Rehabilitation
March 19, 2012
New lessons behind bars
At more than 50 years old, the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center doesn't look ready for a new era in criminal justice.
Some of RCCC's buildings are decrepit. Some cells have bars instead of secured doors, a relic of construction at older prisons such as Alcatraz.
But look past the tall fences with razor wire and the center's nine jail facilities, and you can see a range of activities aimed at preparing inmates for life after lockup...
LINK - SacBee.com
March 1, 2012
Editorial: Balance needed on jail spending vs. rehabilitation
Ever since lawmakers approved Gov. Jerry Brown's plan for public safety "realignment," local officials have engaged in a spirited debate about how much money should go to incarceration vs. rehabilitation.
In a letter to Sacramento County chief probation officer Don Meyer last week, Sacramento Assemblyman Roger Dickinson asked the county's Community Corrections Partnership to revisit its decision to give the bulk of the state Public Safety Realignment funding to the sheriff.
He is right to do so. The Community Corrections Partnership – which includes the sheriff, public defender, district attorney, Sacramento city police chief, the county's chief probation officer and a representative from the county's Health and Human Services Department – voted narrowly to use most of the state realignment money to expand jail capacity...
LINK - SacBee.com
June 23, 2011
Solano Grand Jury report on CMF, Solano (inmate rehab program cuts, etc.)
Following an inspection of the county's two prisons, the Solano County grand jury stated Wednesday that more could be done to reduce recidivism rates.
The grand jury's findings were published in a 10-plus page report after multiple visits to the county's two prison facilities, California State Medical Facility and California State Prison-Solano.
In its inquiry, the grand jury found that funding cuts to re-entry programs offered by the prisons have reduced the opportunities for inmates to learn skills that could help reduce the likelihood that they will re-offend and again land behind bars. To remedy the problem, the grand jury recommended the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) evaluate the programs it offers to inmates and redirect funding to those with the most impact on recidivism...
LINK - TheReporter.com
April 4, 2011
CDCR continues to cut inmate rehab programs
California has cut hundreds of millions of dollars from inmate rehabilitation programs during the past three years as it reduced its spending during the recession. Some examples of the reduced programs:
-The budget for adult rehabilitation programs was cut 36 percent to save $200 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2010. It was reduced to $364 million from $564 million the previous year.
-Another $50 million was saved the same year by delaying or reducing programs for parolees and female inmates...
LINK - VCStar.com
March 18, 2011
C-ROB March 2011 Bi-Annual Report
Pursuant to Penal Code section 6141, the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board (C-ROB or the board) is mandated to regularly examine and report biannually to the Governor and the Legislature regarding rehabilitative programming provided to inmates and parolees by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (the department).
C-ROB held its first meeting on June 19, 2007.
According to statute, C-ROB must submit reports on March 15 and September 15 to the Governor and the Legislature...
March 18, 2011
CDCR - Failing at Rehabilitation
Pursuant to Penal Code section 6141, the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board (C-ROB or the board) is mandated to regularly examine and report biannually to the Governor and the Legislature regarding rehabilitative programming provided to inmates and parolees by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (the department).
C-ROB held its first meeting on June 19, 2007.
According to statute, C-ROB must submit reports on March 15 and September 15 to the Governor and the Legislature...
September 20, 2010
Thousands of state inmates shut out of the classroom
Fewer than one in every ten California inmates are enrolled in an educational program, despite a pledge by state officials to enhance rehabilitation efforts in order to cut recidivism and relieve prison overcrowding.
An estimated 14,360 inmates were taking part in a variety of academic classes out of a total adult inmate population of 162,608, according to a report [PDF] released last week by the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board.
As part of its biannual report on the prison system, the board calculated enrollment in academic classes at 35.9 percent of existing capacity. That means that two-thirds of the classroom slots available for adult inmates in California were empty as of last June, when the data was compiled...
LINK - CaliforniaWatch.org
March 8, 2010
Budget cuts slash California rehabilitation program for prisoners
California prison officials began touting a new public safety reform in January that would encourage inmates to complete a rehabilitation course and earn six weeks per year off a sentence.
