Policy Brief: California Prison Programs and Reentry Pathways

After taking on a rehabilitative mission in 2005, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) began expanding education, employment, and rehabilitative programs. In 2012, CDCR set an ambitious goal to meet the rehabilitative needs of 70 percent of eligible people.

By 2019, prison program capacity had greatly expanded, but most people released from prisons had not participated. In a PPIC study of prisoners released between 2015 and 2019, four in ten had participated in any program. Furthermore, most people assessed to need programs did not participate, and some without assessed needs did.

How did CDCR work to raise participation in prison programs?

Whether people can participate in programs depends on program availability at each prison. By 2019, programs that could be made available everywhere were. Rehabilitative programs and Transitions, a job readiness program, expanded across prisons. Community colleges gradually added courses, which supplemented existing primary and secondary education classes. Career technical education (CTE) programs were offered in prisons with facilities to accommodate them-none were available in all prisons.

Participation also depends on program capacity. Slots allocated to rehabilitative and employment programs more than tripled-from enough to serve 8 percent of the prison population in 2015 to 30 percent in 2019. Slots for substance use disorder treatment rose 124 percent; anger management and criminal thinking programs grew more than 150 percent; and family and relationships programs slots more than doubled. Slots for education grew 9 percent as CDCR hired over 200 new academic and vocational instructors.

Do the people who need prison programs participate in them?

Most people who need programs do not participate. On average, 68 percent of people were assessed to need substance use disorder treatment-and 15 percent participated. About 40 percent needed a program to address criminal thinking and 47 percent needed anger management; 10 percent participated in either program. Twenty-five percent of prisoners were assessed to need family and relationships programs, and 6 percent entered a program. Though 41 percent had assessed employment needs, 9 percent participated in any CTE program and 19 percent participated in Transitions.

Between 28 percent and 42 percent who tested into education programs participated in them. On average, people entering prison tested into primary education with eighth-grade level reading scores and sixth- to seventh-grade level math skills. About four in ten who first tested into primary education ever took adult basic education classes, but fewer than three in ten who tested at the high school level took a GED course.

What factors may affect whether people participate in prison programs?

Beyond availability and capacity, the time people spend in prison can influence whether they participate. Between 2015 and 2019, average prison terms lengthened by seven months-from just under to just over five years. Yet 40 percent of people spent one year or less in prison. Those who served less than six months were least likely to participate in programs-and may have had limited access; even those serving up to one year participated less than those who served longer.

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