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CDCR details class‑action spending and staffing shortfalls; HR outlines accelerated hiring events
Summary
CDCR reported on class‑action litigation spending and the difficulty of recruiting mental‑health clinicians; HR officials described one‑day hiring events that produced hundreds of hires, and CDCR gave an estimate of accumulated fines related to mental‑health court orders.
Cynthia Mendonza of CDCR said the Budget Act of 2024 included a reporting requirement on class‑action litigation spending and that CDCR’s most recent report covered fiscal year 2023–24 litigation activities. Mendonza told the subcommittee CDCR’s class‑action team comprises roughly 26 attorneys and 10 administrative staff and that the department paid about $45.8 million in fees for outside counsel during the reported year.
Jared Lozano, deputy director for facility support, said CDCR currently has 12 pending certified or putative class actions; four are in remedial or monitoring phases and one is settled, with the remainder uncertified. The committee discussed ongoing cases that involve mental‑health and disability claims.
Amar Mehta, deputy director for the statewide mental health program at CDCR, described a national shortage of mental‑health clinicians and the department’s difficulty filling positions. Mehta said CDCR is "eager to work with the court" but that salary and labor‑market constraints limit unilateral fixes.
Andrea Carter, assistant deputy director for human resources at California Correctional Healthcare Services, described targeted hiring efforts intended to accelerate onboarding. Carter said CDCR launched one‑day hiring events in 2024 that yielded 442 new employees from 1,444 attendees, and a January 2025 Stockton event produced 275 job offers from 348 interviews. She listed planned additional events and said new classifications (marriage and family therapist and clinical counselor) were added to recruitment. Carter stated that, "as of January, it was $7,520,000" for the specific staffing fines figure and that total accumulated fines reported were $197,350,000; she added that no fines had been paid to date while one major staffing order remained paused pending Ninth Circuit action.
Public‑sector clinicians and unions in public comment urged the Legislature to consider pay and hiring‑process changes to reduce reliance on expensive contracted staff. Several public speakers also urged continued funding for rehabilitative programs during budget reductions.
Ending
CDCR reiterated that litigation and staffing shortages remain significant drivers of costs and that the department has launched targeted hiring events and other retention efforts; the subcommittee heard the figures and asked for continued updates ahead of the May revision.
