Prison Reform and Rehabilitation - Background Information

Balancing More Beds With Better Rehabilitation

Total Beds: 53,000. This $7.7 ($7.4 bonds/$350 General Fund) billion agreement will provide 53,000 prison and jail beds in two phases. Phase I funding will permit immediate construction. Phase II funding is contingent on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation meeting rehabilitation, management and construction benchmarks during Phase I.

• Phase I: $3.6 billion lease revenue bond.
• Phase II: $2.5 billion lease revenue bond. Must be enacted by 2014.
• Local matches: 25% (approximately $300 million) of $1.2 billion in lease revenue bonds for local jails.
• Additional funding: $350 million General Fund ($300 million for infrastructure, $50 million for rehabilitation).

Prison and Community Re-Entry Beds for State Prisoners: 40,000. The agreement provides $6.1 billion to increase the number of beds in state prisons. Rehabilitation services—like substance abuse treatment, mental health services and job training—will accompany all new bed construction.

• Rehabilitation and Secure Re-Entry Beds: 16,000. The agreement prioritizes rehabilitation and reducing recidivism. It directs CDCR to set aside 4,000 beds for drug treatment and create 16,000 new beds in secure re-entry facilities.
  • Phase I Construction:
    • 6,000 secure re-entry beds.
  • Phase II Construction:
    • 10,000 secure re-entry beds
• “Infill” Beds: 16,000. The agreement adds 16,000 beds at existing prisons to reduce the number of prisoners in bad beds. Currently state prisons currently house approximately 172,000 prisoners in facilities designed for about half that number.
  • Phase I Construction:
    • 12,000 infill beds
  • Phase II Construction:
    • 4,000 infill beds
• Medical Beds: 8,000. The agreement adds 8,000 medical, dental and mental health facility beds as mandated by the federal Receiver The Receiver will determine where these beds will be added, and what services (mental health, long-term care, other) they will provide.
  • Phase I Construction:
    • 6,000 medical beds
  • Phase II Construction:
    • 2,000 medical beds

Local Jail Beds: 13,000. The agreement provides $1.2 billion to increase the number of beds in local county jails by approximately 13,000 to remediate overcrowding faced by counties across the state. Counties are required to match 25% of the $1.2 billion (approximately $300 million), unless their population is less than 200,000—in these counties, the CSA can reduce or eliminate the match. Counties that assist the state in locating re-entry facilities and helping parolees get mental health services will receive funding preference. In 2005 alone, 233,388 individuals avoided incarceration or were released early from jail sentences due solely to a lack of jail space.

Out of State Prison Transfers: The agreement gives the Legislature clear statutory authority to voluntarily and involuntarily transfer prisoners out-of-state for the next four years. In October 2006 Governor Schwarzenegger authorized CDCR to transfer prisoners out-of-state by Executive Order.

Phase I Benchmarks: CDCR has committed to meeting specific benchmarks during Phase I to trigger Phase II funding. They are:

• Successfully completing construction of ½ of Phase I beds (12,000 new beds).
• 75% average participation in drug treatment programs over six months.
• Establishing the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board (C-ROB) in the Office of Inspector General.
• Proper assessment and placement of offenders in rehabilitation programs when they enter the system, and then again when they’re a year away from parole.
• Increasing offender participation in classes and education programs.
• CDCR’s completion of a prison-to-employment plan.
• Providing mental health day treatment for parolees.
• Completion of various studies by CDCR and C-ROB assessing the effectiveness of inmate programming.

Governor Schwarzenegger's Statement on Prison Reform Deal:

“We are on the verge of making history again in California. For decades, the prison overcrowding crisis was ignored in Sacramento. Rooms were double bunked, then triple bunked, and our recidivism rate soared. In my State of the State Address in January, I proposed comprehensive prison reform and am very encouraged that the Legislature, after months of hard work, is about to take action. This proposal will bring critical new rehabilitation programs and create desperately-needed space to relieve overcrowding. I am particularly proud of the innovative rehabilitation programs like the re-entry facilities that are included. Don Perata, Fabian Nunez, Dick Ackerman and Mike Villines deserve all the credit for putting the needs of California first and stepping up to address a very real threat to our public safety.” – Governor’s Statement on Prison Reform Deal, April 25, 2007

 

Overcrowding has led to triple-bunking in the gym at Mule Creek State Prison (July 19, 2006).

"The Department of Corrections owns the responsibility to assist inmates who are willing to change their ways with basic tools, of education, life skills, drug treatment and mental health, so they can get better when they leave Corrections -- not worse. But until I get overcrowding reduced -- then I don't have the opportunity to provide the program that I believe is my charge."

CDCR Secretary James Tilton