The chief psychiatrist of California’s prison system is accusing state officials of misleading both a federal court and lawyers for prison inmates fighting to improve mental health care inside state prisons, according to court documents. Dr. Michael Golding sent the 160-page report to the court-appointed federal receiver overseeing reforms inside California prisons. Golding filed the report without his superior’s knowledge. Dr. Golding’s “lengthy, detailed report” contains “serious allegations” that data reported to the federal court … [Read more...] about Mental health bomb-shell report on care inside state prisons
CDCR Budget
Luring more prison doctors with big raises
The average pay for the employees in 2014 was approximately $240,000 a year Doctors at a dozen understaffed California prisons could receive a 24 percent pay raise under a new proposed contract. Other doctors would get 9 percent hikes. The raises could be paid over the next four years, pending approval by their union and the state legislature, according to an article in the Sacramento Bee. “We’re hoping that the new agreement will help us fill our critical vacancies,” said Joyce Hayhoe, spokeswomen for the federal receivership. California … [Read more...] about Luring more prison doctors with big raises
Prison Spending Increased With Lower Prisoner Count
Even though the California prisoner count has dropped, spending has increased, according to a Sacramento Bee report. The report, written by Dan Walters, states that “something of a peace dividend was promised – or at least assumed – when California, according to federal court pressure, sharply reduced its prison population.” The number of inmates declined sharply in just a few years, from 166,000 to 129,000, according to the California Legislature’s budget analyst, Mac Taylor. “One might think that reducing the prison population by 22 … [Read more...] about Prison Spending Increased With Lower Prisoner Count