Inside Folsom State Prison, though, inmates and instructors leading such courses are skeptical it will work.
In reality, they say, budget cuts approved by legislators last year, needed to cope with an unprecedented fiscal crisis, are devastating programs that are the basis for the new credit and for helping inmates stay straight once free...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 6, 2009
Prison inmates need more education, rehabilitation - not less
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation appears to be following the "last in, first out" rule, putting rehabilitation and education programs on the chopping block as it strives to trim $1.2 billion from its overall budget.
That's a bit over a 10 percent cut. Yet the decision to slash $250 million from rehabilitation and education services will reduce those programs by more than one-third.
These are the programs the state beefed up two years ago, after a decade of studies showed that dealing with things like low literacy levels and substance abuse would save money in the long run by reducing recidivism rates…
LINK - TheReporter.com
December 5, 2009
State cuts could mean and end to classroom rehab at San Quentin
In a brightly colored classroom in an otherwise dismal place, Stanley Durden studies intently at a desk.
Durden, 51, says he wants to gain what he missed outside San Quentin State Prison - an education.
"I won't learn anything by sitting in the cell or watching TV. I prefer to have school," said Durden, who has served 10 years of a 25-to-life prison sentence for repeated burglary and robbery convictions. He wants to earn his GED…
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
November 13, 2009
Recidivism feared with rehab reduction in California prisons
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will soon slash drug rehab programs for state inmates as part of $1.2 billion in budget cuts - though some fear the severe program reduction may be more trouble than its benefit.
The system will have enough money to treat 2,350 inmates, down 80 percent from the current 12,164. State officials say between 600 and 900 counselors and teachers will be laid off in the corrections drug rehab and academic reduction plan.
The California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, which specializes in substance abuse rehabilitation, will have its treatment load reduced from 914 to 225…
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
November 9, 2009
Prison Education Cuts: Could Affect Your Safety
obs and programs are being cut at prisons across California and the changes could lead to more crimes. Central Coast News Reporter Shannon Hogan got an inside look into the prison education system.
John Holguin has been instructing inmates for more than 14 years he says he's never seen one of his former students return to prison, "We teach them responsibility how to come to work every morning, how to finish a job when they get started not to be quitters and those are more important than anything else," said Holguin.
Printing and Graphic Arts is one of the programs being eliminated due to budget cuts in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation…
LINK - KIONRightNow.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 30, 2009
Felons learn how to find jobs and lose problematic tattoos
For parolee Bradley Thrash, the tattoos on his arms and face are not just a constant reminder of a past he's trying leave behind — they are an obstacle to the successful future he sees for himself.
"A first impression is major in the job market," the Corona resident said. "Tattoos are a hindrance."
And so it was that on Wednesday, Thrash, 38, attended the New Beginnings Resource Day at the Department of Public Social Services building in Rubidoux to get information on low-cost tattoo removal….
LINK - PE.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
November 24, 2008
Revolving Doors: The Crisis in California
This is California's parole system, an overworked, underfunded system that is ill-equipped to deal with a crushing caseload of former prisoners who leave prison with a meager $200 allowance to feed, clothe and house themselves.
It's a caseload that stands to get much worse if a panel of federal judges conducting a trial in San Francisco to address overcrowding orders the early release of nearly 40,000 men and women now behind bars to ease prison overcrowding.
"California's parole population is now so large and its parole agents so overburdened that parolees who represent a serious public safety threat are not watched closely and those who wish to go straight cannot get the help they need," said a federally funded report released last month by three experts on the criminal justice system…
LINK - NCTimes.com (North County Times)
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
July 24, 2008
Grandma, kids in car for high-speed pursuit
A 26-year-old Fair Oaks man in a stolen vehicle Wednesday led officers on a high-speed pursuit through Yolo and Solano counties.
Paul Leyva, a parolee-at-large out of Santa Clara County, now faces two charges of child endangerment and four charges of kidnapping because there were three others in the vehicle against their will, said Sgt. Glenn Glasgow of the Davis Police Department.
