Realignment
As the state starts to release prisoners into the supervision of the counties, Contra Costa County’s homeless shelters – where former prisoners often end up because they don’t have family or their identity reestablished upon their release – aren’t sure what to expect. Cynthia Belon, the Contra Costa Director of Behavioral Health Services, said it’s been difficult for her to determine whether the estimated $895,000 in state funding awarded to the county for health services will be enough to cover…
On the first page of the application to work for the city of Richmond, question 14 stands out in capital letters: “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” By the end of the month, that question will be gone. The change is the first step in a campaign to “ban the box” in Richmond – the box in question being the one that people with a criminal record must check when they apply for jobs and housing, and benefits…
Continued overcrowding in California’s state prisons brought about a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that the state’s efforts to cram in more prisoners constituted cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of the Eighth Amendment. The state responded with legislation that shifts responsibility for state parolees to counties and redefines what constitutes a prison-worthy offense. That realignment started Saturday. It continues for the next two years as the state tries to reduce its prison population by about 110,000 prisoners to 137.5 percent…