n 1983, at the age of twenty-one, Michael Johnson 1 had a deadly confrontation
with a drug dealer and was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to
fifteen-years-to-life. He spent the next twenty-eight years in California prisons.
While incarcerated, Johnson earned his drug counselor certification through an
offender-mentor certification program. He cofounded a program that tutors offenders
to take their General Education Development high school equivalency test. He also
became a licensed x-ray technician and was a team coordinator for California’s Alter-
natives to Violence Project.
After release, Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, graduating
summa cum laude. He is an alcohol and drug counselor in two different California
counties and a lead facilitator for an Alternatives to Violence Project in his home town.
Johnson’s efforts were recently recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Johnson is
well remembered by those remaining within the walls of the prison; his life continues
to shine as a beacon of hope to those who knew him. ‘‘I have been helped greatly by the
kindness of others,’’ Johnson remembers. ‘‘I was shown unconditional love and com-
passion. I want to pass that on to everyone I meet.’’
Vincent Morales was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. As he came closer to his
release date, he realized he needed skills in order to support his family. He chose
a woodworking arts program, where he developed carpentry skills with an emphasis on
crafting guitars. Upon release, he taught his son and brother his artistry. Over a period
of years, they developed a family business where Morales and his son now build high-
end guitars for famous artists.
BOOM: The Journal of California, Vol. 6, Number 2, pps 52–56, ISSN 2153-8018, electronic ISSN 2153-764X.
© 2016 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for
permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’s Reprints and
Permissions web page, http://www.ucpress.edu/journals.php?p¼reprints. DOI: 10.1525/boom.2016.6.2.52.
52 B O O M C A L I F O R N I A . C O M
Justine Sultano struggled with substance abuse for a long
time, eventually committing a crime and receiving a five-year
prison sentence. While in prison, she took advantage of the
rehabilitative services offered by the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), participated in self-
help groups, received substance-use disorder treatment, and
pursued academic and career technical education programs.
While in prison, Justine mastered software programs such
as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Upon her release,
she entered a rehabilitation facility in San Francisco, where
she learned how to send emails, create a re´sume´, and search
for a job. After eighteen months, Justine found a desk-clerk
position at a local business. After leaving the rehabilitation
facility, she enrolled in a prison-run program that provided
transitional housing and emotional support; it also helped her
navigate the court process to regain custody of her daughter.
Sultano states, ‘‘I used to be a person who pointed fingers
at others for my problems, but through the programs
offered by CDCR, I learned to be honest and upfront with
who I was, and where I wanted to go, and CDCR’s programs
helped me get here.’’
Justine completed her journey with CDCR on 9 Septem-
ber, 2015, successfully finishing her parole. Today, she still
works at the local business, has custody of her daughter, and
plans to attend school this year to further her career.
Every day, men and women are released from prison and
return to their homes and communities. Unfortunately, many
will commit another crime and return to prison. CDCR has the
tools to break the cycle and give offenders the skills that will
enable them to be productive members of our communities.
Assessment
The Division of Rehabilitative Programs (DRP), the rehabil-
itative arm of CDCR, provides programming and teaches
skills to both prisoners and parolees to reduce their re-
conviction or return-to-prison rate, three years after release
from a CDCR institution. As part of CDCR, DRP exists to
help prisoners leave prison with better life and job skills,
more education, and the confidence to reintegrate into our
communities. This process begins the moment they enter
the prison system through the community reentry process.
BOO M | S U M M E R 2 0 1 6 53
Once a convicted felon enters the prison system, their
likelihood of being convicted of a new crime is based on
a range of risk factors. CDCR uses the California Static Risk
Assessment (CSRA) tool to calculate an offender’s risk of
being convicted of a new offense after release from prison.
Based on their criminal history and demographics, offen-
ders are designated as having a low, moderate, or high risk
of being convicted of a new offense after release.
CDCR uses the Correctional Offender Management and
Profiling Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS) tool to assess an
offender’s criminogenic needs and inform decisions regard-
ing placement, supervision, and case management.
