Audit finds slow housing, oversight gaps in California CONREP; lawmakers press for reforms

SACRAMENTO — State auditors and legislators on Tuesday described lengthy housing delays, inconsistent local participation and vendor oversight problems in California’s Conditional Release Program (CONREP) for individuals designated as sexually violent predators (SVPs), even as the audit found lower conviction rates among CONREP participants than among SVPs unconditionally released to the community.

“The SVPs participating in the con rep program were convicted of new offenses less frequently than SVPs who were unconditionally released by the courts and did not participate in con rep,” State Auditor Grant Parks told the Joint Legislative Audit Committee during an oversight hearing. But Parks and several lawmakers said the program nonetheless faces serious operational problems that pose risks to affected communities.

The 2024 audit, released by the California State Auditor, reported that since CONREP’s inception through April 2024, 56 SVPs had been placed in the community under CONREP and 125 SVPs had been unconditionally released by courts. Of the 56 CONREP participants, auditors found two were later convicted of new offenses; courts had revoked and returned 18 participants to state hospitals for violations. Auditors said those returns, combined with the two convictions, represent a substantial share of participants who did not complete CONREP successfully.

Auditors said DSH and Liberty Healthcare took a long time to find court‑approved housing: among participants who ultimately received housing the audit measured an average of about 17 months between the court’s approval to participate and the court’s approval of a housing location. For the group awaiting placement at the time of the audit the measured wait averaged 20 months; one person…