FCL NEWSLETTER -- July, 2001

Prison Reform Now?

Those who think more humane conditions of confinement are not only a constitutional requirement, but also good for public safety were cautiously optimistic as three important prison reform bills moved to their second house in June:
SB 396 (Sheila Kuehl, D., Los Angeles) improves medical treatment of prisoners;
SB 404 (Richard Polanco, D., Los Angeles) reverses the erosion of education in prison;
SB 700 (Betty Karnette, D., Long Beach) restores overnight visits to families of certain women prisoners. Taken together, these pieces of legislation may signal a recognition that prisoners remain a part of the larger society and must be treated accordingly.

At one time, California prisons were progressive models for the nation, with relatively good health care, extensive education programs, and arrangements for prisoners to maintain close contact with family members. Assaults on guards were a rare occurrence. Not today!

The "Nothing Works" Mentality

In the 1970's, a "nothing works" mentality undermined the idea that prisoners could be rehabilitated. It became fashionable to look on prisons as human warehouses. The California State Legislature rewrote the law to state that the purpose of incarceration is punishment, and politicians scrambled to erase the idea that prisoners had any rights under state statutes.

The growth of this retributive approach to imprisonment has been accompanied by substantial increases in assaults, with over 6,000 reported incidents in 1999. Department of Corrections statistics show that assaults on staff members increased nearly five-fold from a rate of 3 per 1,000 inmates in 1975 to 17 in 1999. Assaults by prisoners on each other have increased as well, and a CDC budget change proposal last year asserted that riots among inmates are a recurring problem.

While prison administrators acknowledge that unrest in prisons is largely attributable to idleness and gang influences, their focus has been on budgets rather than on innovations that could lead the system to safety. Nevertheless, prison budgets will always leave something to be desired, and real change is driven by attitudes, not money. As a prison supervisor once said: "There is nothing wrong that wouldn't be fixed by a strong work ethic."

The malaise that harms both prisoners and staff in California's prisons stems more from a lack of vision than from any management or fiscal issue. The three bills that are now moving toward the Governor's desk set the stage for development of such a vision. <>H4>A New Vision

There is power in the idea that better health care, education, reasonable parole possibilities, and close contact with family members can give more prisoners hope for a better life. There is also power in the expectation that people will change their lives for the better when given a reasonable opportunity. If prison staff can be encouraged to share in such hopes and expectations, there is a basis for real change in California's prisons.

The public has reason to be concerned about prison conditions, because at any given time we know that within the next two years more than half of the inmates now in custody will be paroled back into the community. It is important for every prison to foster the individual growth that can lead each prisoner to a productive, non- violent life.

SB 396 (Sheila Kuehl, D., Los Angeles) seeks to improve medical treatment of prisoners by requiring accreditation of CDC health care programs by a national organization. While accreditation is a lengthy process, it is likely to provide better oversight for health services than the present system, which relies on litigation to bring about improvements. The bill also does away with the $5 co-payment that is a significant barrier to service for prisoners and that actually costs the state more money than it produces. FCL SUPPORTS.

SB 404 (Richard Polanco, D., Los Angeles) proposes to reverse the erosion of prison education programs by establishing a Correctional Education Board that would make teachers more independent of the custodial staff. The ability to think and communicate clearly can be taught, and it is essential to the future lives of most prisoners. Last year, the Governor vetoed a similar measure. It is important that a consensus be reached on the importance of education and on the best way to reverse the trend to neglect learning in prison. FCL SUPPORTS.

SB 700 (Betty Karnette, D., Long Beach) restores overnight visits for children and families of women prisoners serving life sentences, subject to the same rules governing other prisoners. Contact between women and children is important to the success of both the family and the inmates. The leisure that is afforded by an extended visit is especially important for children. It is easy to forget how severely the family is affected by loss of contact, especially when a mother is incarcerated. FCL SUPPORTS.

While California's budget strains under the weight of electricity purchases and a shaky economy, over a billion state dollars are locked up in county coffers. Under provisions of 1996 and 1997 federal and state reforms, California's 58 counties have collected $1.9 billion in "incentive funds" for reducing welfare rolls. To date, less than 10 percent of those dollars have been spent.

Counties can use the money in a variety of ways to make welfare clients self-sufficient, as well as to prevent people from going on welfare in the first place. For example, Orange County has developed projects intended to attack core causes of poverty, such as lack of child care, transportation and job skills. With a budget of $7.5 million for two years of a summer Youth Employment Program, the county reached over 2,000 teens each year. San Diego County used some of its incentive funds to develop a computer laboratory for teens on welfare.

However, most counties have spent little of the funds received and 13 reported not having spent any as of December 2000, the most recent date for which complete information is available. Only five counties had spent more than 20 percent.

As a result, over a billion dollars sits unused. According to Frank Mecca, executive director of the County Welfare Directors Association, much of the incentive funding has been committed in contracts with organizations and companies that were asked to provide services.

Indeed, all counties have submitted spending plans as required by state law. Counties say they intend to carry out nearly 700 projects that will use up all the dollars they had earned at the end of last year.

Reasons Unclear

In reality, however, a report issued in May by the California Budget Project (CBP) concludes that "county actions to date indicate that the primary use of the funds has been as a reserve." The CBP report points out that the reason so many counties have held back spending the money "is not entirely clear."

Part of the reluctance to spend these dollars may stem from the fact that federal reauthorization of welfare spending is fast approaching in 2002 and may lead to changes that would cut into county budgets. Moreover, counties may fear that they will need additional reserve funds when the economy weakens further and welfare caseloads increase.

"While counties explicitly state that about one-sixth of the funds will be used as a financial cushion," says the CBP report, "the fact that counties have spent a very small percentage of these funds indicates that they have primarily served as a reserve." Faced with this limited follow-up by counties and a worsening budget crisis, Governor Davis has proposed eliminating incentive funds and using the money for the state's basic CalWORKS program (the state's primary cash assistance program).

Other Options

While a convenient budget balancing device, recapturing incentive dollars for the state's general fund may not be the most effective approach. The Budget Project suggests that the state look into other options. Here are some of CBP's suggestions: