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Prison psychiatrists, psychologists and nurses tell Senate contracting, mandatory overtime and registry stretch staff and threaten continuity of care

3113378 · April 24, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Civil servants working inside state prisons told a Senate budget subcommittee that high contractor pay, extensive use of registries and mandatory overtime reduce continuity of care for mentally ill patients and increase safety and retention problems for staff.

Three institutional staff representatives—psychiatrist Dr. Navarette Mann (UAPD), clinical psychologist Dr. Aaron Cannon (AFSCME Local 2620), and licensed vocational nurse Heather Markovich (SEIU Local 1000 bargaining unit chair)—told the California State Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 that contracting, mandatory overtime and registry use degrade patient care and working conditions inside CDCR institutions.

Dr. Mann said contracting out clinical psychiatry has increased sharply and harms continuity of care. “Contract psychiatrists are making a lot more money than they ever have … we've heard of psychiatrists made over $100,000 per month just working as contract psychiatrist,” she said. Mann…

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