CDCR secretary outlines budget cuts, programming gains and push toward single-cell housing

Secretary McCumber, Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 that CDCR’s budget and population have declined from their peaks even as the department pursues what he called the “California model” of corrections.

“We have just over 90,000 incarcerated individuals in our custody and about 35,000 parolees,” Secretary McCumber said, and added, “rehabilitation is public safety and those investments do pay off in terms of improving our outcomes for the communities.”

The secretary described a range of programs and metrics the department cites as evidence of progress: in-prison community college classes available at every facility, roughly 800 associate degrees earned in the prior year, an 8.5 percent recidivism rate for college participants versus roughly 40 percent overall, and lower recidivism for participants in substance-use or self-help programs. He…