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Lawmakers hear evidence that community programs, CalPIA and CTE reduce recidivism and help reentry
Summary
CDCR officials, community providers and CalPIA told a Senate subcommittee that rehabilitative programming and industry‑aligned training reduce recidivism and support reentry. Community groups asked the Legislature to renew and expand the "Right" grant funding for community‑led programs.
Deputy Director Denise Tanamoto of CDCR's Division of Rehabilitative Programs, Kenneth Hartman of Transformative Programming Works, representatives of Land Together (formerly Insight Garden Project), and leaders of the California Prison Industry Authority (CalPIA) told the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 that rehabilitative programming and industry‑aligned vocational training lower recidivism and support postrelease employment.
"These programs work," Denise Tanamoto said, noting CDCR's recidivism analysis of a 2019–2020 cohort that showed a 39.1 percent overall three‑year reconviction rate and a 14.8 percent three‑year reconviction rate for incarcerated people who earned milestone completion, rehabilitative achievement, or educational merit credits.
Kenneth Hartman, executive director of Transformative Programming Works, described community‑based organizations funded by the Rehabilitative Investment Grants for Healing and Transformation (referred to in testimony as the "Right" grant) and said participants in funded programs have substantially lower recidivism. Hartman and several community providers asked the Legislature to restore or expand Right‑grant funding (witnesses requested a $20 million allocation for the program during testimony), arguing that grants sustain programs and shorten waiting lists.
Kalaipi Correa of Land Together described horticultural and trauma‑informed programs that include prerelease coaching and reentry case management; she emphasized continuity of care from incarceration through reentry. "Continuity of care is essential for long‑term success," she told the committee, describing classroom and field instruction and prerelease coaching.
California Prison Industry Authority officials described job training programs and industry‑recognized certifications available across prisons, including health‑care facilities maintenance, commercial diving, welding and AutoCAD, and said a recent UC‑Irvine study found lower return‑to‑custody rates among program participants. CalPIA representatives also described an Entry‑to‑Employment (E2E) network that helps participants apply for jobs prior to release and cited early success stories of hires within days of release.
Formerly incarcerated speaker Justin Ennis testified about his experience in CalPIA and other programs and described how training and workplace skills led to rapid postrelease employment. "They didn't teach me to survive. They taught me to thrive," Ennis said; he is now a salaried project manager and returns to prisons to speak to participants.
Multiple community witnesses and formerly incarcerated program alumni testified in favor of the Right grant during the public comment period, emphasizing lower recidivism, safer facilities and community benefits. Subcommittee members said they would consider program funding requests during the budget process; the hearing was informational and no immediate funding decisions were made.
