CDCR officials unveiled an updated master plan to fix California’s overcrowded prison system.
Significant improvements have been made, “but much work remains to be done,” concludes the 55-page report titled “An Update to the Future of California Corrections.”
“Access to meaningful programs and services (is) important to an offender’s success and (leads) to improved recidivism rates and safer prisons and communities,” according to the update.
The new plan was released in January with the governor’s 2016-17 budget proposal.
This report by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) updates a 2012 CDCR report known as the Blueprint.
The Blueprint was premised on the model of maintaining the prison population at 145 percent of design capacity; however, federal courts capped it at 137.5 percent.
CDCR has complied with the population cap.
In-state contract beds increased to 5,821 and out-of-state beds will be cut to 4,900 by June 2016.
Sixty percent of the total population is served by rehabilitative programs.
CDCR has regained control of health care at Folsom State Prison and two areas of headquarter operations.
Improved gang management converted thousands of segregation beds to general population use.
Parole hearings are now held for lifers, youth offenders, elderly or permanently incapacitated inmates, and non-violent second-strikers.
The Division of Juvenile Justice, with only about 700 wards now, has reduced its jurisdictional age from 25 to 23 and has implemented court-ordered reforms.
CDCR trained 2,542 correctional officers in 2015 and is improving training for wardens, superintendents, and executives.
On Dec. 9, 2015, CDCR’s adult population was 112,510 in state prisons (136 percent of design capacity) and 14,958 in fire camps or contract beds.
The fall 2015 population report projected the adult population to decrease through June 2016 but increase gradually to 131,092 in June 2020.
CDCR’s estimated 2016-17 budget is $10.3 billion, 8.4 percent of the total General Fund spending.
CDCR is considering revisions to the custody designations of inmates and changes to address the growing Sensitive Needs Yard population.
CDCR has moved from indeterminate to behavior-based determinate terms of segregation pursuant to a court settlement.
Through June 2020, CDCR plans to maintain 4,900 out-of-state and 4,100 in-state contract beds, 3,500 in fire camps, 2,300 in the California City Correctional Facility, 1,000 in the community reentry beds, and 300 in state hospitals for the adult population.
The California Rehabilitation Center will not be closed, although the budget includes $6 million for repairs and maintenance of it.
Inmate and parolee programs are being evaluated to identify the cost-effective and successful ones for prioritization.
Four community colleges were awarded $2 million to offer pilot live instruction starting January 2016.
Arts in Corrections programs were awarded $2 million in 2015-16 and are available at 18 prisons.
CDCR awarded $5.5 million in Innovative Programming Grants to increase the volunteer programs at under served prisons.
CDCR received $2.2 million to expand the Cal-ID program to all prisons.
The current budget includes $32.1 million to continue the community reentry program.
The current budget includes $25 million for incentive payments to local government to approve hard-to-site re-entry facilities.
The 2015-16 budget included $3.3 million and the current budget $6 million to expand the Alternative Custody Program to male inmates, available one year before release.
The 2014 Budget Act granted $865,000 for planning the California Leadership Academy to provide alternative housing and programming to inmates age 18 to 25.
The current budget includes $10 million for long-term offender programs.
The current budget includes $7.9 million to continue and enhance the drug- and contraband- interdicting pilot programs at 11 prisons.
Video monitoring is projected at all new facilities.
Cellphone jammers are considered outdated, and new technologies are being evaluated to detect cellphones.