Once a prisoner’s needs are assessed, a correctional
counselor assists them with program placement. Prisoners
have many in-prison rehabilitative services and programs
available to them statewide, including treatment for sub-
stance abuse, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), aca-
demic and college education, and technical training.
According to CDCR’s 2014 Outcome Evaluation Report,
offenders who received in-prison Substance Abuse Treat-
ment (SAT) and completed aftercare returned to prison at
a lower rate (20.9 percent) after three years of follow-up
than offenders who did not receive in-prison SAT or after-
care (55.6 percent). Statewide, the three-year return to
prison rate—CDCR’s primary measure of recidivism—for
all offenders released in fiscal year 2011-12 was almost
double (54.3 percent) the rate of offenders who received
in-prison SAT and completed aftercare (20.9 percent). 2
CBT addresses negative patterns of thought that can
potentially lead to criminal relapse. Negative patterns might
include anything from substance abuse, anger mismanage-
ment, strained family relationships, and a propensity to
think about committing crimes. These negative patterns are
addressed through treatment, individual and group discus-
sions, counseling, motivational interviewing, role-playing,
and other methods. CBT programs help prisoners deter-
mine what leads them to certain actions and how to avoid
situations that can trigger relapse.
Continuing Education
DRP’s Office of Correctional Education (OCE) provides edu-
cation programming developed to prepare prisoners upon
their release. OCE has established an array of educational
programs that enhance the prisoners’ skill levels while
providing effective tools and resources to reduce recidi-
vism. 3 In fact, many enter prison with poor literacy skills
and no vocational trade or college diploma.
Most prisoners attend classes for at least thirty hours
per week in a traditional school setting with desks, marker
boards, and a teacher. Mobilizing thousands of students
throughout state prisons and classrooms presents organi-
zational and safety challenges, but DRP is committed to
organizing classes based upon a model that provides indi-
vidualized, self-paced programs for each prisoner. Those
who fail to meet the behavior standards are not allowed to
attend classes.
During incarceration, prisoners are tested for basic
reading comprehension. If a prisoner demonstrates skills
lower than a ninth-grade level, they are enrolled in the
Adult Basic Education (ABE) program, offering more
remedial levels of education. 4 ABE is an academic program
emphasizing reading, writing, and mathematics. ABE pre-
pares prisoners for entry into a high school equivalency or
high school diploma program, which they can complete in
prison.
The OCE currently provides 19 CTE programs designed
to train prisoners for a career path in multiple employment
and vocational sectors upon release. 5 These sectors include
building and construction, energy and utilities, finance
and business, public service, manufacturing and product
development, and transportation. Many CTE programs
include green employment skills relevant to solar, geother-
mal, and smart energy management practices. Each pro-
gram aligns with a positive employment outlook within the
state of California, providing opportunities to earn a livable
wage.
For many prisoners, having the ability and opportuni-
ties to earn a livable wage marks the difference between
relapsing into crime or becoming a contributing member
of the community.
Others focus on a college education, many receiving
Associate of Arts degrees in Sociology, Human Services,
Business, and General Studies.
The Transition
Transitioning back to society can be intimidating for prison-
ers; often the world has shifted dramatically during years
of incarceration. The shock of little-to-no contact with the
54 B O O M C A L I F O R N I A . C O M
outside world, followed by release into the community
fueled with new technology can be overwhelming without
assistance. The Male Community Reentry Program (MCRP)
is one of CDCR’s efforts to support the transition back into
society. 6 CDCR contracts with established community pro-
viders for housing, treatment, and other rehabilitative
services.
To ease reentry into society, the MCRP allows eligible
prisoners to serve the last six months of their sentences in
a contracted provider’s community facility instead of state
prison. Not quite the same as a halfway house, an older term
now used to designate sober living homes, in the case of
MCRP men are still ‘‘in custody.’’ Parole is also technically
a version of being ‘‘in custody,’’ and yet the MCRP function
is both pre-parole and pre-release. The significance of this is
found when many inmates today, especially with so many
increased commuted sentences from major sentencing law
changes, never become paroled. MCRP participants are
assisted in obtaining their California identification and
Social Security cards—both necessary to find employment.
