In the News - California Reentry Program Founder wins Jefferson Award! See the video clip on CBS5.com, read the related articles on sfgate.com and cbs5.com. Would you like to know more about the challenges prisoners face within the first week of being released from prison? Hear about it in this radio interview with Allyson West at KALW News Radio Broadcast. We have been identified as a Cause in Facebook.

Issues/Statistics

The current prison population in California is approximately 168,000 , and 112,500 parolees are living outside prison walls. 92,000 parolees returned to custody in 2007 due to the commission of further crime after release.

Although the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) provides several re-entry programs, they reach only a small percentage of the paroling population and are not comprehensive in meeting the needs of the individuals they are intended to serve. Most glaringly lacking is individual case management to help each prisoner with his or her re-entry needs, specific to his or her situation upon release. Another major flaw in the system as it currently functions is the critical time lag in the delivery of services: even when adequate services are available, they frequently are not offered until a least a week after parole, and this leaves the newly released with few choices for survival in the interim. In addition, information about available services is often poorly disseminated, and as a result some parolees are never able to access assistance which is, in theory, available to them.

With careful planning and proper implementation of a comprehensive release plan prior to parole, these gaps are eliminated and the rehabilitation process, which ideally began in prison, can continue uninterrupted throughout parole and beyond. Any comprehensive model for such a program must include the active involvement of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the communities to which the incarcerated return, the public, and the media. In addition, on-going evaluation of programs, in order to track the impact of such comprehensive programs on recidivism rates, is also essential.