get a new life…
LINK - RecordNet.com
May 6, 2009
Yolo supervisors sentence Yolo prison idea to the scrap heap
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to kill construction of a proposed rural state re-entry prison.
Supervisors decided that with a looming $24 million budget deficit and limited staff resources, continuing to pursue the re-entry prison is no longer worth the time and effort.It was a different story last September, when supervisors offered the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation a site in the small community of Madison, against the angry protests of rural residents.
In the deal, Yolo County was eligible for $30 million for an expansion of its overcrowded jail in Woodland. The funding was part a statewide prison reform effort, signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in May 2007…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
May 3, 2009
Rural ‘re-entry’ prison proposal may die Tuesday
Yolo County's pursuit of jail expansion funding by way of giving the state a rural site for prison construction might be dropped Tuesday with the availability of the money becoming increasingly uncertain. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to reconsider at Tuesday's meeting the county's application for the bond funds through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or CDCR. Yolo County qualified for $30 million for an expansion of the overcrowded county jail, under Assembly Bill 900 signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in May 2007.
The board approved a private property at County Road 90 and State Route 16 near small unincorporated town of Madison to be offered to the state as a site for a prison re-entry facility. The decision, arrived at in a meeting last September, was and remains hotly contested by residents of the rural county…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
April 30, 2009
Atwater backs new site for women’s correctional facility
In an effort to keep the jobs and tax dollars of a proposed female rehabilitation center in Atwater, the City Council endorsed a new site for the facility away from the first choice near a local school.
On Monday night, the City Council unanimously voted to send a letter to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation backing the change of location for the facility.
The letter would support the effort of Chris Cammack, the developer of the proposed 100-bed Female Rehabilitation Community Correctional Center…
LINK - MercedSunStar.com
April 24, 2009
Save Rural Yolo County offers reward for sign vandals
A $500 reward is being offered by Save Rural Yolo County for the arrest and conviction of the people who vandalized the organization's signs along Highway 16 east of Madison.
The grassroots group, whose members oppose the construction of a state prison in Madison or any other area of rural Yolo County, made a number of signs stating, "Save Rural Yolo County-No Prison," and placed them on private property throughout the county. On the evening of April 20, someone vandalized five signs that were placed along State Highway 16 between Interstate 505 and County Road 98. The signs were defaced with orange spray paint and cut down.
About two weeks ago, at least four other signs were stolen from private property…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
April 2, 2009
Prisoner re-entry still a hot topic at Cal State San Bernardino symposium
The proposed Crest program - intended to help former inmates resume lives as responsible citizens instead of returning to crime - is still in need of funds.
The program is built on the idea that since California's legions of prisoners are eventually going to be released, it makes sense for governments and nonprofits to provide services that help ex-offenders live honest lives instead allowing them to be trapped in an expensive and dangerous cycle of recidivism.
"If they (former inmates) are standing next to me at the grocery store, I hope they have a job, they have a family connection, they're off drugs," said Carolyn Eggleston, director of the Center for the Study of Correctional Education at Cal State San Bernardino…
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
January 12, 2009
State closes restitution centers for white-collar prisoners
The program seemed a model of corrections reform in tight fiscal times: The mostly white-collar criminals who were enrolled saved taxpayers moneyby living in group homes instead of in state prison and held jobs that helped cover rent and restitution to victims.
Among the graduates of the state's two restitution centers, both in Los Angeles, is former Compton Mayor Omar Bradley, who provided job training for the disabled in Carson while serving time for using his city-issued credit card for personal expenses.
But on Thanksgiving Eve, state officials shut down the program and sent the 74 enrolled offenders to prisons, not even giving them time to tell their employers. Corrections department officials, ordered to cut their budget by $800 million this year, said California could no longer afford the program….
LINK - LATimes.com (The Los Angeles Times)
October 9, 2008
State offers county $100 million for new jail, but strings attached
State corrections officials are dangling $100 million in front of San Mateo County to build a new state jail, but county officials say they'll probably decline because of strings attached to the money — including a stipulation that a site be selected within 90 days.
County officials say they're having a hard enough time picking a spot for a proposed new county jail. "A lot of it's timing, too," Board of Supervisors President Adrienne Tissier said. "You're talking within 90 days. Well, that's not going to happen."
The proposed state lockup would house as many as 500 prisoners who are in the last year of their sentences…
LINK - InsideBayArea.com
September 24, 2008
Opinion: “Kelso Sends Letter to Favored Few, Afraid to Face Ventura County Residents”
For months the prison czar, Clark Kelso, has been threatening to open a 1500 bed prison hospital in Ventura County. This guy is such a wimp that he has refused to come into the county and meet with the citizens. Today he sent a letter to "concerned citizen's". Did you get your copy? I didn't, but a friend sent it to me.
Kelso wants you to know why he is doing this to us, but is afraid of coming to the county and answering questions. That is why he sent a letter to a few people–he is unwilling to face the people of Ventura County, he is unable to answer our questions, and when he places 1500 criminals in our county, and the gangs that will visit them, he will continue to live in his safe community, far from any prison.
On October 6 a court will determine if he can steal $8 billion to build his prisons. What he did not note in his court filings is that he refuses to have any legislative over site. Then when the prisons are finished he is refusing to be audited by the legislature or an independent public agency. This is how they do it in Chicago, not California…
LINK - VenturaCountyStar.com
September 15, 2008
Council asked to offer resolution to support re-entry facility
The Paso Robles City Council will consider tonight whether to throw its support behind the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to use the former El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility as the preferred site for a 500-bed, joint re-entry facility to house inmates from San Luis Obispo, San Benito and Santa Barbara counties.
The re-entry facility, to be located at the former boys school site on the same site as a 1,000-bed medium risk facility and 80 to 200-bed fire camp, would be constructed from the ground up and house male, low-level inmates older than age 50 nearing parole. The council's approval of the conditional resolution of provisional support is tied to a separate, yet parallel issue involving jail funding for the counties who are involved in the re-entry proposal.
In order for the funding to move forward, the counties must provide the state Corrections Standards Authority a package that includes resolutions of support for the reentry sites by all the counties and the city on Thursday, Sept. 18…
LINK - PasoRoblesPress.com
September 10, 2008
Kings Co. delays prison program land sale
Feeling heat from angry residents, the Kings County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday backed off selling 15 acres of county property to the state so it could build a 500-bed re-entry program for state prison inmates a year from being set free.
The county simply took no action on signing a proposed agreement for a site with the state, but voted 3-2 to seek a 30-day extension from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation so it could find a better site that might draw less community opposition.
Supervisor Tony Oliveira proposed the extension on grounds that "the general public has not had time to have input" on where the facility would go. He got support from fellow supervisors Tony Barba and Joe Neves…
LINK - FresnoBee.com
September 10, 2008
Other counties counting on Paso facility
Officials from Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and San Benito counties will go before a state prison review panel Sept. 18 to convince the state to fund the construction of a tri-counties "prisoner re-entry facility" in Paso Robles.
The idea behind the facility is to address the high rate at which released state prisoners commit new crimes. The facility would offer drug treatment and job training, for example
If the project gets built, all three counties would receive millions of dollars in conditional grants from the state to subsidize local jail projects…
LINK - NewTimesSLO.com
September 4, 2008
Yolo airport site explored for prison re-entry facility
Local officials have identified a site at the Yolo County Airport as a possible location for a proposed state prison re-entry facility.
A town hall-style meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. today in Lillard Hall, 24905 County Road 95, to discuss potential effects on the area.
The county has applied to host a re-entry facility in exchange for $30 million from the state to expand its overcrowded jail in Woodland…
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
August 27, 2008
Re-entry site opponent collects 500 signatures
A woman has collected the signatures of more than 500 Monterey County residents opposed to the state building a prison re-entry facility in Salinas.
Jonabel Perez of Salinas took the signatures to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday afternoon before she and another Salinas resident spoke against constructing the proposed 500-bed facility.
As part of her effort to keep the facility out of the city, Perez has formed a group she's calling Families for a Better Salinas, which has spent the past couple of weeks gathering signatures…
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
August 27, 2008
County seeks answers about facility
With the deadline approaching to identify a site for a proposed state prison inmate re-entry facility, county supervisors expressed concerns Tuesday about the progress being made with state prison officials.
Supervisors received a status report from county staff about efforts to choose a final site for the 500-bed facility, which would house inmates in the final year of their sentence who are due to be released to Monterey County. Identifying a site for the facility is a precursor to receiving an $80 million grant to help expand the county's already overcrowded jail.
County and Salinas officials have until Sept. 13 to formally agree on a site with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the supervisors are set to take final action on that agreement at their next board meeting Sept. 9…
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
August 26, 2008
Budget woes hold up prison reentry program
The state's lack of a budget isn't making things easier for those trying to create a new prisoner reentry program for the Inland Empire.
"Everybody's at a standstill," said Andrea Mitchel, a consultant working a proposed reentry program called Crest.
Mitchel said Crest organizers are seeking funds from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
"We're hopeful. Nothing can really happen until the state has a budget," she said…
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
August 25, 2008
Opinion: “Prison deal bittersweet”
San Joaquin County supervisors were correct in withholding judgment on a proposal for an 1,800-bed prison hospital on the grounds of an abandoned Stockton youth prison.
The hospital would be one of seven being pushed by J. Clark Kelso, a receiver under orders from the federal court to upgrade the state's deplorable prison medical system. Kelso says the upgrade will require some 10,000 hospital beds and cost in the neighborhood of $8 billion. For months he has been negotiating with state officials to get the funds, but all that talk has come to naught, and this month he asked the court for permission to simply seize the money from the state's general fund…
LINK - Recordnet.com
August 21, 2008
State Changes Tune on County-Run Jail Facility
Just more than a month ago — after working with the state for several months under the presumption that it had its permission — the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department received word from the state that it will in fact not be able to run what had been planned to be a jail with a re-entry facility in North County. On July 3, the Sheriff's Department received a letter from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation notifying them that a contracted law firm offered a legal opinion that the planned joint facility couldn't be operated by the county under the terms of AB 900, which set aside $1.2 billion for new jails…
LINK - Independent.com (The Santa Barbara Independent)
August 13, 2008
Re-entry prison plan at former Paso Robles boys school gets bigger
Discussion of whether to put a re-entry prison on state-owned land in Paso Robles is heating up again as corrections officials consider a new round of grant funding, and such a facility could be twice as large as previously proposed.
Sheriff's Department officials in Santa Barbara County now want to be part of a 500-bed re-entry prison that would be located in Paso Robles.
A previous proposal for the Paso Robles site called for a 250-bed facility to house inmates from San Luis Obispo and San Benito counties (50 of them would be from San Benito)…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
August 13, 2008
State finds re-entry prison site unsuitable
A site proposed for a 500-bed state prison re-entry facility in Salinas has been found unsuitable by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The parcel, which sits on the old Natividad hospital campus, is inadequate because of its size, elevation and a road running through it, said Wayne Tanda, executive director for the Monterey County Resource Management Agency.
"(CDCR) consultants and staff had indicated that the site presented to them a number of challenges," Tanda said…
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
August 8, 2008
Re-entry prison views are aired
Residents aired their views on community safety vs. parolee rehabilitation at a community meeting Thursday night to discuss the proposed building of a state prison re-entry facility in Salinas.
More than 60 Salinas-area residents attended the two-hour meeting at Sherwood Hall, some of them weighing in on the issue before Monterey County and Salinas city leaders vote to decide whether the state can build a prison re-entry facility which would house up to 500 nonviolent inmates serving the last year of their sentences.
"If we want to lower crime (in the county) we need to turn the tide and this is the first step," said Monterey County Sheriff Mike Kanalakis…
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
August 4, 2008
Ex-con pushes for re-entry facility
Charles Russell swears by the power of God and vocational training.
After a rough upbringing in South Central Los Angeles and 20 years in and out of state prison, the 51-year-old Greenfield resident credits his current life with wife, children and his own home to finding religion and learning a trade during his last stint at the California Correctional Center in Susanville.
When he walked out of there 14 years ago, he had a job, a house waiting for him and the determination to not go back…
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
August 2, 2008
Opinion: “Re-entry program a good choice”
Make no mistake: Hundreds of state prison inmates who've done their "time" return to Monterey County every year.
AdvertisementBy law, the state sends them back to their county of residence.
Until now, they were given a bus ticket home and stepped off the coach with $200 in their pocket. Some of the drug addicts among these parolees would find the nearest pusher and pick up where they left off. Those parolees who actually sought a positive change for themselves arrived "cold turkey" back in the community with few if any job skills, no social orientation or preparation for their return to society. In effect, the chances were slim that they would "make it" back in the real world. The system proved them right: Seven in 10 parolees ended up back in prison…
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
July 24, 2008
Opinion: “Shame, on Yolo supervisors”
Once again a blight will be placed on the residents of Western and Northern Rural Yolo County. How dare the county supervisors fathom the thought that the educated and culturally sophisticated residents of these communities would entertain the idea of a prison re-entry facility.
County supervisors are elected to represent the people, not their political careers nor their special interests. Yes, I understand the county will profit from this facility; however, I do not understand why they would not first contact the residents prior to their decision. This situation is a perfect example of how the county will strain a rural area and take the profit and place it within their special projects, and not place the profit back to the area being burden. Many promises come from these supposed leaders and heads of departments within our county. However, they all have something to gain, pay raises, special funding, notoriety, etc…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
July 23, 2008
CDCR Says: “Design would limit re-entry site’s use”
Design and financing restrictions for California's re-entry facilities would make it difficult to transform them into high-security prisons, a team from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation assured Monterey County officials on Tuesday.
Responding to concerns expressed by the Board of Supervisors - who in turn have heard constituents' concerns - Paula Gutierres, CDCR's deputy director of facilities planning and construction management, said the 500-bed re-entry facility planned for the old Natividad hospital site would be designed with no watchtowers, no barbed wire fences and no visible sign that the building is housing inmates…
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
July 23, 2008
Prisons make a case for facility
Each year, hundreds of parolees return to Monterey County after serving their prison terms.
Under the old model of prison release, they're let go with $200 and a bus ticket, said Kathy Prizmich, deputy chief of external affairs for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
That's proven to be a failed approach, Prizmich said, because 70 percent of parolees are back in prison within three years…
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
July 22, 2008
State seeks prison re-entry site in Salinas
On Tuesday, state prison officials made their case to the Board of Supervisors for building a re-entry facility near Monterey County Jail in Salinas.
Under the plan, male inmates housed at the facility would receive job training and counseling for a year before they're released.
In addition to job training, inmates would receive everything from drug counseling to housing assistance to anger management. Inmates would not be allowed to leave the state-run facility while housed there…
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
July 22, 2008
Camarillo council to look at opposing prison hospital plan
The Camarillo City Council on Wednesday will consider authorizing a statement of opposition to a proposed prison hospital just beyond city boundaries and hiring a consultant to investigate environmental issues related to the facility.
A plan by federal receiver J. Clark Kelso has marked the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility, 3100 Wright Road, for replacement with a 1,500-bed hospital for adult inmates with chronic physical and mental health problems.
Kelso is charged with carrying out a federal order to bring California's prison healthcare system up to constitutional standards. A federal court determined that the quality of care given to inmates is so poor, it causes unnecessary suffering and deaths…
LINK - VenturaCountyStar.com
July 22, 2008
Supervisors hear hot issues today
A 25-year half-cent transportation sales tax. A report on a prison inmate re-entry facility. Big Sur post-fire rebuilding guidelines. The proposed Natividad Medical Center-Health Department merger. And, the most recent timeline for review of the county's long-delayed general plan.
Today's Board of Supervisors agenda includes a cross-section of some of the most high-profile issues, recent and ongoing, on the county's docket in the midst of a sparse summer schedule for the board. The public portion of the meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m., and continue with an afternoon session at 1:30.
In the morning, the supervisors will consider placing the half-cent sales tax on the Nov. 4 ballot, and hear a report from state corrections officials on the progress made in finding a site for the proposed prison inmate community re-entry facility…
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
July 22, 2008
Opinion: “State money trumps ag interests for county”
At the Zamora meeting on July 15, we learned that the county General Services suggested the sites for the proposed re-entry facility.
I am a third generation small farmer in Yolo County. The county does not allow a farmer to split a parcel from his land, even to sell to the farmer's child. The zoning laws and ordinances responsible are said to be in existence to protect the county's agricultural lands. But apparently it is a different situation if the county is offered money from the state.
The county appears to be very willing to let a landowner split a piece of land and remove it entirely from agriculture in order to provide a prison site. Isn't this exactly what the zoning laws were designed to prevent - a landowner dramatically changing the use of his land, and in so doing affecting the use of and reducing the value of adjacent properties…?
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
July 21, 2008
Opinion: “Prison facility doesn’t belong in Camarillo”
The proposed conversion of the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility into a prison facility will not solely affect the farmers, schools and residents of Camarillo. The impact on the county, as a whole, will be significant and real.
A federal court approved a plan by Federal Receiver J. Clark Kelso to build seven facilities throughout the state that would exclusively treat inmates with medical and mental-health problems, in order to improve California's prison healthcare system. The Ventura Youth Correctional Facility is a target site for one of these facilities, and would be filled with some of the state's highest-risk inmates, many of whom may require psychiatric care…
LINK - VenturaCountyStar.com
July 19, 2008
Grand Jury urges county support for re-entry facility
Just as the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury issued a mid-year report urging the county approve a re-entry facility, a delay in a much expected community meeting is making at least one Salinas council member re-think her position.
In a rare mid-year report, the grand jury is urging the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to educate the public about the issues surrounding the re-entry facility so it can get the money needed to expand the existing jail…
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
July 18, 2008
Prison plan meetings promised
Monterey County Sheriff Mike Kanalakis is promising more public outreach in coming weeks regarding plans to bring a state-run prison re-entry facility to Salinas.
While no dates have been set, Kanalakis said at least one meeting will be held this summer with Salinas residents and officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the county and city of Salinas.
"We look forward to community engagement, discussion, dialogue and feedback," the sheriff said Thursday…
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
July 16, 2008
Battle over ‘Reentry Facility’ goes before supervisors
The battle over a state prison reentry facility in Yolo County continued at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting.
Representatives from the State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation brought out a public relations arsenal ranging from environmental specialist to criminal reform experts to explain for the first directly to the public how a prison reentry facility will benefit the county.
Also on hand were about 40 residents from the Dunnigan and Zamora areas - the county's favored spot to place the proposed facility - to express their opposition to the site and frustration over why it took the county so long to come forward with the details…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
July 16, 2008
Opinion: “Cost of providing services makes re-entry facility unfeasible”
County and state officials are making every effort to convince readers that a prison re-entry facility in the Dunnigan area of Yolo County is a positive addition to the community.
In a recent front-page article regarding the proposed re-entry facility, California Department of Corrections undersecretary Kathryn Jett makes a point of saying that although highly secure, the facility will not look like a prison. It is not the look of the prison, Jett, but the lack of water, sewer, and fire protection in the area that concerns residents. She goes on to assure us that the facility will be built, funded, and staffed by the state rather than the county. Personally, I don't care if it is county or state money being spent.
Locating a facility in a rural area without a pre-existing infrastructure is simply financially irresponsible…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
July 16, 2008
Opinion: “County can’t be serious about putting re-entry facility in rural area”
While a well-designed re-entry process that allows prisoners to learn marketable job skills and transition into law-abiding citizens is a worthy goal, I have two concerns about the proposed re-entry facility for Yolo County. I find both the ambiguity of the county's role in providing "services" and the proposed location troubling.
We have no estimates of the long-term cost to the county for housing this facility. Budget shortfalls at the state level seem likely to shift more and more responsibility and expense to the county under the guise of the "collaborative partnership" so vaguely described in AB 900. Yolo County tax payers a decade from now are likely to pay escalating costs associated with services for this facility, and these costs will be even higher if the facility is located at a distance from existing county infrastructure. Surely there are less risky ways to provide funding for more beds in our jail…?
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
July 12, 2008
Letter: “Re-entry fiscal, safety nightmare”
This letter is in response to the article in the Daily Democrat of June 26, 2008 regarding the construction of a half-way prison to allow criminals a semi-short cut to serving their full sentences. Needless to say we consider this proposed prison location on Road 24 in Dunnigan Hills as an assault on our very lives.