Leyva was driving - with his grandmother, his girlfriend and her 3- and 4-year-old daughters as passengers - on Richards Boulevard and Olive Drive in Davis around 10:40 a.m. when an officer ran the plates of the stolen Hyundai Sonata, Glasgow said…
LINK - TheReporter.com
July 15, 2008
Report says Calif. should end juvenile prisons
A state watchdog commission has recommended that California phase out its antiquated juvenile prisons by 2011, replacing them with regional lockups run by the counties. The regional centers would hold only the most dangerous offenders under the proposal unveiled Monday by the watchdog Little Hoover Commission. Less serious offenders would be housed at local juvenile halls.
Commissioners said the state also should end its three-year experiment with combining youth and adult prisons under the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Authority over youth prisons would be placed under an Office of Juvenile Justice reporting to the governor until the state ends its involvement.
The report also suggests that the youth prisons do little in the way of rehabilitation, saying three of four freed young offenders commit new crimes within three years…
LINK - LasVegasSun.com
July 13, 2008
Opinion: “Get-tough policies cause more crime, deny inmates a future”
U.S. taxpayers spend at least $60 billion a year on a growing body of state and federal prisons, county jails and local lockups. With jail and prison populations that have increased nearly eightfold over the past 35 years, the United States has become the world's leading jailer.
More than one in every 100 U.S. adults is locked up — and 5 million more are on probation or parole. At any given time, one in 32 adults is under the supervision of the criminal justice system.
Tough-on-crime policies, not increases in crime, are mostly responsible. Mandatory drug sentences, three-strike and so-called truth-in-sentencing laws, as well as high recidivism rates, have created our Incarceration Nation…
LINK - FreeP.com (The Detroit Free Press)
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
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 20, 2008
Victims, inmates focus on healing
Both tears and cheers filled a room at California State Prison, Solano on Thursday as inmates both past and present, crime victims and others came together to celebrate one another and to promote the power of healing.
Twenty years ago, the Victim Offender Reconciliation Group (VORG) began its run at the prison. Members of Bay Area Women Against Rape partnered with officials to bring together inmates and crime victims and start a dialogue.
What led a man to commit a crime and be sentenced to prison? How did that crime affect the victim and others? These questions and others make both sides look within, deal with what's there and then figure out what comes next…
LINK - TheReporter.com
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 11, 2008
Opinion: “Getting more out of Texas prisons”
When it comes to the criminal justice system, Texans get what they pay for. Funding is largely based on volume — as Texas' prison population has quadrupled during the last two decades, the cost to taxpayers has risen proportionally.
Although warehousing works to the extent that inmates cannot commit another crime while in prison, 99 percent of inmates ultimately will be released — usually while still in their prime criminal years. Many of the same offenders are recycled through the system; 60 percent of Texas prison intakes are revoked probationers and parolees. The three-year re-incarceration rate of released Texas inmates has hovered around 30 percent during the past decade.
Leaders from the Texas Capitol to European houses of parliament are increasingly recognizing that reducing recidivism is crucial to controlling future incarceration costs and the incalculable human costs to victims and communities from criminal activity. This realization inspired a 111-page manifesto released in March by England's Conservative Party, titled Prisons with a Purpose: Our Sentencing and Rehabilitation Revolution to Break the Cycle of Crime…
LINK - Star-Telegram.com
June 6, 2008
North Carolina: “House of Hope”
Salisbury High School Principal Dr. Windsor Eagle submitted a letter of support Thursday for the proposed House of Hope at 730 S. Ellis St., which would operate about a block from the school.
The Governor's Crime Commission has awarded House of Hope a two-year, $245,000 grant to provide a group care facility for just released prisoners looking to make the transition back into society.
But many residents and property owners near the proposed facility, which would operate out of an existing two-story house, oppose its location in what they consider a neighborhood already under duress. They also have questioned the wisdom of opening such a program near the high school…
LINK - SalisburyPost.com
June 6, 2008
This time, parolee has a plan — a halfway house to help him stay out of prison
Paroled out of San Quentin at 8 a.m. Saturday, Ronald Eugene Williams hopped two buses and by 4:45 p.m. had rolled into the Greyhound-Amtrak station in Old Town Roseville.
