Posts Tagged: recidivism

From Solitary Confinement to Executive Suite: Ken Oliver

Ken Oliver of Checkr.org

by Tim Foster posted 05.15.2023

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We are joined today by Ken Oliver, Executive Director of Checkr.org, the philanthropic arm of Checkr. Oliver joined us to talk about his journey from prisoner to philanthropist, the flaws in California’s re-entry program and about SB 809, the Fair Chance Expansion and Protection Act of 2023, which would ensure that conviction history does not prevent qualified candidates from finding employment.

State auditor targets prison rehab programs

Folsom State Prison east of Sacramento. (Photo: Wikipedia)

by JOHN HOWARD and MONET MUSCAT posted 01.31.2019

The state auditor says the California prison system’s programs to reduce recidivism aren’t working, noting that inmates who complete the programs wind up back behind bars at roughly the same rates as those who don’t. “These results are  serious enough to highlight an urgent need for Corrections to take a more active and meaningful role in ensuring that these programs are effective,” California State Auditor Elaine Howle reported. 

Proposition 47 is working, despite glitches

An illustration of a male prison inmate. (Image: phoelixDE, via Shutterstock)

by DYLAN SVOBODA posted 06.29.2018

Proposition 47, the voter-approved ballot initiative aimed at easing prison overcrowding by releasing non-violent offenders, has generally succeeded in its goal. But the controversial measure also has run into some glitches. Researchers find that Proposition 47, approved in 2014, contributed to a decrease in rearrest rates while spurring a slight uptick in property crimes.

Needed: Good-time credits for lifers

Sunlight streams through the bars of a prison cell. (Photo: nobeastsofierce, via Shutterstock)

by GEORGE COLES posted 04.21.2017

OPINION: Proposition 57’s 50 percent good time credit should be applied retroactively to all incarcerated people, including lifers who committed violent crimes. Contrary to popular fears, releasing reformed lifers may be the best thing we can do to reduce violent crime.

San Quentin puts on a happy face

San Quentin prison, as seen from San Francisco Bay. (Photo: San Quentin News, prison newspaper)

by BILL KELLER and NEIL BARSKY posted 02.12.2016

ANALYSIS: What if, instead of building prisons in remote locations, we put them near cities, accessible to family members and to the resources — educational, vocational, therapeutic, recreational, cultural — that are scarce in most prison towns?

As it turns out, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), known popularly as “Obamacare,” could be a boon to the California budget. Given how the ACA is structured, the state could end up spending less on an unlikely source – prison inmates. The ACA is designed to expand healthcare coverage to low-income