Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility
Prop 36
- Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Criminal and Gang Anonymous
- Convicts Reaching Out to People (CROP)
- study in areas of Recycling and Green Industries
- Literacy and Adult Basic Education through GED
- Religious services
- employment in the laundry facility, as well as the bakery and casual shoe factory
- Medical and Mental Health treatment
- Stress and Anger Management, Emotional Wellness, Parenting, Pre-Release, Thinking for a Change, etc.
- Modifies California’s 3-strike law, so that the 3 strikes rule only goes into effect when the 3rd conviction is “violent or serious”
- Re-sentences offenders currently serving life for 3 strikes, IF their 3rd conviction was a non-violent offense and the judge determines that the offender does not pose an unreasonable risk to public safety
- Life sentences upheld for convictions of rape, murder and child molestation
- 3,000 convicted felons became eligible to petition the court for new, reduced sentences
- Will be saving California between $150 and $200 million/year
Who decides how much the budget is and how to spend it?
- Budget management with Directorate, Deputy Director - Financial Services Division, Accounting staff
- External Control Agencies such as Department of Finance and State Controller's Office
When is the budget due?
- January 10th, to be published with Governor's budget each year
Who administers the budget?
- Staff administer the budget to each program via allocation of funding and revisions through the fiscal year
How much is CDCR's budget for the 2013-1014 fiscal year?
- Funds programs such as Corrections and Rehabilitation Administration, Juvenile Operations, Adult Corrections and Rehabilitations Operations (including general security, security overtime, inmate support, etc.), Board of Parole, Medical and Mental Health, and many others
- Total Budget for the year: $8,961,368,000
1975 inmates (59.92%) enrolled in MH program)
Staff
- employees must show ID upon entering the prison and entering each yard
- employees must sign in when they enter certain areas of the prison, always carry a whistle, and carry a life-alert button in some cases
- cell phones are not allowed into the administration building, or the prison itself (must remain in the car)
- inmates go through metal detectors when entering/leaving certain work areas
- cells are routinely searched
- when there is an incident, inmates are required to lie face down on the ground until told otherwise by COs
- inmates must carry their ID cards at all times
Management Information System
Questions?
- 671 Support Services Staff (Doctors, Nurses, Psychologists/ Psychiatrists, Social Workers, Recreational Therapists, etc)
- The electronic Unit Health Record (eUHR) and the inmate's c-file are the best ways for staff to effectively communicate information regarding the status/activity/behavior of an inmate
- The eUHR contains everything from progress notes to suicide risk evaluations to medical reports
- This helps to protect clinicians from a potential “he said, she said” situation by proving that the clinician went through all necessary steps for an intervention or treatment plan
Warden Chief Executive Officer, Mental Health
Associate Wardens Chiefs of Psychiatry and Psychology
Captains Psychology Supervisors
Lieutenants Psychology Specialists
Custody Officers Lead Workers
Line Staff
"Therapeutic Module"
Coleman Lawsuit
- protect public, staff, and inmates
- disarm, subdue and apply restraints to inmates
- deal with combat/emergencies
- supervise the conduct of inmates
- stand watch at armed post or patrol grounds
- transport inmates/prevent escapes
- Claimed that CDCR was conducting unconstitutional mental healthcare
- Claimed that 8th amendment (excessive fines, bail, or cruel and unusual punishment) was violated
- Required prisons to overhaul their mental health services!
Overcrowding county jails
RJ Donovan Correctional Facility
Collaborations with the Community
as a result of AB 109...
Julia Richberg and Courtney Sanchez
CDCR
- The CROP program links at-risk youth with inmates, who warn them about the dangers of participating in criminal activity and give them tips on how to avoid incarceration
- In the minimum yard, inmates run a fire department which responds to calls in the nearby community (San Ysidro and Chula Vista area)
- Donovan has over 400 volunteers who come onto the grounds and lead groups like Alternatives to Violence/Hands of Peace as well as a variety of faith-based programs
VISION
- end the causes and effects of crime, violence, and victimization in communities
- interventions to at-risk populations and quality services from time of arrest to assist in successful reintegration into society
AB 109
For too long, the state’s prison system has been a revolving door for lower-level offenders... Cycling these offenders through state prisons wastes money, aggravates crowded conditions, thwarts rehabilitation, and impedes local law enforcement supervision."
– Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr
Inmates are given a security level placement score based on age, crime committed and if violence was used, prior incarcerations, gang involvement, etc.
- improve public safety through evidence-based crime prevention and recidivism reduction strategies
VALUES
- integrity, accountability, justice, collaboration, employee well being
GOALS
- organizational: workforce excellence; technology; risk management/organizational effectiveness; legal compliance
- programmatic goals: crime prevention and safety; outreach, partnership, and transparency; health care delivery
PREA
- A score of 36 through 59 = placement in a Level III facility.
- A score of 60+ = placement in a Level IV facility.
- In response to US Supreme Court's order to reduce the # of inmates to 137.5% capacity
- Newly convicted low-level offenders without current or prior serious/violent/sex offenses could stay in county jail
- Parole revocations served in county jail, and only up to 180 days
- Prison Rape Elimination Act
- an exception to confidentiality specific to prisons
- If any case of sexual assault is reported by an inmate, we have to make a report
General Information
Mission of the Facility
One of the chapels set up for group
Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility
480 Alta Road
San Diego, CA 92179
Service Delivery Models & Methods
Social Policies, Practices, & Laws Relevant to Donovan
The facility is named for Assemblyman and Judge Richard J. Donovan. The judge sponsored legislation to build a state correctional facility in the San Diego area, but passed away before the facility was built.
“The primary mission of the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJDCF) is to provide housing and supervision for inmates classified as minimum - high custody, encompassing a Minimum Support Facility; one (1) Level III, General Population facility, one (1) Level IV, Sensitive Needs Yard (SNY) facility, and two (2) Level III, SNY facilities. Designed as a training and work-oriented facility, the RJDCF provides vocational, academic, and industrial programs.”
~ RJ Donovan website, California Department of Corrections
- Approximately 60% of the total institution population receives mental health services, which are offered on a tiered level of care:
MHCB-Mental Health Crisis Bed is the highest level of care for inmates
- Inmates are placed here when they have been determined to be a risk to themselves or others
- 14 mental health beds available
- More acute cases are sent out to DSH (Department of State Hospitals)
EOP-Enhanced Outpatient is the next level of mental health care available
- Receive 10 hours a week of therapy (typically a combination of individual sessions and groups)
- Assessed by their IDTT (Inter-disciplinary Treatment Team) every 30 days to assess progression towards treatment goals
- There are ~500 inmates currently enrolled
CCCMS-Correctional Clinical Case Management System is the lowest level of mental health care provided
- Provided to inmates who function well overall in the general population
- Assessed every 90 days by an IDTT meeting
- 1500 inmates at Donovan are in this program
Aerial view of RJ Donovan