We feel betrayed and devastated by the government of the state of our birth, that greed of a few people fired by the offing of a few million dollars for their coffers, could bring about such a callous disregard for the safety of our local citizens.
We are all aware of the recidivism rates of released prisoners. One needs only to watch the evening news to see how quickly these rehabilitated prisoners re-offend…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
July 12, 2008
State: This is no prison
Representatives from the California Department of Corrections were in Yolo County this week to better educate officials and media members about prison re-entry facilities, which now appear imminent to arrive in to Yolo County.
Corrections undersecretary Kathryn Jett, her staff and county policymakers visited the Democrat on Wednesday to set straight a number of questions and rumors that have been circulating around the county, particularly among Dunnigan residents, where officials are now looking to place such a facility.
Wednesday's public outreach effort comes after a June 23 meeting before the Zamora Advisory Committee in which County Supervisor Matt Rexroad tried to sell the idea to a crowd of angry residents, many of whom said they did not want a "mini-prison" in their town…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
July 12, 2008
Opinion: “Re-entry facility will improve Yolo’s public safety”
Public Safety is one of the most important responsibilities of government. No question. No debate. So what are we doing to ensure public safety in Yolo County?
Our jail is literally bursting at the seams. Within three years of its opening in 1983, the courts ordered a limit on the number of prisoners our jail could hold no matter how many people get arrested each day, or convicted of crimes requiring jail terms. What does that mean?
It means we can not hold all of the people that are arrested and convicted today - not in the future - today. We simply do not have enough cells to incarcerate everyone…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com
July 12, 2008
Editorial: Drop tasty carrots here
If you want to get everyone in the neighborhood to come to a meeting, tell them there's a plan to build a jail nearby. About the only thing that might stir up more interest and worry would be plans for a landfill or a power plant.
It makes perfect sense that some in Salinas are upset by the idea of 500-bed re-entry facility for state prison inmates at the Natividad Medical Center/sheriff's office/county jail complex along Natividad Road.
Call it a jail, call it a prison, call it a re-entry facility. Whichever, it would be filled with guys who were locked up in the first place because of their tendency to do bad things. Who in their right mind would ever welcome such a place into their neighborhood?…
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
July 11, 2008
Open letter to the city of Lemoore (Re: proposed re-entry facility)
I am strongly against the location of a 500-bed re-entry facility within the city of Lemoore. I remind you that two of the five long-term goals mentioned in the city of Lemoore's 2008/09 Operations and Maintenance Budget were: 1. "Preservation: Our Small Town Character" and 2. "Safe Community for Families."
The location of a re-entry facility within the city of Lemoore would be in direct opposition to these long-term goals.
The re-entry facility is to house inmates, from Kings and Fresno counties, during their last year of incarceration in hopes that family ties will enhance their rehabilitation before release. This bold approach towards rehabilitation has many public safety risks to consider…
LINK - TheLeMooreAdvance.com
July 9, 2008
Sheriff makes case for prison
Monterey County Sheriff Mike Kanalakis asked the Salinas City Council on Tuesday to support a prisoner re-entry facility next to the old Natividad Hospital in Salinas. If the council does not lend its support to the facility by Aug. 14, the county will lose $80 million in state funds to expand the ever-crowded county jail.
Residents who live close to the proposed location - the Monterey County government campus that houses the Sheriff's Office at 1414 Natividad Road - came to the meeting with concerns about bringing more violent inmates to the area.
Jonabel Perez, a mother of three, was one of 11 people to voice their opinions on the project. She told the City Council that re-entry facilities are needed, but they should not be situated in the middle of Salinas…
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
July 3, 2008
Sporks at the forefront of “green” jail effort
The "green" revolution has penetrated the fortified walls of the San Mateo County jail, taking the form of composting, recycling, energy-efficiency and sporks.
That's right, sporks. Half-spoon, half-fork and 100-percent good for the environment, according to Sheriff's deputies.
Those multi-pronged wonders will replace the 3,000 disposable plastic spoons that once traveled daily from the Maguire Correctional Facility to the landfill…
LINK - InsideBayArea.com
July 1, 2008
Prison re-entry site picked: Officials eye old Natividad grounds for facility
After looking at sites as far away as Soledad, Monterey County officials have picked the old Natividad Hospital grounds to build a 500-bed prisoner re-entry facility, practically in the existing jail's backyard.
"It was a combination of meetings with (public officials) working together collaboratively and constructively to come up with a suitable location," Sheriff Mike Kanalakis said.
Monterey County was picked by the state to receive an $80-million grant to improve its aging, overcrowded jail with one condition: Find a piece of land in the county where the state can build a prisoner re-entry facility within 90 days. The announcement was made May 8…
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
July 1, 2008
S.J. sheriff worries over med center
San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore said Monday night that he worries that plans by state prison officials to build a medical center near Stockton for chronically ill inmates could further cripple his efforts to hire deputies.
Moore's comments came Monday as state prison officials kicked off a campaign in San Joaquin County, trying to sell local officials on plans to build at least one of seven such medical centers here. They also sought input from residents.
"If I had my druthers, I'd like to see it built in another county," Moore said, explaining that his office is chronically understaffed even without competition from the state prison system. "I can't hire them as it is now…"
LINK - Recordnet.com
June 29, 2008
Opinion: “We need to plan for that day the cell door opens”
It is as important to provide re-entry programming for incarcerated individuals as it is to offer rehabilitative services to them while imprisoned, especially for youth offenders.
Juvenile delinquency is a major pipeline to the adult prison system, which is already bursting at the seams. The truth is that very few people in prison stay there forever.
It is in our best interest to invest in helping those who pay their debt to society, whether juveniles or adults, find their way back and assist them in pursuing successful living. The reality for persons returning to society from incarceration is that most must come back to the environment they were in when they got into trouble…
LINK - CommercialAppeal.com Tennessee
June 26, 2008
County on fast track to find re-entry facility site
With Coalinga now out of the picture, Kings County is eyeing properties in Hanford and Lemoore for a state re-entry facility — a proposal, if successful, that would bring the county $30 million for jail expansion in exchange. And the county has 50 days to find the place.
"There's a lot of benefits that comes with this. It would expand our jail. It would create construction jobs, and the re-entry facility itself would create 300 state jobs," said Rebecca Campbell, county management analyst. "But the overall goal is to reduce recidivism among inmates from Fresno and Kings counties."
Last month, Kings County was conditionally awarded the state money that would expand the new jail by 170 beds to solve chronic jail overcrowding…
LINK - CoalingaRecord.com
June 26, 2008
Re-enter via Dunnigan: Some say county was trying to slip prison facility by the public
What was once described by county officials as a "remote" possibility now seems an imminent reality - a state prison re-entry facility is coming to Yolo County. That has residents in the county's unincorporated areas, where the re-entry projects are proposed, angry with questions.
