Welcome to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Office of Public and Employee Communications

CDCR Pandemic Preparedness

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is committed to both public safety and public health.

The ongoing threat of a pandemic flu, borne primarily by wild, migratory waterfowl and domesticated bird flocks such as chickens and ducks may pose a serious health risk to the citizens of this state, including the inmate/ward/parolee population that CDCR is charged with supervising.

To this end, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is actively preparing for this threat.  A departmental oversight committee has been working with internal and external stakeholders for several months to spearhead planning efforts. We are committed to responding to the medical needs of the inmate/ward/parolee population in the event an outbreak of the pandemic flu strain occurs within CDCR.

The California Department of Health Services serves as the lead public health agency in this state to anticipate, plan for, and provide strategies in the event an outbreak of pandemic flu begins to move through the state's population. CDCR is committed to implementing the pandemic avian influenza preparedness and response protocols established by the California Department of Health Services.  CDCR is also committed to providing educational resources to its state and contracted employees, the inmate/ward/parolee population, and the general public on the details of the pandemic flu.

We encourage members of the public and CDCR employees to visit the following authoritative resources, listed below, to educate themselves on this very real threat. We encourage you to visit regularly, as information is updated and changed.