Posts Tagged: rehabilitation

News

The struggle to help inmates get back into society

Former state prison inmate Jason Bryant has co-founded a group to help inmates re-enter society. (Photo: Tammy McCarley)

Ted Gray and Jason Bryant committed violent felonies when they were 22 and 20 years old, respectively. Consequently, the young duo received lengthy prison sentences. That was then. Today, they are older and wiser and cofounders of Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs (CROP). It aims to help formerly incarcerated people striving to be productive members of society.

News

Under ‘realignment,’ private prison firms look to the counties

Prison inmates at a California institution, many of whom were "realigned" to counties' custody.(Photo: Pubic Policy Institute of California)

In 2019, California outlawed private prisons. By the time the ban went live in January 2020, the world’s biggest private prison contractor, the Florida-based GEO Group, lost $223 million in contracts with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

News

Private prison firms make big money in California

A facility run by CoreCivic, a private-prison company. The photo was taken in November 2019, shortly before private prisons were outlawed in California. (Photo: Shuttertstock)

In January 2020, Californians thought they were getting out of the private prison business. They are, but under a new law, AB 32, which went into effect at the first of the year, the state remains heavily invested in backing for-profit correctional services — including facilities that resemble detention centers run by the same companies who operate private prisons.

Opinion

Rare-disease patients seek lawmakers’ support

A medical technician prepares to draw blood from a patient. (Photo: Ruchuda Boonplien, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The worry of a mother for her child never ends. I am the sole caretaker of my adult daughter who suffers from multiple rare diseases. Her conditions hold her from living independently. During her 35 years of life and her 12 years of living with her chronic conditions, I cannot remember the many times that she almost died.

Opinion

Wanted: Secure email in all state prisons

Closeup of a woman's hands using a computer keyboard to compose email. (Image: Nata Fuangkaew, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: For incarcerated Californians, the ability to communicate with loved ones on the outside can be a literal lifeline, helping them survive their time in prison and preparing for successful reintegration into society after their release. Five correctional facilities in our state – including California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran where my fiancé, Michael, was incarcerated – now offer access to secure email. 

Opinion

California’s prisons need a greater culture of rehabilitation

Inmates in the exercise yard at San Quentin Prison. (Photo: Wikipedia Commons)

OPINION: California spends over $12 billion on its prison system each year. Given that stunning investment of public dollars, the residents of California deserve to understand the actual impact of incarceration: Does it create public safety and rehabilitate those who are incarcerated under its care?

Recent News

Dialysis dispute targets billing, health

A patient receiving blood dialysis treatment. (Photo: Khajornkiat Limsagul, via Shutterstock)

The Madera patient says he likes his Kaiser doctor and has no desire to switch to publicly funded Medicare, even though he qualifies. But if Senate Bill 1156 is approved, Adames likely wouldn’t get that choice. The bill would require that patients like him receiving third-party assistance would either need to enroll in Medicare or Medi-Cal (for those who are low income), or if they choose to stay on private insurance, they will only receive reimbursement at Medicare or Medi-Cal’s much lower rates.

Opinion

A critical need for well-trained construction workers

Workers at a large construction site in San Jose. (Photo: pbk-pg, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: It’s taken an army of firefighters to battle California’s historic infernos. It will take an even larger army to rebuild the Golden State from the devastation. Even with all of the current skilled construction workers, California will need to train more to achieve our goals of getting families back in their homes and communities.

News

Brown’s commutations: A journey through violence, redemption

A cell block at Folsom Prison. Photo: Grace2Grow

The stories behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s nine recent sentence commutations reveal tangled lives marked by murder, abuse, addiction and determined efforts by criminals — usually over decades — to turn their lives around. Here are their stories.

Opinion

Needed: Good-time credits for lifers

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

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.

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