http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/30/state/n182332S45.DTL
Lawmakers agree with much of plan to change prisons
(03-30) 18:23 PST SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- Legislators are on the verge of giving Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger most of what he wants in reorganizing the state's troubled prison system, pinning control — and responsibility — on his hand-picked corrections chief. The governor wants to shift power from the adult Department of Corrections and the Youth Authority to a consolidated Cabinet-level Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, headed by current Youth and Adult Correctional Secretary Roderick Hickman. The proposal is the vanguard of the Republican governor's larger plan to eventually restructure state government. It has become more pressing as the prison system faces a seemingly never-ending series of scandals and scathing experts' reports even as it fights a climbing population and dwindling budget. Schwarzenegger withdrew as premature a companion proposal to eliminate dozens of state boards and commissions. But Democrats who control the Legislature are preparing to let his prisons plan take effect automatically May 3 — but immediately pass compromise legislation that would amend it to deal with their concerns and objections raised by the watchdog Little Hoover Commission. The changes would take effect July 1. Hickman briefed Republican legislators Wednesday, and a Senate hearing is set for Thursday. "This is truly reorganization, it is not reform," but the changes are needed to let reforms proceed, said Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, who negotiated the compromise without the political rancor that has met other Schwarzenegger proposals. "While this is not perfect, this is a movement forward." "We agree with the intent of what they're trying to do. The entire corrections department needs to be revamped," said Senate GOP Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Tustin. His members plan to consider the details for the next week. The compromise would keep what is currently the California Youth Authority as a separate division, addressing critics' concern that juveniles would be lost in the adult prison system. The division would be run by its own chief deputy director, with its own deputy directors for facilities, programs and parole — mirroring the adult system. Separate adult and youth parole boards would also be maintained. And there would be diversity requirements for board members, so they reflect the demographic makeup of the prison population. Separately, a director of women's programs would be named to oversee programs for female inmates and parolees. A Juvenile Justice Advisory Commission would be created, a variation on the public prison commission recommended by a review panel chaired by former Gov. George Deukmejian, previously opposed by the administration. Schwarzenegger's eight appointments to the commission would be subject to Senate confirmation. The Senate would no longer confirm the state's 32 wardens — whose title would be changed to directors or chiefs of operations. But senators would confirm 27 other upper-level appointees, including undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, chief deputy secretaries, division chiefs and deputy directors. Warden appointments would be reviewed by the prison system's inspector general, who would issue a "qualified" or "not qualified" recommendation much as happens with judicial appointments. The inspector general also would do a performance review of each prison after a year, and an audit every three years. Some Republican lawmakers are concerned the prison system would shift too far toward rehabilitation, but Schwarzenegger continues to put public safety first, said Deputy Legislative Secretary Karen Pank. Rehabilitating inmates to keep them from returning to crime and prison is an integral part of that, she said. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who is carrying the bill in the Assembly, said he remains concerned the administration is promoting a renewed focus on rehabilitation even as it proposes to cut $95 million from inmate education and other programs this year. Meanwhile Wednesday, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approved Romero's request for an audit into how the Department of Corrections projects inmate populations, after she renewed questions over potential conflicts of interest by former administration officials. The department negotiated two emergency no-bid contracts to reopen two private prisons to deal with an unexpected population jump shortly after the prisons were closed for budget reasons. Schwarzenegger's former finance director and two others are now top
executives at the private prison companies.