At a town meeting in Zamora Monday night, about 50 residents bombarded supervisors Matt Rexroad, who supports the idea, and Duane Chamberlain, who is against it, with their concerns and in some cases outright hostility toward the idea of a "mini-prison" located near their small town. Both men came to speak about the proposed facilities.
"I have never seen people this organized to defeat something in 40 years," said Keith Williams, chairman of the Dunnigan Advisory Committee, who also attended the Zamora meeting. "People do not want to see their town dominated by a prison"…
LINK - DailyDemocrat.com - Woodland, California
June 12, 2008
Alabama: State explains new offender re-entry idea
For years, people have turned to community and faith-based organizations when something bad happens. The strength of that support helped rebuild local lives after recent hurricanes and other disasters, said Bill Johnson, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.
On Wednesday, Johnson said the state is now asking businesses, faith-based and community organizations for support in what some may consider a more difficult challenge: helping prisoners successfully transition into the community.
"We know with your involvement, we will make the situation better," Johnson told the more than 100 representatives of various organizations who attended a regional meeting at Faulkner State Community College. "All we are trying to do is tap into this great desire of people to help with folks that actually need the help"…
LINK - AL.com (Everything Alabama)
June 3, 2008
Editorial: State Legislature, governor created mess with prisons
Legislators and the Schwarzenegger administration are playing a double game of dare with federal judges over how to fix the state's prisons. It's dangerous and expensive, and they're destined to lose. Probably they should, since lawmakers and prison managers have proved incapable of doing right on their own.
Last week, Senate Republicans twice thwarted a federal court-appointed overseer's request, which Schwarzenegger backs, for $7 billion in bond money to repair and build medical facilities for sick and mentally ill inmates. Having been denied, court receiver J. Clark Kelso is now vowing to seize a chunk of the money - $70 million now and $3.43 billion next year - out of the state's operating budget. That's not an idle threat; if carried out, such a move would raise the already disastrous projected deficit for next year to more than $18 billion.
Republican senators argue that it's premature to fork over the money while separate court-guided negotiations continue about reducing the prison population…
LINK - MercuryNews.com
May 22, 2008
Ionia jail attempts to educate parolees to keep them from returning
IONIA — In a small gym in the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility, about 20 prisoners from Kent and Allegan counties sat in front of Grand Rapids police officers, much like the ones who put them behind bars in the first place.
Prison officials teamed up with law enforcement officers as part of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative, which aims to change prisoners' perspectives about police rather than viewing officers as waiting for them to do something wrong. The program connects those soon to be paroled with the resources needed to succeed in their new lives.
The hope is to keep them from returning to prison…
LINK - MLive.com (Everything Michigan)
May 20, 2008
Donovan Inmates Enrolled In Prisoner Re-Entry Program
Prison overcrowding is forcing the state corrections department to take a new look at rehabilitation of inmates. Now, a pilot program in Otay Mesa offers inmates a chance to get out of prison, and never go back.
Forty-year-old Brian Williams is learning how to repair computer and cable television networks while serving a 16-month sentence at Donovan State Prison in Otay Mesa.
"I could have come to prison and learned to become a better criminal, or through this program learn a skill to be gainfully employed with a new career," Williams said…
LINK - CBS8.com San Diego
May 14, 2008
San Joaquin County gets what it needs
San Joaquin County got everything it sought for our County Jail expansion. Now it's up to us to build it and stanch the revolving-door jail operations.
The state Corrections Standards Authority said last week that the county will receive $80 million to help pay for a 1,280-bed expansion of the jail. That's everything the county asked for when state officials suggested - no, more than suggested, they said outright - state money would be forthcoming for a jail expansion if locals went along with a plan to open the shuttered women's prison as a re-entry facility for men.
Mind you, county officials were not happy about the possibility of another state prison facility here. We have more than our share. But they also were desperate for help expanding the jail, operating under a court-ordered population cap that means people who should be there are released because there is no room…
LINK - RecordNet.com
May 14, 2008
Reforms could add 2,000 beds at Deuel
TRACY - Under state prison reform plans, Deuel Vocational Institution, a medium-security facility near Tracy, might add 2,000 new beds, the prison's acting warden told a group of community leaders Tuesday.
Deuel's Steven Moore said part of a $7.7 billion prison reform bill signed into law one year ago could pay for construction of 500 new beds at the Tracy prison to relieve overcrowding.
Deuel also is being considered for a 1,500-bed medical center, he said.
The federal appointee overseeing California's prison health care system said the location of youth prisons south of Stockton also has been discussed for possible expansion and is even more likely to be picked for a regional medical center for adult inmates…
LINK - RecordNet.com
May 9, 2008
Re-entry site refusal pushed Shasta out of top money
Shasta County lost its bid for $24.9 million in state funding to build a 221-bed jail expansion because, unlike competing small counties, it declined to provide a site for a state prison re-entry facility.
Sheriff Tom Bosenko said Shasta County's application ranked sixth out of 10 small California counties that applied for the money. The top four were awarded portions of the $100 million available to small counties.
Bosenko said he spoke with several members of the executive steering committee that reviewed and ranked the applicants…
LINK - Redding.com
May 9, 2008
Grant to expand jail OK’d: County must find site for re-entry facility
Monterey County is set to receive $80 million in state funds to expand its long-overcrowded and outdated county jail, but there's still a catch — and it's a big one.
Officials have 90 days to find and clear title on a site suitable for the state to build a 500-bed prisoner re-entry facility.
The county's long hoped-for jail expansion funds are inextricably tied to state plans to set up re-entry sites around California intended to improve paroling inmates' chances of succeeding once they return to their communities…
LINK - MontereyHerald.com
May 9, 2008
California picks 12 counties to share $750 million in jail funds
Twelve California counties, including Yolo, are in line to receive a combined $750 million in jail construction funds under recommendations released Thursday by the state Corrections Standards Authority.
To qualify for the jail money authorized by lawmakers last year, the counties had to agree to site new "re-entry" prisons designed to improve rehabilitation programs and smooth short-term inmates' transition home.
The legislation, Assembly Bill 900, contained the jail money to stanch the early releases of tens of thousands of offenders every year from the overcrowded county systems, many of which are operating under court-ordered prisoner population caps…
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
May 9, 2008
County just misses cut for women’s jail funding; status of re-rentry facility in Paso unknown
San Luis Obispo County lost out on a $25.1 million grant that county officials had hoped to use for a new women's jail.
The state Correctional Standards Authority on Thursday preliminarily doled out $650 million in grants to eight counties of similar or larger size. San Luis Obispo County was ninth on the list.
The announcement is a blow to the women's jail project, which has been a focus of Sheriff Pat Hedges because the current jail is too small. County officials said the $30 million to $40 million project likely will be put on hold…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
May 8, 2008
County gets $100 million to expand jail by 790 beds
Kern County has been tentatively awarded a $100 million state grant to construct 790 beds in a new jail building at Lerdo Jail.
The Corrections Standards Authority, a division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, made a preliminary award to Kern County, said department Press Secretary Seth Unger Thursday afternoon.