Re´sume´ writing, professional certifications, and job search
assistance are also provided. If a qualified participant finds
a job while participating in MCRP, they are allowed to work
while still serving their remaining sentence, and the money
they earn is saved for use upon release. In addition, prison-
ers in the MCRP are provided access to a wide range of
community-based rehabilitative services designed to deflect
negative thought patterns that can lead to relapse, such as
CBT.
Some prisoners close to release from prison may not be
eligible for the MCRP due to their level of offense or med-
ical/mental health needs. Instead, they are assigned to an in-
prison reentry program, where they can receive similar
rehabilitative services such as CTE classes, substance-use
disorder treatment, anger management and family relation-
ship counseling, and trauma informed gender-responsive
treatment for women. While some of these programs may
be available to prisoners with longer sentences, the in-
prison reentry program’s primary focus is to prepare those
who will soon return to our communities. Reentry pro-
grams provide prisoners, within 18 months of release, with
training for career readiness, job search skills, and practical
financial literacy to facilitate a successful reentry into their
communities.
BOO M | S U M M E R 2 0 1 6 55
Technological Advances
Like other educational institutions, California’s prisons are
harnessing technology to better reach students. Implement-
ing new technology in California prisons poses a raft of
challenges due to the physical space, location, security, con-
nectivity, firewalls, and funding requirements. However,
these challenges are not insurmountable. 7
E-readers allow prisoners enrolled in college correspon-
dence programs to study for their classes with digital text-
books. They also allow prisoners living in high security areas
to continue their education through independent study.
Streaming television channels exponentially increase the
quantity and quality of media content currently available for
education, rehabilitation, and training purposes within Cali-
fornia’s prison system.
Four channels were branded and designated to stream
specific content to aid prisoners in different stages and areas
of their rehabilitation process. The four channels managed
by and streamed to the institutions directly from CDCR
headquarters focus on four subjects critical to the success
of a recently released prisoner.
Freedom TV focuses on how to prepare for reentry to
society. Formerly incarcerated individuals and community
members help prisoners prepare for the roadblocks they
may face upon reentry. Wellness TV provides inmates infor-
mation on developing and maintaining healthy habits. This
channel teaches the factors that affect wellness of mind and
body. Education TV streams academic programming com-
plementing the lessons taught within the education classes
developed by OCE and community colleges. Employment TV
teaches job search techniques, interviewing skills, re´sume´
building and financial literacy.
Continuing Rehabilitation
Some prisoners, depending on the duration of their sentence,
may not complete all programming by the time of their
release. To address this issue, Community Reentry Services
(CRS) offers rehabilitative DRP services outside of prison.8
CRS works with contracted community-based partnerships
statewide, creating a network of services for parolees. This
network provides education, substance-use disorder treat-
ment, transitional housing, life skills training, financial plan-
ning, and assistance in reestablishing family relationships.
Thus, DRP displays a commitment to provide prisoners
ongoing rehabilitation in an effort to prevent recidivism.
Relapses, especially in criminal thinking, can be very
hard to avoid and sometimes take years to overcome.
Reducing recidivism is, therefore, a continuous effort—
an effort that requires more than conventional tools.
The Way Forward
Part of the effort to ensure quality and proper programming
for prisoners includes a governor-commissioned ‘‘Lifer’’
advisory committee, consisting of 20 to 30 formerly incar-
cerated men and women who successfully reintegrated into
society. Under the direction of DRP, this advisory group
meets to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the in-
prison and community reentry system.
As portrayed on reality television shows and often in the
news media, California prisons can be very difficult, violent
places. The media often misses, however, the many positive
programs available to those who desire to change. Tens of
thousands of California prisoners are enrolled in some form
of rehabilitative program—most want to change. Many are
carrying books, not shackles. Many encourage peace, not
violence. Most will return to our communities. It is our duty
to help them become productive citizens when they do