What kinds of rehabilitation programs are offered in California’s correctional system and how many inmates are receiving these services?
According to the California Inspector General’s report of 2007, the corrections system does not provide meaningful rehabilitation services to most inmates and parolees. Nonviolent offenders can languish for years behind bars without education, vocational training, or rehabilitation programs of any kind. These inmates are then released into our communities without access to support services, and with no skills or opportunities to help them safely and successfully be reintegrated into society. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, only 10% of prisoners are enrolled in any employment programs. An estimated 85% of incarcerated persons suffer from substance abuse issues but California’s prison system has only enough treatment beds for about 5% of the total population. What little programming exists is rendered ineffective by severe overcrowding.