The funding comes from Assembly Bill 900, approved in 2007. Unger said Kern's petition in the competitive bid for funding got the third highest mark in the state…
LINK - TradingMarkets.com
May 8, 2008
Man escapes from re-entry center
An inmate escaped Wednesday morning from a secured section of the Casper Re-entry Center, the Natrona County Sheriff's Office said today.
Security tapes showed Michael Issac Green, 28, going over a wall at the facility and running out the front gate at about 6:30 a.m., said Sgt. Mark Sellers.
The escape was reported to the sheriff's office at 7:40 a.m., about the time the re-entry center determined he was missing while performing a head count…
LINK - JacksonHoleStarTrib.com (Jackson Hole Star Tribune)
May 8, 2008
San Joaquin on track to get $80 million for expanded jail
San Joaquin County is poised to receive the full $80 million it requested from the state to expand the overcrowded jail by 1,280 beds.
The cash would come from a $750 million pot being awarded by the state through prison-reform legislation.
Counties were judged on a point system based on criteria ranging from the need for expansion to committing to host prison re-entry facilities and programs for inmates returning to their home counties.San Joaquin, Calaveras, and Amador counties all received full re-entry points because of a plan to house a regional re-entry facility for those three counties in a deactivated women's prison in Stockton…
LINK - RecordNet.com
May 6, 2008
Saginaw halfway house protesters consider options
SAGINAW, MICHIGAN - Neighbors filled Saginaw City Council chambers to capacity and queued up to express their anger Monday, but opponents have few remedies to ward off an under-construction halfway house on the Northeast Side.
Leaders didn't break any rules last fall when they OK'd a the home where 38 former federal prisoners could transition into society.
"This is a slap in the face," said Mary C. Washington, president of the 100-member Northeast Saginaw Neighborhood Association. "Everybody left very sad tonight. We'll fight this until we drop…"
LINK - MLive.com (The Saginaw News)
April 30, 2008
Paso Robles: Re-entry prison idea up in the air
It is nearly certain that a 900-inmate state prison and 100-inmate fire camp will be hosted at the closing El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility site, attendees of two public meetings this week learned. But the fate of a proposed regional re-entry prison — with 250 inmates who would be paroled to San Luis Obispo County and San Benito County — is up in the air.
Re-entry prisons are places where inmates within one year of their release date receive training, education and counseling to help them prepare for their release into everyday life.
Several things must happen for the re-entry plan — part of a statewide effort to cut down on inmates returning to jail after they are released — to move forward…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
April 29, 2008
Some answers given to residents about future of Paso boys school
Paso Roblans concerned about the state's plans for the next life of the El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility got the change to question state officials for the first time Monday night.
The meeting, attended by about 75 people, was the first of two. A second session is today at 11 a.m. at Paso Robles City Hall.
There are three options for the site's future, which all could move forward: a 900-inmate medium security state prison; 250 inmate state re-entry facility for prisoners nearing their parole dates; and a 100-inmate fire camp…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
April 1, 2008
Prison: no returns - 2 Plans Aim to Reduce Recidivism
State and local officials said over the past week that they're still pursuing new corrections facilities that are intended to prevent San Bernardino County parolees from returning to prison. There are two types of institutions that could be used locally as attempts to reform corrections policies. One would be geared toward assisting inmates who have yet to be released from prison, and the other is intended to serve probationers and parolees who are at risk of being sent behind bars.
But at this point, it's still not certain when those new institutions may be parts of the county's public safety landscape. Despite officials' enthusiasm for the planned facilities, the state budget crisis and a lawsuit that challenges major prison reform legislation both present obstacles to law enforcement…
LINK - San Bernadino/Inland Empire Sun
March 26, 2008
Fresno Okays Correctional Facility
Fresno City Council members approved a controversial halfway house and privately run correctional facility along 'motel drive' Tuesday night, despite a crowd of people who showed up to protest the move. The former hotel will eventually house up to 300 women.
Fresno City Councilmember Mike Dages and Henry T. Perea were the only two council members who voted against the project. "I just can't see myself supporting this today," Dages said, as he explained approving the project would give a green light for others throughout the city.
Neighborhood residents and former prostitute turned community activist Carissa Phelps also attended the meeting. "We've just seen the City of Fresno really cement us in some bad precedence that sets up to be a dumping ground for prisoners all over the state," Phelps said as she left the council chambers…
LINK - ABCLocal.go.com (ABC Local News, Fresno)
March 19, 2008
Day center could lead to new jail funds
Shasta County's pursuit of a day reporting center for parolees could help bolster its chances at winning up to $30 million in state money toward a new jail.
However, at least eight other small California counties have an advantage over Shasta's application for the total $100 million available in state jail funding, Shasta County officials said at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting. Those eight counties have agreed to site re-entry facilities for rehabilitating prison inmates serving their last year of prison; Shasta County supervisors unanimously decided against the possibility last month.
The state is giving preferential consideration to counties that site re-entry facilities. But Shasta County Chief Probation Officer Brian Richart said the county's dire need for jail space could still make it one of the state's few grant recipients.
LINK - Redding.com (Redding Record Searchlight)
March 19, 2008
Prison in Paso called top priority for state; said extremely likely to become a reality
A 1,000-bed state prison for medium-risk of fenders proposed in Paso Robles is a high priority for the state and extremely likely to become a reality, officials said Tuesday night.
A design team visited the boys school site last week to draw up plans for using the buildings for the new prison, which would require additional fencing and guard towers.
The news came as the City Council peppered two high-level corrections staffers with hard questions about the future of the El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility, which will close by the end of July, at its Tuesday night meeting.
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com (San Luis Obispo County News)
March 17, 2008
Woodland in line for ‘re-entry’ prison
Resulting influx of state funds would help Yolo with its jail expansion.
Yolo County has positioned itself to receive potentially millions in state money for jail expansion by agreeing to locate a new "re-entry" prison for inmates ticketed for home.
Undersheriff Tom Lopez confirmed Friday that Yolo County has agreed to host a 150-bed re-entry facility for prisoners in the final months of their sentences at its jail campus on Gibson Road in Woodland.
The agreement gives Yolo County a big boost in its application for jail expansion money under last year's Assembly Bill 900, the state's plan to add 46,000 beds to California's prisons and jails. The bill initially had sought a 53,000-bed expansion.
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
March 13, 2008
Must Read: “Machado grills analyst on prison budget”
State Sen. Mike Machado laid it on pretty thick today in questioning a representative of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger about the administration's budget proposals on prisons.
"You have given us a very incomplete proposal," Machado, D-Linden, told Department of Finance principal program analyst Jennifer Osborn at a budget subcommittee hearing on prison spending. "It's very hard for us to believe the governor is serious about this proposal."
Machado focused his questioning on Schwarzenegger's proposal to grant early releases to 22,000 inmates at the same time it's trying to expand prison capacity by 53,000 beds. Osborn, for the most part, was at a loss for words and wound up leaving the hearing in tears.
