Prison reform in disarray

Prison reform in disarray
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Friday, April 21, 2006

SHORTLY AFTER he took office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would put "rehabilitation" back into the mission of California's crisis-riven prison system. He even changed the name of the department to "Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation."
But with the departure of the two prison officials most closely identified with the effort to make sure that inmates leave prison with enough skills to succeed on the outside, Schwarzenegger's commitment to the goal of rehabilitation is now deeply in doubt.
In February, his own Secretary of Corrections and Rehabilitation Rod Hickman quit in frustration. Jeanne Woodford, a former warden at San Quentin State Prison, was then appointed acting secretary. Late yesterday, after just two months on the job, she put out a press release saying she had resigned because of her commitment to her family, and that she still believed the department was "headed in a positive direction."
But there was also speculation, in the press and elsewhere, that one reason Woodford left was because of meetings senior aides to Schwarzenegger have had with the prison guards union.
The union has, all along, been derisive about Schwarzenegger's emphasis on rehabilitation. The union and the governor have butted heads on other issues, including generous pay and benefits packages approved by former Gov. Gray Davis. The union also worked to defeat all of Schwarzenegger's special-election ballot measures last November.
Schwarzenegger has been trying to mend fences with all his adversaries. The prison guards should be part of any solution to the prison crisis. But reconciliation should not come at the expense of rehabilitation, which the majority of Californians say they want.
Yesterday, Schwarzenegger appointed James Tilton, a former corrections administrator, as acting secretary to replace Woodford. Tilton insisted that rehabilitation is a top priority for him, and "I know it is for the governor." But what's needed now is action, not words. Schwarzenegger must specify what rehabilitation programs he intends to introduce, how they will be funded, and a timeline for implementing them