BIANNUAL REPORT
JULY 15, 2007

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................2
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD .......3
BOARD WILL UTILIZE THE WORK PRODUCT OF THE EXPERT PANEL ON
RECIDIVISM REDUCTION .........................................................................................3
FIRST YEAR BUDGET AND STAFFING........................................................................5
CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD MEETINGS ..............................5
CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD FUTURE ACTIVITIES ...............5

CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

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STATE OF CALIFORNIA

INTRODUCTION
The Office of the Inspector General is charged with independent oversight of California’s
correctional system. Its mission is to safeguard the integrity of the state’s correctional system—in
effect, to act as the eyes and ears of the public in overseeing the state’s prisons and juvenile
correctional facilities. This mission was broadened on May 3, 2007, with the signing of Assembly Bill
900, the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007. Among the many
provisions of Assembly Bill 900 is the establishment of the California Rehabilitation Oversight
Board within the Office of the Inspector General, to be chaired by the Inspector General.
The 11-member board is made up of state and local law enforcement, education, treatment, and
rehabilitation professionals. The board is charged with regularly examining the various inmate and
parolee mental health, substance abuse, educational, and employment programs operated by the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The board will report its findings on the
effectiveness of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s adult offender treatment efforts
to the Governor and the Legislature no less than biannually (January 15 and July 15). The board will
also report on gaps and levels of offender participation in rehabilitation services and ultimately make
recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature for improvements to offender rehabilitation
and treatment programs.
On June 19, 2007, the board held its first meeting and effectively launched its efforts to ensure
California has a sound rehabilitation model and provides effective services to the state’s adult
offenders, thereby making California a safer place for all our citizens.
The California Rehabilitation Oversight Board is committed to ensuring that its decision making
process is transparent to the public. Meeting notices and agendas, along with the board’s reports and
other pertinent documents will be posted on the Office of the Inspector General’s Web site at:
www.oig.ca.gov and public participation in the process is greatly encouraged.
This first biannual report of the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board will serve as a foundation
for the future work of the board. On behalf of the board members and support staff of the
California Rehabilitation Oversight Board, I invite you to review this report and provide us with
your feedback.

—

MATTHEW L. CATE, INSPECTOR GENERAL
CHAIRMAN, CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD

CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

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STATE OF CALIFORNIA

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD
Assembly Bill 900 added California Penal Code sections 6140 and 6141, establishing California
Rehabilitation Oversight Board within the Office of the Inspector General. The board comprises the
following 11 members:
(a) The Inspector General, who shall serve as chair
(b) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction, or his or her designee
(d) The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, or his or her designee
(e) The Director of the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, or his or her designee
(f) The Director of Mental Health, or his or her designee
(g) A faculty member of the University of California who has expertise in rehabilitation of criminal
offenders, appointed by the President of the University of California
(h) A faculty member of the California State University, who has expertise in rehabilitation of
criminal offenders, appointed by the Chancellor of the California State University
(i) A county sheriff, appointed by the Governor
(j) A county chief probation officer, appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules
(k) A local government official who provides mental health, substance abuse, or educational
services to criminal offenders, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly
The California Rehabilitation Oversight Board must meet at least quarterly, and regularly examine
the various mental health, substance abuse, educational, and employment programs for inmates and
parolees operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The board must report to the Governor and the Legislature biannually, on January 15 and July 15,
and may submit other reports during the year if it finds they are necessary. The reports must include,
but are not limited to, findings on the following:
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the effectiveness of treatment efforts;
the rehabilitation needs of offenders;
gaps in rehabilitation services in the department; and
levels of offender participation and offender success in the programs.

Assembly Bill 900 also requires the board to make recommendations to the Governor and
Legislature with respect to modifications, additions, and eliminations of rehabilitation and treatment
programs.

BOARD WILL UTILIZE THE WORK PRODUCT OF THE EXPERT PANEL ON
RECIDIVISM REDUCTION
California Penal Code section 6141 specifically requires the board to use the work products
developed for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a result of the
provisions of the 2006 Budget Act, including Provision 18 of Item 5225-001-0001. This provision of
the 2006 Budget Act states the following:

CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

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STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Of the funds appropriated in this item, $900,000 shall be used to contract with correctional program experts to
complete comprehensive evaluations of all adult prison and parole programs designed to reduce recidivism,
including education, rehabilitation and treatment, and parole programs, for both male and female inmates and
parolees. This evaluation shall include an inventory of existing programs, including program capacity, as well as
an assessment of whether each of these programs is likely to have a significant impact on recidivism for those
participants. This evaluation shall also include an estimate of the number of inmates or parolees not currently
participating in these programs who would be likely to benefit from participation. The Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation shall submit to the chairpersons and vice chairpersons of the committees in both
houses of the Legislature that consider the state budget and to the Legislative Analyst’s Office a report detailing
the findings of the evaluation by June 30, 2007.
In compliance with this provision of the 2006 Budget Act, the California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation established the “Expert Panel on Recidivism Reduction.” This panel, comprised
of nationwide practitioners, consultants, and researchers, is charged with evaluating the department's
approach to providing inmate programming and treatment. The panel will make recommendations
on programs that show promise and should be expanded, as well as on programs that are ineffective
and should be discontinued. Through these efforts, the department states that it hopes to propose a
balanced, cost-effective, and evidence-based approach to increasing programming levels within adult
institutions. The panel held its first meeting in December 2006 and is comprised of the following:
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Marisela Montes, Chief Deputy Secretary, Adult Programs (Chair)
Joan Petersilia, Ph.D. Director, Center for Evidence-Based Corrections, UC, Irvine (Co-chair)
James F. Austin, Ph.D. of JFA Associates
Jeffery A. Beard, Ph.D., Director, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Barbara Bloom, Ph.D., Professor Criminal Justice, California State University, Sonoma
Mark Carey of the Mark Carey Group
Elyse Clawson, Executive Director, Crime and Justice Institute
James H. Gomez, Director (Ret.) California Department of Corrections
Marty Horn, Commissioner, Department of Corrections, New York City
Kermit Humphries, Reentry Specialist, National Institute of Corrections
Steve Ickes, Deputy Director, Arizona Department of Corrections
Michael Jacobson, Ph.D., President, VERA Institute of Justice
Barry Krisberg, Ph.D., President, National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Joe Lehman, Secretary (Ret.) Washington State Department of Corrections
Mimi Silbert, Ph.D., President and CEO, Delancey Street Foundation
Faye Taxman, Ph.D., Professor at Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Reggie Wilkinson, Ed.D., Director (Ret.) Ohio Department of Corrections

The scope of the panel’s work includes the following two goals:
Goal 1: To complete comprehensive evaluations of all adult prison and parole programs designed to
reduce recidivism, including education, rehabilitation and treatment, and parole programs, for both
male and female inmates and parolees. This evaluation includes:

CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

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STATE OF CALIFORNIA

•

An inventory of existing programs, including program capacity, as well as an assessment of
whether each of these programs is likely to have a significant impact on recidivism for those
participants.

•

An estimate of the number of inmates or parolees not currently participating in these programs
who would be likely to benefit from participation.

Goal 2: To design a program model for evidence-based offender rehabilitation that will greatly
improve the parole success of California’s adult offenders.

FIRST YEAR BUDGET AND STAFFING
As noted above, Assembly Bill 900 established the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board within
the Office of the Inspector General with the Inspector General as the Chair. To coordinate the
activities of the board, the 2007-08 Governor’s budget includes one deputy inspector general, senior
position, one half-time deputy inspector general position, and one half-time associate governmental
program analyst position. In addition, the budget includes $125,000 in funding for supporting the
meetings and contracting with experts, when needed.
Since the establishment of the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board, Office of the Inspector
General staff have been actively working to become familiar with the mandates of the board, request
funding, locate meeting sites, research public notice requirements, and schedule the first board
meeting.

CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD MEETINGS
The California Rehabilitation Oversight Board held its first meeting on Tuesday, June 19, 2007. The
board members in attendance at this inaugural meeting were Matthew Cate, Inspector General,
James Tilton, Secretary, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Debra Jones, Administrator,
Adult Education Programs (Designee for Superintendent of Public Instruction), José Millan, Vice
Chancellor, California Community Colleges (Designee for Chancellor, California Community
Colleges) Renée Zito, Director, State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, Stephen Mayberg,
Director of Mental Health, Susan Turner, Professor, University of California, Irvine, (appointee by
President of the University of California), and Loren Buddress, Chief Probation Officer (appointee
by Senate Committee on Rules).
The first meeting included introductions of the board members, a discussion of Assembly Bill 900
(the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007), a presentation by the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Expert Panel on Recidivism Reduction
previewing its report on California’s rehabilitation oversight model, and public comment. In
addition, the board approved release of this report, which satisfies the board’s reporting
requirements found in California Penal Code section 6141.
Additional information on the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board and all public notices and
agendas for meetings may be viewed and downloaded from the Office of the Inspector General’s
website at www.oig.ca.gov.

CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

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STATE OF CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD FUTURE ACTIVITIES
Over the next several months the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board will review relevant
literature and take testimony on topics related to the rehabilitation and treatment efforts of the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In addition, the board will review the
work product of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Expert Panel on
Recidivism Reduction, and the rehabilitation efforts of the department itself. The board will report
any substantive conclusions to the Governor and the Legislature.
The board will continue to meet at least quarterly as mandated by law and will work with the various
appointing powers to ensure that board vacancies are filled.
The California Rehabilitation Oversight Board will release its first substantive report on January 15,
2008.

CALIFORNIA REHABILITATION OVERSIGHT BOARD
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

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STATE OF CALIFORNIA