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
March 12, 2008
San Mateo County officials apply for jail funds
Local officials will apply for a controversial state funding program that could buoy new county jail construction plans but may require a facility for state prison inmates to be built on the Peninsula. Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to pass a resolution to apply for funds from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Supervisors previously backed away from the program because of its requirement to build locked rehabilitation centers for state inmates who plan to come back to San Mateo County. But supervisors and Sheriff Greg Munks now hope the state will accept a compromise that will allow housing for some state prisoners without having to build a separate facility.
LINK - Examiner.com (The San Francisco Examiner)
March 12, 2008
County to seek property outside Soledad for state prison re-entry facility
After city officials protested, a proposed state re-entry prison facility that could house high-risk offenders may not be placed in Soledad, county leaders said today.
Trying to reach a compromise and avoid potential delays or lawsuits, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed Sheriff Mike Kanalakis to list two sites near Soledad in a proposal to the state — but make clear they are considering other, as-yet-unknown locations.
LINK - CalifornianOnline.com (The Salinas Californian)
March 11, 2008
CDCR Establishes Public-Private Partnership Strategy to Help Deliver Needed Reentry Facilities in Ca
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has issued a Request For Information (RFI) to site both Male and Female Secure Community Reentry Facilities. The advertisements, released Friday, are further indication of CDCR progress in implementing requirements set forth by the Legislature in AB 900, the comprehensive prison reform package signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on May 3, 2007.
Both of these advertisements and the follow-up Request for Proposals (RFPs) will result in the ability for CDCR to partner with private developers and public agencies to deliver community facilities throughout the state aimed at improving rehabilitation outcomes for California's inmate population.
LINK - CDCR.ca.gov (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Home Page)
March 10, 2008
Schwarzenegger’s New CDCR Appointees
Marisela Montes, 54, of Gold River, has been appointed deputy director of the division of adult institutions for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Since 2007, she has been senior adviser to the Division of Adult Institutions for CDCR. From 2006 to 2007, Montes was chief deputy secretary of Adult Programs at CDCR. She previously served as deputy director for administration at the Department of Transportation from 1999 to 2006 and chief of correctional planning and research at CDCR from 1998 to 1999. Montes held various positions within CDCR from 1984 to 1999, including deputy director of the Parole and Community Services Division and associate warden at California State Prison, Solano. Prior to that, she held positions at the Department of Social Services from 1981 to 1984 and State Personnel Board 1980 to 1981. Montes began her career in state service as a postsecondary education specialist at the California Postsecondary Education Commission in 1977. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $142,428. Montes is registered decline-to-state.
Kimberly Petersen, 45, of Modesto, has been appointed community program manager for the Northern California Re-Entry Facility in Stockton for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Since 2007, she has been a professor of victimology at California State University, Stanislaus. From 1999 to 2007, Petersen was executive director of the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation and, from 1996 to 1999, was a teacher at Joshua Cowell Elementary School in the Manteca Unified School District. From 1991 to 1995, she was recreation director for the Livermore Valley Tennis Club, and from 1987 to 1991, was a teacher and athletic director at Our Savior Lutheran School. Prior to that, Petersen was a teacher at Zion Lutheran School from 1986 to 1987. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $87,048. Petersen is a Republican.
March 10, 2008
Soledad wary of prison proposal
Soledad Mayor Richard Ortiz said Kanalakis' presentation didn't receive "a good review." "How does the city feel about it?" he said. "It doesn't feel that great about developing that prison." While Ortiz said the city would have welcomed a facility on the county-owned land that already houses two prisons, the Camphora Gloria Road site is "just a stone's throw from the city of Soledad." It's also within Soledad's sphere of influence, an area slated for future growth in the city's general plan.
Both sites would place the re-entry facility too close to Soledad residents, he said, potentially endangering them. "I think there was interest, but also concerns," Kanalakis said. "I tried to address those concerns as best as I could, but I got a sense that they felt that they might be looked at like a dumping ground."
LINK - TheCalifornian.com (Salinas Californian)
March 5, 2008
Tuolumne County “Gets in Bed” with CDCR for Re-entry Facility
By a unanimous 5-0 vote this morning the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors approved CAO Craig Pedro's recommendation that it is premature to move forward with a jail construction project at this time.
However, for the purpose of ensuring that the county would still be considered for all future state grant funding cycles, Pedro recommended that the county prepare and submit an application for AB 900 funding (the maximum allowable amount for a rural county is $30 million)…
LINK - MyMotherLode.com
March 5, 2008
Stanislaus County scrambles to find jail money
Counties that agree to having the state build a "re-entry facility" in the county or help the state with mental health and crisis care for state parolees and ex-offenders will be given preference for jail construction money, Hill Thomas said. The re-entry facility concept initially was supported by many sheriffs around the state, Christianson said. It was to house inmates in their last year of confinement, giving them training in vocational and life skills before they were released, Christianson said.
That's better than releasing inmates with bus tickets and $200 and leaving them to cope for themselves, Christianson said. However, the concept morphed into a program operated by the Department of Corrections, with no input or control by the Sheriff's Department, Christianson said. "We shouldn't allow that to happen," he said. "I'm not going to agree to site prisons that we don't have any control over."
LINK - ModBee.com (Modesto Bee)
March 4, 2008
Future of El Paso de Robles: State Proposes 1,000-inmate Prison
The former boys school in Paso Robles could become a 1,000- inmate prison after it closes in July, state prisons officials announced Monday. That new option joins two alternatives that have circulated since the closure was announced Jan. 3.
The other proposals call for a state re-entry prison with about 200 inmates and a firefighting camp. The property could house one or two of the proposed facilities, or have all three, state officials said.
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
March 3, 2008
County seeks $100 million to expand Adelanto jail
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors are expected Tuesday to request funding in the amount of $100 million to help add 1,368 additional jail beds to the Adelanto Detention Center.
On May 3, 2007, the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007 became law. Among its provisions, state agencies are authorized to enter into agreements with participating counties for the acquisition, design and construction of local jail facilities.
Up to $1.2 billion is authorized by the legislation for county jail construction in two phases. In phase one, up to $750 million in funding is available through a competitive process. The board will consider a request to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Corrections Standards Authority, asking for the funds.
LINK - VVDailyPress.com (Victorville Valley Daily Press)
February 28, 2008
Locals oppose private prison for women in Fresno
Opponents of the proposal fell generally into three categories. Many of the neighbors in the vicinity of the project did not want the facility located at the Hacienda because they were concerned about the impact the project would have on the area. […] People making this argument, which was heard several times at the hearing, said that the Addams Neighborhood has enough problems - "we don't need a prison to add to an already difficult situation."
Another group of opponents argued that opening a privately run prison in the middle of Fresno was not a good way to resolve the over crowding problems at the State Correctional Facilities in California. They presented a petition, signed by thousands of women inmates, saying that they do not want a facility like the one being proposed to be approved.