From there, the nine-time convicted felon got a ride to an Auburn halfway house for drug addicts and alcoholics that he will call home for the next six months.
On Monday, he checked in with his new parole agent and shocked her world…
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
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 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)
May 1, 2008
Report: More improvements needed at state prisons
Improvements have been made to the state prison system since the 2005 death of an inmate held locally, but more needs to be done, says an Inspector General audit.
In 2005, Wasco State Prison inmate Daniel Provencio died after a guard shot him in the head with a 40 mm foam bullet during a fight in a prison day room. Provencio, who was drunk at the time, had been yelling and walking towards a guard when he was hit.
Past audits have led to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation improving the process of identifying maximum security inmates who shouldn't be placed in the general prison population. They have also improved weapons training, the report states…
LINK - Bakersfield.com (The Bakersfield Californian)
April 1, 2008
Parolee Found Guilty Of Stomping Woman To Death
A parolee was found guilty Friday of stomping a woman to death on Los Angeles' Skid Row. Gregory Hampton, 54, will be back in court on April 24 for sentencing. Hampton attacked Kristi Morales about 9 p.m. on May 3, 2006, at Fifth and San Julian streets, just steps away from a nonprofit shelter that had available beds. He was initially charged with attempted murder, but the charge was upgraded after Morales died five days after the attack.
The death of the 49-year-old woman prompted Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry and Police Chief William Bratton to urge the homeless to move into shelters for their own safety…
LINK - KNBC.com Los Angeles
March 21, 2008
Parolee arrested after entering homes
A wanted parolee and alleged Bulldog gang member apparently was looking for a place to sleep when he broke into two houses Thursday morning in southeast Fresno, police reported. Frankie Saldate, 28, who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing and for parole violation, Sgt. Frank Rose said.
Saldate, who apparently cut himself when he broke windows to enter the houses, was treated at Community Regional Medical Center for his cuts before he was booked into the Fresno County Jail….
LINK - FresnoBee.com (The Fresno Bee)
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
Public Works Board approves initial prison construction funding
The State Public Works Board gave corrections officials a boost today by approving an interim financing plan for California's massive prison construction program.
In a series of 5-0 votes, the board ensured that nearly $2.5 billion will be available to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation if and when it comes up with specific plans to break ground in the first phase of what is now expected to be a 46,000-bed project to expand the state's prisons and jails.
Deborah Hysen, the corrections agency's construction chief, said in an interview after the vote that the state hopes to break ground sometime this year on a plan that prison officials promise will improve its effort to rehabilitate inmates and cut down on California's 70 percent recidivism rate, which is the worst in the country.
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
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
Assemblyman Todd Spitzer: “Rehabilitate, don’t just release inmates”
Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and I stood side by side to reform California's prison system. Together, we toured overcrowded prisons throughout the state and came to the same conclusion: California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation must be reformed, and inmates need better rehabilitation programs before they are released back into society.
At the time, the governor said that "we must follow through on the rehabilitation programs that we need to make sure that inmates who get released can lead productive, law-abiding lives so that our communities will stay safe."
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
March 7, 2008
CSP-Solano: Pomp, praise for inmate graduates
Tolliver was one of 130 inmates at California State Prison, Solano, who graduated from myriad educational programs - through Vaca Valley Adult School - ranging from General Education Diplomas (GEDs) to certifications to college degrees.
Their smiles were a rare sight, Warden D.K. Sisto said, and a welcome one. Their achievements, he added, were extraordinary.
"It's actually the first step in turning their lives around," Sisto said. "It takes courage, dedication and endurance on their part, and love, support and sacrifice on (families') part."
LINK - TheReporter.com
March 5, 2008
America Behind Bars: Why Attempts at Prison Reform Keep Failing
When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared plans in January 2005 to reform California's prisons, starting with a rebranding campaign (it's the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation now), his announcement signaled much-needed relief for California taxpayers, whose overstretched, scandal-prone prison system was screaming for an overhaul.
But three years later, California maintains the second-highest prison population in the country (171,444 in January 2008) and the highest recidivism rate (a staggering 70 percent).
From the start, people familiar with the embattled prison system were skeptical. "Everybody's going to get new business cards and letterheads," said Lance Corcoran, vice president of the powerful California Correctional Peace Officers Association, "but we haven't changed with respect to providing inmates anything different."
LINK - Alternet.org
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)
March 3, 2008
Dozens Rally Outside Coalinga State Hospital
Coalinga State Hospital sits about 60 miles southwest of Fresno and is home to more than 1,000 sexually violent predators from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. "Less than one percent of all sexual offenders are in this category of 'sexually violent predators'. They are the worst of the worst," said Nancy Kincaid, Spokesperson for Coalinga State Hospital.
Jammie Stallworth's husband was convicted for lewd acts with a minor, and is now receiving rehabilitation at Coalinga State. Jammie was part of a group gathered outside the hospital Sunday, advocating for the release of her husband and other sexually violent predators from the facility. "I'm not saying that it wasn't wrong. But they've done all their time like any other criminal," said Stallworth.
But unlike other criminals, those housed in Coalinga State are typically repeat sexual offenders who have completed their prison sentence, but are ordered to extended treatment.
LINK - KMPH.com (Fox 26)
February 28, 2008
One in 100 American Adults in Jail or Prison: Report
A new report finds that for the first time, more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison. At the start of 2008, 2, 319,258 adults were in American prisons or jails, or one in every 99.1, according to a report released by the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project.
Pew researchers worked on the report with the collaboration of correctional authorities and other prison researchers. They also obtained data from U.S. justice and census reports. Last year, states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion 20 years earlier, the report stated. While spending grew, the national recidivism rate is virtually unchanged.
LINK - IBTimes.com (International Business Times)
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 19, 2008
Prison Beds, Rehab Delayed
The state corrections agency still hasn't broken ground on new prison bed space, and its plan to redirect the lives of its inmates has come under criticism. Lawmakers say they are frustrated by the delays and wonder if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants the federal courts, instead of him, to grant early releases to tens of thousands of inmates to relieve prison overcrowding.
At issue is the rollout of Assembly Bill 900, the state's $7.9 billion plan enacted last May to repair California's faltering prison system. Corrections officials say the plan to add 53,000 beds to the system and tie most of them to new rehabilitation programs is running late, but still working…
LINK - SacBee.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
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 12, 2008
An Opportunity to Make Juvenile Detention Better
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation plans to close one of its three remaining youth prisons in Stockton by July. That's good news for Stanislaus County. Why? Because the county will be closer to providing better rehabilitation, education, health care and, if necessary, incarceration for juvenile lawbreakers…
LINK - ModBee.com
January 3, 2008
Opinion: “Time for Prison Reform”
A showdown is in the air, and it appears that 2008 will be the year California's dysfunctional prison system is reformed - come hell or high water. It's not the best of scenarios. It would have been preferable that our governor or legislators corralled the beast, but even concerted efforts fell flat. While the governor did manage to put through a $7.9 billion bond that would create 53,000 new prison and jail beds, and even set aside some money for rehabilitation, it appears that Assembly Bill 900, approved in April 2007, was too little, too late…
LINK - TheReporter.com
December 9, 2007
Sentencing Laws a Key Reason for Prison Overcrowding
When California adopted its criminal sentencing code 30 years ago, a state appeals court marveled that it was virtually incomprehensible, comparing it to income tax forms and insurance policies…
LINK - ChicoER.com
November 26, 2007
Lawmakers Say Jail Bid Hurts Rehabilitation Plan
Four prominent lawmakers say state prison officials have given little consideration to a key rehabilitation component of the $7.9 billion plan the state enacted this year to unclog its massively overcrowded prison system…
LINK - LATimes.com