On the Net:
Read SB737 at www.sen.ca.gov California Youth and Adult Correctional Agency: California Department of Corrections: California Youth Authority: Little Hoover Commission: California Correctional Peace Officers Association:
Feb. 22, 2005 Governor submits prison plan as senator seeks budget control
DON THOMPSON Associated Press
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday triggered an up- or-down vote on his plan to reorganize the state's troubled $7 billion-a-year prison system, as a state senator began her own effort to rein in the Department of Correction's chronic overspending. Schwarzenegger submitted his plan to the Legislature a day before the watchdog Little Hoover Commission votes whether to support the proposal and makes recommendations for improvements. But legislators can now make no changes to the governor's plan, no matter the merits of the commission's critique. Under state law, the plan takes effect automatically unless a majority in either the Assembly or Senate votes to block the proposal within 60 legislative days. Schwarzenegger called on lawmakers to "partner with me in reforming our broken prison system." If the plan is approved, he said, "California will once again establish a system that is a national model for corrections integrity, innovation and success." The governor proposes to shift power from the Corrections Department and Youth Authority to the cabinet-level Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, which would be renamed the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. That would end redundancies and ultimately bring cost savings, the administration says. But it says the big benefit is a streamlining of responsibility that would end what have become routine budget overruns, pervasive scandals, and a "code of silence" that punishes whistle-blowers while protecting wrongdoers within the system. Critics, including many lawmakers, say the plan merely shuffles organizational chart boxes. One of the most vocal critics, state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City, submitted seven bills Tuesday she said would force the department to control spending, trim the inmate population and cut health care costs. The department confirmed it has overspent by $1.15 billion just in the last four fiscal years, Speier said, tracking an independent financial analysis last year by The Associated Press. The bills require the department to use nearby hospitals and to seek discounted prescriptions to cut medical costs; to improve living conditions at women's prisons; to screen incoming inmates for drug and learning problems; to establish charter schools at every adult and youth facility; and to screen inmates and employees for illegal drugs. The bills also would permit the department and county probation offices to use electronic monitoring devices for parolees, and require a legislative analysis of any future labor agreements with the powerful prison guards' union. ON THE NET Read SB616, SB617, SB618, SB619, SB620, SB621 and SB622 at Bill Information California Youth and Adult Correctional Agency: http://www.yaca.ca.gov California Department of Corrections: http://www.corr.ca.gov California Youth Authority: http://www.cya.ca.gov Little Hoover Commission: http://www.bsa.ca.gov/lhc.html California Correctional Peace Officers Association: http://www.ccpoanet.org/
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/10974222 .htm Wed, Feb. 23, 2005
DON THOMPSON Associated Press
SACRAMENTO - A government watchdog commission backed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's restructuring of the state's troubled prison system Wednesday, praising his philosophical shift from incarcerating to rehabilitating inmates. The Little Hoover Commission, a nonpartisan agency that reviews operations of state government, urged lawmakers to approve a plan submitted Tuesday by the governor, but said they would review progress in a year. They also recommended changes they said would improve the proposal. The governor's plan will take effect automatically unless a majority
in either the Assembly or Senate votes to block the proposal within
But lawmakers are negotiating with the administration to amend the measure either with separate legislation or by rejecting the plan for the $7 billion-a-year prison system and adopting a modified version, said Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles. The governor wants to shift power from the adult Department of Corrections and the Youth Authority to a consolidated cabinet-level Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The plan would give consolidated power and responsibility to Youth and Adult Correctional Secretary Roderick Hickman, whom Schwarzenegger has charged with ending the system's routine budget overruns, pervasive scandals, and a "code of silence" that protects abusive guards while punishing whistle-blowers. Commissioners and key lawmakers are concerned the youth program will get lost in the bureaucratic shuffle. And while the Senate would give up its power to confirm prison wardens under the plan, senators want to confirm top agency deputies. With changes mainly in those areas, lawmakers are likely to approve Schwarzenegger's plan, predicted Romero, who heads prison oversight and budget committees and is leading the Senate talks. But state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City, who with Romero has led a series of critical prison hearings, said the reorganization won't solve the system's problems and urged the administration to work closely with lawmakers for more substantial reform. The plan is the leading edge of Schwarzenegger's larger state government reorganization effort after he withdrew a companion plan last week to eliminate or consolidate 88 boards and commissions. "The changes that are proposed are fundamental and profound," said commission member and state Sen. Charles Poochigian, R-Fresno, reflecting the comments of other commissioners. "It's far from perfect, but it's a good start." Seven of eight commissioners present Wednesday supported the plan, while state Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Sunol, abstained over concerns about the juvenile justice system. While Hickman faces virulent opposition from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, one of the state's most powerful unions, even reluctant commissioners like Figueroa said they were convinced he alone can shift the gigantic prison system. Yet they criticized the administration for promoting inmate education and other rehabilitative services even as it proposes cutting $95 million from such programs in next year's budget. Hickman should shift money from ineffective programs to make up the shortfall, commissioners recommended. They also said he should speed the system's adoption of modern record keeping, particularly when it comes to keeping medical records. The number of deputies reporting directly to Hickman should be reduced, but a women's programs director should be hired to oversee reforms in troubled women's prisons and parole programs, the commissioners recommended. Hickman was open but noncommittal about the recommendations, saying the administration submitted a realistic plan. ON THE NET California Youth and Adult Correctional Agency: http://www.yaca.ca.gov California Department of Corrections: http://www.corr.ca.gov California Youth Authority: http://www.cya.ca.gov Little Hoover Commission: http://www.bsa.ca.gov/lhc.html California Correctional Peace Officers Association: http://www.ccpoanet.org/
