The 2016-17 California budget includes $10.6 billion for operating the state’s prisons, which represents 8.5 percent of the state budget, compared to 11.4 percent in 2011-12.
The Breakdown
The budget includes statutory changes to allow life-term inmates to be eligible for extended family visits.
Twenty million dollars are allocated for Napa County to replace its jail as a result of damage by the 2014 earthquake. For counties that have not previously received full funding for replacing their jails or to improve custodial housing, re-entry, rehabilitative programming, mental health services or treatment space, renovating may apply on a competitive basis for $250 million.
Proposition 47 Savings
Calculated savings of $39.4 million are anticipated due to: a reduction in the state’s adult inmate population; trial court workload associated with fewer felony filings and more misdemeanor filings, and the number of offenders re-sentenced and released from the Department of State Hospitals, and increased costs due to a temporary increase in the parole population and trial court re-sentencing workload. Ongoing savings are expected to be approximately $62.6 million.
A discretionary one-time investment of $28 million for grants is allocated to support drop-out and truancy prevention programs ($18 million) and grants to support mental health and substance use disorder treatment and diversion programs ($10 million).
The total Proposition 47 savings is $67.4 million.
Rehabilitative Programs
$431 million for inmate rehabilitative programs, an increase of approximately $100 million compared to the 2015 state budget.
$2.2 million to expand cognitive behavioral programming to all institutions. Cognitive behavioral therapy programming includes substance abuse disorder treatment, criminal thinking, anger management and family relations.
$18.9 million to expand substance abuse disorder treatment programs to the 11 remaining institutions without a program and expand the number of slots at prison-based re-entry hubs.
$8.6 million for Innovative Programming Grants for programs focusing on offender responsibility and restorative justice principles; $5.5 million is a one-time allocation focusing on programs proven successful in serving long-term or life-term inmates.
$4 million to expand Arts in Corrections to all institutions through a partnership with the California Arts Council.
$3 million to provide inmates enrolled in community colleges access to eReader textbooks.
$3.7 million to develop content and create the necessary infrastructure at each prison to support a television network to deliver rehabilitative programming to more inmates.
$2.3 million to add 12 career technical education programs statewide in order to reduce the current waiting list for these programs. Also, $4.1 million ($10.6 million in 2017-18 and $4.2 ongoing) to provide secured internet access to allow inmates participating in career technical education courses to complete classroom coursework, real-time shop exercises, and certification exams.
$3.1 million to add 136 parolee service center beds. Parolee service centers provide residential and support services focusing on employment, job search and placement training, substance use disorder education, stress management, victim awareness, computer supported literacy and life skills.
$3.4 million, of which $2.1 million is one-time to add a Long-Term Offender Program at a male level III or IV facility, increasing the number of slots by approximately 1,700. This voluntary in-prison reentry program is designed specifically for long-term offenders, providing substance use disorder treatment, criminal thinking, anger management, family relations, victim impact, denial management and employment readiness.
$423,000 for long-term and life-term inmates to complete a voluntary 10-month mentorship program to learn alcohol and drug counseling. Upon completion inmates are assigned as mentors and obtain 4,000 hours of work experience in substance use disorder treatment programs. Once those hours are fulfilled, inmates are eligible to obtain a substance use disorder counseling certification that can be used to gain employment upon release. This augmentation will enable the department to train an additional 64 inmates annually.
$3.1 million to expand employment preparation, teaching job-readiness, and job search and prerequisite skills needed for the current job market to all institutions. Participants learn about community resources and social service agencies in their counties of residence. The department will discontinue the use of contractors for this program and will hire teachers to serve approximately 23,000 inmates annually.
Community Re-entry Program
$32.1 million for re-entry programs that assist with substance abuse disorder, mental health care, medical care, employment, education, housing, family reunification, and social support. Funds are allocated for a total of 680 beds in 2016-17 and increase the eligibility criteria from 120 days prior to release to up to one year.
