California reentry programs lower recidivism rates, CDCR reports

(FOX40.COM) — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation published a report on Wednesday, finding that recidivism rates of incarcerated people are less likely to be convicted or return to prison if they participate in community reentry programs in comparison to incarcerated people who don’t participate.
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Authorities said that from 2019 through 2020, nearly 80 percent of women and 74 percent of men did not recidivate after participating in enhanced alternative custody programs.

CDCR officials stated that the report covers three years of 1,0000 Male Community Reentry Program participants and 360 Female Community Reentry Program participants who were released in 2019-2020.

The overall recidivism rate is 39.1 percent, while MCRP participants are 26.5 percent and FCRP participants are 18.3 percent, CDCR said. The findings show that women are more likely to reoffend for property, drug or alcohol crimes than crimes against people when compared to men.

EACP programs are in place to improve public safety and provide resources to incarcerate people, the CDCR said. The rates of women and men who did not join EACP and weren’t convicted or returned to prison were nearly 15 and 14 percent lower than those who did join a program.

Authorities stated that community reentry programs are voluntary for eligible individuals with two years or less remaining on their prison sentence. The CDCR reports that in these programs, the incarcerated individual completes the remainder of their sentence with specialized supervision in a secure, community-based facility.

These facilities provide access to substance use disorder treatment, employment readiness, vocational training, educational opportunities, connection to healthcare services, and family reunification support. In these programs, participants may even become eligible for approved off-site passes to pursue employment or higher education if they progress through structured in-house programming, the CDCR said.