http://www.thereporter.com/editorials/ci_2589424 02/28/2005 07:35:50 AM Much work left ahead Prison reform will take talks, support, hard work
While the consolidation of power over state penal institutions is a bit troubling, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's restructuring of the state's troubled system is on the right track as it attempts a philosophical shift from incarcerating to rehabilitating inmates. We join a respected government watchdog commission and call on the Legislature to adopt the plan submitted by the governor. The Little Hoover Commission also sees a need to modify the governor's plan a bit. What needs amending is the portion of the plan that would centralize power and responsibility to Youth and Adult Correctional Secretary Roderick Hickman, the person tagged by the governor to clean up the system. The governor's platform, a bit of reality and a bit of grandstanding, calls for ending recurring budget overruns, scandals, and a so-called "code of silence" that reportedly protects abusive guards while punishing whistle-blowers. If Gov. Schwarzenegger gets his way, the power over the adult Department of Corrections and the Youth Authority would merge into a consolidated cabinet-level Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Will the youth program get lost in a bureaucratic shuffle? That would need to be avoided, perhaps by restoring some division of oversight or organization. The governor's plan could go into effect automatically unless a majority in either the Assembly or Senate votes to block the proposal within 60 legislative days. More likely, we hope, negotiations with the administration would ease our concerns. One must wonder how the governor and his proposed overhaul of the prison system will be successful in shifting the focus to rehabilitation. After all, promoting inmate education and other rehabilitative services while calling for $95 million in cuts from such programs in next year's budget is a bit of a contradition. Even with adoption of his plan and support from prison reform groups and lawmakers who want to see a change, the governor has his work cut out for him. ------------
Editorial: Prescription for prisons?
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, March 5, 2005
The state's prison system needs reform more than any other agency. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger submitted Reorganization Plan 1 to the Legislature Feb. 22, overhauling the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. The plan would rename the agency the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and would centralize a fragmented system of prisons that have operated historically as fiefdoms. Under the law, unfortunately, the Legislature has to vote up or down on the proposal - as is, with no amendments. But the governor and lawmakers should not let this procedural limitation prevent them from doing the responsible thing: agreeing on much-needed changes upfront and incorporating them into companion legislation. The Little Hoover Commission assessed the governor's plan on Feb. 23 and made recommendations worth heeding. The commission liked the new centralization. In the past, the state's 32 prisons have operated independently with no accountability or uniformity in operations. If nothing else, the governor's plan would achieve centralization and should be approved for that reason alone. But the plan as proposed has some serious problems that need to be fixed, as the commission noted: * Only 11 states allow the adult corrections system to operate state juvenile institutions. The commission recommends breaking away the Youth Authority from the Department of Corrections altogether. As experience has shown, the current California system is not working. The juvenile justice system should be a stand-alone agency or placed in a human services agency - or turned over to the counties. The new plan, unfortunately, is even worse than the old organization in relegating the youth system to subordinate status in the adult corrections system. * In general, the new plan has too many people reporting directly to the head of the agency - two deputy secretaries and the heads of 12 offices. While that hierarchy creates a clear chain of command for the first time, the commission said it "could result in an excessive workload for the secretary." That's an understatement; it likely would lead to paralysis. Many of these functions should be clustered and placed under senior managers. * Neither the current system nor the proposed reorganization includes a chief financial officer. The consequences are obvious: The corrections system overspends its budget year after year; basic business functions are not centrally automated; no accountability for finances exists anywhere in the agency. A chief financial officer should be a top-level position at the deputy level (not just one of 12 offices that reports to the secretary), and it should oversee divisions of financial management and business services; information technology acquisition; facility construction and maintenance. * The governor's reorganization plan fails to address women offenders, whose numbers in prison continue to increase. The commission sensibly recommended that the agency create a director of Women's Programs. With these changes, worked out in legislative language acceptable to the governor and legislators, the Legislature should approve the overhaul of the corrections agency. But without these changes, Schwarzenegger's plan is deeply flawed and
should be rejected.
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