The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is restricting access to rehabilitative programming for incarcerated people as it clamps down on overtime spending before the end of its financial year.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of rehabilitative programs operate throughout California prisons,<\/a> including restorative justice, violence prevention, higher education, creative arts expression, and entrepreneurial training. <\/p>\n The rollback began earlier this month and will end June 30, according to documents obtained by CalMatters. Corrections spokesperson Terri Hardy described the limitations as a \u201ccost-saving measure.\u201d The department did not respond to a detailed list of questions, including which prisons and programs have been affected. <\/p>\n Since 2022, the department\u2019s overall budget has remained about flat, about $18 billion a year, despite recent cuts that include five prison closures.<\/a> <\/p>\n Lawmakers at budget hearings earlier this year pressed Corrections Secretary Jeff Macomber to tighten spending as the department asked for additional $91 million in ongoing funding to cover unbudgeted personnel costs. The department last month also proposed an additional $100 million in workers compensation. <\/p>\n The California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., the union that represents state prison guards,<\/a> did not respond to CalMatters\u2019 requests for an interview.<\/p>\n Tony Tafoya, who\u2019s been incarcerated since 2012, said he\u2019s never seen anything like this. Tafoya said the scaleback has had the biggest effect on college classes. He\u2019s enrolled in Mount Tamalpais College at San Quentin, but said his math class has missed out on 12 days of instruction. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I\u2019m falling behind,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of healing that comes from going to school. It provides humanity. It makes me feel like I\u2019m actually seen as a person. I feel like that\u2019s what\u2019s being missed out on.\u201d<\/p>\n Programs at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga have also been interrupted, including a civic education pilot program. The program, run by the organization Initiate Justice, includes just over a dozen incarcerated people who helped draft legislation to improve social emotional learning in the K-12 school system. Assembly Bill 1851<\/a>, written by Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson), is sailing through the Legislature and scheduled for an education committee hearing on Wednesday. <\/p>\n Antoinette Ratcliffe, executive director of Initiate Justice, said the group \u201cthrives off of active and live discussion, off of meaningful exploration.\u201d The severing of that connection disrupts the learning experience and practical application of the programming, she said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have made it a goal across the Legislature to make rehabilitative programming a priority so to continue to see disruptions like this feels counter to what we agreed upon as a state,\u201d she said. \u201cIt feels like a let down.\u201d<\/p>\n Other advocates have echoed those sentiments. Danica Rodarmel, a criminal justice reform lobbyist, said any disruption in people\u2019s ability to access programming affects their mental health and well-being. The completion of a program or certificate, she said, is often a determining factor in people\u2019s ability to be granted parole. <\/p>\n \u201cLimiting people\u2019s ability to engage in pro-social activities is contradictory to the goals of maintaining safe prisons both for the people who are incarcerated but also for the people who work there,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n