Fact Sheet: More Rehabilitation, Fewer Victims
More than 97 percent of inmates in California’s prisons will be eligible for parole someday, meaning almost everyone who goes into prison eventually gets out. California’s 70 percent recidivism rate means that thousands of offenders return to our already overcrowded prisons—and that thousands of individuals and communities are victimized and revictimized every year. Rehabilitation is the key to ending this criminal cycle. The historic prison agreement (AB 900) struck on April 25, 2007 by legislative leaders and Governor Schwarzenegger significantly expands rehabilitation services to increase public safety and reduce crime.
This agreement ties rehabilitation to all 53,000 beds.
The $7.7 ($7.4 bonds/$350 General Fund) billion prison reform agreement will provide 53,000 prison and jail beds in two phases. Rehabilitation services—like substance abuse treatment, mental health services and vocational education—will accompany all new bed construction.
16,000 beds provide intensive rehabilitation just before parole.
Secure Re-Entry Facilities, small correctional centers built in local communities, are the legislation’s rehabilitation centerpiece. The legislation funds 16,000 new beds in these centers to provide focused rehabilitation in the critical few months just before offenders are paroled. Programs will include: job training and placement; GED coursework; anger management classes; family counseling; and housing placement.
* Currently 60,000 California inmates are serving the final 0-3 years of their sentences. Without rehabilitation, these offenders will leave prison with nothing more than $200 and a bus ticket.
* Re-entry is about accountability. Offenders considered for re-entry facilities must demonstrate commitment to becoming a productive citizen. Offenders will be offered specific counseling, programs and services to support this choice. Failure to participate will result in removal from the program.
* Re-entry facilities won’t bring offenders to our communities—because they’re already here. By law, inmates are already returned to their county of last legal residence. These offenders are coming back to our cities and towns whether they’re rehabilitated or not.
* Re-entry facilities will help inmates succeed after prison. Every re-entry facility will be designed to reduce recidivism, and every participating offender will have an individual plan to maximize their chances for parole success.
* Communities will be involved in every stage. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is already in negotiations with more than 20 counties and cities that are interested in housing re-entry facilities. These agreements will be negotiated by county sheriffs and county administrative officers, and are subject to board of supervisor approval. Counties that agree to house re-entry facilities will receive preference in funding to expand and improve local jails.
16,000 “infill” beds make room for rehabilitation in our prisons.
The legislation adds 16,000 beds inside of existing prisons. This expansion will let CDCR move inmates out of bad beds and into permanent housing, enhancing staff safety. “Bad beds” are bunks housed, as a result of overcrowding, in prison gymnasiums, dayrooms, libraries and other spaces that once provided rehabilitation services.
* Infill beds are a top priority. All 16,000 new infill beds are scheduled to be constructed within the next 18 to 24 months.
* 4,000 beds (2,000 in prison and 2,000 aftercare beds) will be devoted to drug treatment. CDCR’s Division of Substance Abuse Programs serves over 10,000 inmates and parolees. These programs reduce drug and alcohol addiction and the massive costs associated with drug-related crime.
National experts are helping CDCR build the most effective programs.
A panel of national experts is currently working with CDCR to strengthen the agency’s rehabilitation programs. The panel will issue recommendations early this summer to help CDCR lower recidivism, access current efforts, and identify best practices and evidence-based programs to lower recidivism rates. The panel also will assist local government and law enforcement deal with paroled offenders. CDCR will use these recommendations to develop more effective programs and strengthen collaboration with local communities.
© 2006 State of California
http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/fact-sheet/6089/
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