The third argument against accepting the proposal was more of a procedural argument. Several people, including an appearance by Fresno County Board of Supervisor member Phil Larson, complained that insufficient notice was given to neighbors to discuss this important issue. Most of the people making this argument wanted to have more time before a decision was made…
LINK - IndyBay.org
February 27, 2008
Contra Costa rejects plan for new prison
Responding to outcry from Antioch residents, Contra Costa supervisors on Tuesday quickly slammed the door on a proposal to build a 500-bed prison anywhere in the county.
The unanimous vote was an about-face for the board, which two weeks ago voted 5-0 to study the construction of a state rehabilitation facility at five county-owned sites. The furor began one day later, when Antioch residents were shocked to learn that one proposed site in Deer Valley was less than a mile away from two Antioch schools attended by nearly 5,000 students…
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
February 26, 2008
New parolee facility in contra costa?
Where should they build it
Why some in Contra Costa Co. want to bring parolees to the communityA new state law requires that Contra Costa County build a new facility to help get ex-prisoners back into society. It would provide services such as job training, and counseling. The biggest question: where to build it. "One of the real problems that we've seen in recent years is that approximately 70-percent of inmates that leave state prison end up coming back within three years," said Seth Unger from the California Department of Corrections.
State Corrections Officials say the current system isn't working, they want to build more re-entry facilities. Counties that agree to accept the re-entry facility would get funding priority for jail construction. Contra Costa County needs more maximum security jail space, so it's nibbling at the carrot.
LINK - ABCLocal.go.com
February 20, 2008
Shasta County: Re-entry site rejected
Consideration of a state re-entry facility in Shasta County for rehabilitating prison inmates and reducing repeat offenders died quickly Tuesday, with the county Board of Supervisors voting 5-0 against it.
Several residents who attended Tuesday's morning and afternoon board meetings called the re-entry facility a prison in disguise. Others likened the state's plan to a biting rattlesnake or a Trojan horse. Most agreed that by any name or appearance, it wasn't to be trusted. "Making it look like a Marriott doesn't make it a Marriott," said resident Dan Freitag…
LINK - Redding.com
February 19, 2008
Opinion: “Fear is a poor reason to reject re-entry facility”
Under a law passed last year, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation plans to build "secure re-entry facilities" around California as part of a push to improve inmate rehabilitation. The idea is to take convicts approaching the end of their prison terms and offer focused programs - from counseling to job assistance - to help them live a straight life on the outside.
The state hopes to ease prison overcrowding by cutting the extraordinary number of ex-cons who end up back behind bars. But if successful, the re-entry program would benefit local communities because those freed inmates would be committing fewer crimes…
LINK - Redding.com
February 19, 2008
Prisoner Re-entry Facility to Relocate
County says it should be built in Soledad
A state prisoner re-entry facility proposed for Salinas has been relocated to an area near Soledad, county officials said Friday, after the state changed the facility's potential population from low-risk to high-risk inmates.
The project is a joint venture with the county's custody operations bureau and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation…
LINK - CalifornianOnline.com
February 11, 2008
Re-entry Facility Considered for Adalanto
The Adelanto City Council may pass a resolution Wednesday in support of becoming a site for a state department of corrections and rehabilitation re-entry facility. The facility would house inmates 12 months or less prior to their release date and would provide services to prepare them to become members of the community again, said Glen Pratt, the deputy chief of corrections and detentions for San Bernardino County…
LINK - VVDailyPress.com
February 6, 2008
Re-entry Facility is Mystery for Paso
Paso Robles officials are struggling to find answers to their questions about a re-entry facility for state prison parolees that could be housed at what's now El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility. The city is suddenly in the middle of a statewide effort to revamp the way prisoners are paroled into their communities, officials said Tuesday night at a City Council meeting, and it needs more information before deciding whether Paso Robles would welcome such a facility…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
February 6, 2008
Contra Costa County May Allow Prison; Expand Jails
County supervisors are looking into a plan that would allow the state to build a small prison in Contra Costa County while at the same time expanding capacity in the county's jails, largely on the state's dime. While they are two separate projects, the proposals are part of an incentive program that aims to relieve overcrowding in the state's 33 prisons. If the county agrees to let the state build what it calls a "re-entry facility" within its borders, the county then becomes eligible for a state grant that would cover up to 75 percent of the construction costs for county jail expansion…
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
February 1, 2008
Hacienda State Prison?
Carissa Phelps (www.carissaproject.com/) got it right when she warned the community that if they did not act fast, a private corporation was going to develop the old Hacienda Hotel into a state prison, complete with razor wire, correctional officers, and high security. Phelps said that some city officials approved of the plan because it would provide some emergency housing for homeless women and it passed the Planning Commission on a 7-0 vote. Going into Wednesday night's "Truth on the Table" tour, set up by Fresno mayor Alan Autry, the proposal seemed like a slam dunk…
LINK - IndyBay.org
January 25, 2008
Meeting Gives Answers About Re-entry Facility
A grandfather worried about jail escapees, animal lovers wanted a new shelter to take priority, and some wondered about more help for Juvenile Hall. But most of the nearly 90 people attending Wednesday's public forum to discuss four potential county projects seemed focused on a potential state re-entry facility, which would house prison inmates from Shasta County and provide rehabilitative services during the last year of their sentences. "Will having a prison in the community benefit Redding?" Linda Soloniuk of Redding asked just before the meeting. "I think the answer is 'no.'"…
LINK - Redding.com
January 24, 2008
Will Reality of Re-entry Facility Match Promise?
Amid a surge of local skepticism, Shasta County and state prison officials will hold community meetings this week to give the public a much-needed chance for a closer look at a proposed new re-entry facility. On paper, the new state lockup is a promising idea…
LINK - Redding.com
January 20, 2008
Could a state prison replace boys school?
A proposal by Sheriff Pat Hedges to use the soon-to-close El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility as a state prison re- entry facility has angered Paso Robles city officials. The city learned of the plan earlier this week, said City Manager Jim App, when Hedges told Paso Robles police Chief Lisa Solomon about it at a meeting. The idea could help the county receive state funds for a separate project to build a women's jail…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
January 2, 2008
Tri-County Committee Works with State on Re-entry Facility
Calaveras County, in conjunction with Amador and San Joaquin counties, is breaking new ground in how prisoners are released back to communities. But local officials are still hammering out details with the state and have just begun the first negotiations to nail down funding for local rehabilitation programs. A Tri-County Executive Re-entry Committee is in the initial stages of laying out a plan for the first re-entry facility in the state, located in Stockton…
LINK - CalaverasEnterprise.com
December 6, 2007
County Looks at Paroles Re-Entry Program
In an effort to help paroled prisoners adjust more smoothly into their community and stay out of jail, the county may work with the state to develop a reentry plan that could accommodate as many as 200 parolees…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
