GOV. NEWSOM’S ‘ CALIFORNIA MODEL’ RECOGNIZES
PRISON WORK ENVIRONMENT’S INHERENT TRAUMA
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to implement a “Norwegian-style” California Model of rehabilitation at San Quentin could contribute to the health of the state’s employees who work inside the prison.
Dr. Alison Pachynski is the Chief Medical Officer at San Quentin. She is also a member of the governor’s advisory committee that will help to plan the new California Model.
“I think one of the biggest challenges moving forward is helping people to understand that these changes are very much about staff also,” said Pachynski.
According to a 2018 study by researchers at Washington State University and the University of Alabama-Birmingham, correctional officers suffer from the same rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as military war veterans.
ʻCalifornia Modelʼ to transform work environment for officers, staff
“The violent and chaotic nature of prison work has been shown to negatively impact prison employee physical health, mental health, sleep, personal life, and general wellness,” the report stated.
According to the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the suicide rate for its members was 19.4 deaths per 100,000 in 2013, Witness LA reported.
Prison employees face long work hours, challenging and confrontational workplace interactions, violence, trauma, and threats to their personal safety, according to the article.
At his March 17 press conference, Newsom said, “Ten percent of CDCR officers contemplate suicide.”
In an interview with Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods of the Ear Hustle podcast, Dave Harwood, a lieutenant at the California Correctional Center in Susanville with 20 years experience, said working inside the prison changed him.
“Seeing what human beings can do to each other and how quickly people can turn on you. I can’t remember the last time I felt 100% relaxed,” Harwood said.
Other correctional officers wonder how a Norwegian-style rehabilitation program can work at San Quentin. Correctional officer D. Hill is one of those officers. He has served as a CO for the past six years and remains skeptical of Newsom’s plan.
“The biggest problem is there is no trust,” said Hill. “I have no idea how we can build that trust up, but we have to fix that to get to this new model.”
The CCPOA has agreed to participate and to allow the California Model an opportunity to work. Glen Stailey, the association’s president, and Neil Flood, its vice-president, attended the governor’s press conference.
“I’m not entirely sure what the entire vision is, as we haven’t been told yet, however investing in rehabilitation, investing in classes, and things that assist the population to continue to better themselves, is always a good thing,” said Flood.
According to the association, their mission is, in part, “to fight on behalf of its members to create a positive work environment.”
CDCR is taking the lead to facilitate a pathway that will help rebuild officer trust. According to a joint internal memorandum from the agency’s Secretary Jeff Macomber and J. Clark Kelso, the federal receiver for California Correctional Health Care Services, “The California Model will change lives one conversation at a time.”
Four pillars will form the foundation of the California Model. Those four pillars are Dynamic Security, Normalization, Peer Support, and becoming a Trauma Informed Organization.
Dynamic security is creating positive relationships between incarcerated people and staff. CDCR has been working to improve these relationships for years, according to the internal memorandum.
“Over the last three years, CDCR staff collaborated with subject matter experts from Amend as well as the Washington, Oregon, and North Dakota Departments of Correction and the Norwegian Correctional Services to begin identifying best practices to implement and sustain the California Model,” said a joint memorandum from the CDCR and California Correctional Health Care Services in April.
At least three California prisons have implemented these pillars and since reported a reduction in rule violations and incidents. These are the Psychiatric Inpatient Program, Youthful Offender Rehabilitative Communities, and Rehabilitative Programming Units located at Salinas Valley State Prison, Valley State Prison, and Central California Women’s Facility.
Dr. Brie Williams is an advisory co-chair and professor of medicine for vulnerable populations. “By transforming San Quentin into a place that promotes health and positive change, California is making a historic commitment to redefining the institution’s purpose in our society,” Williams said on the governor’s website.
“I look forward to lifting the voices of people who have lived or worked in prisons to imagine a center for healing trauma, repairing harm, expanding knowledge, restoring lives, and improving readiness for community return.”
“One of the ideas I would like to see moving forward is more health education,” said Dr. Pachynski. “I would like to see more active engagement in medical care.”
Officer R. Goss has been working as a correctional officer for 19 years. He currently covers the education department and is concerned about how California’s large gang population will respond to the California Model.
“The ones that want to fight and stay in the gang culture are not ready to rehabilitate. Put them in another facility until they want to learn,” Goss told SQNews. “I just want a safe environment for the officers, custody, non-custody, free staff volunteers that come, and the inmates that want to live and work here,” he said.
