Public Safety | Daily Report

CDCRMule Creek state prison.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation quietly transferred millions of dollars out of beleaguered rehabilitation programs last year to cover shortfalls in other areas like prison security.

In all, the department moved around $70 million from the adult programming budget, in addition to $250 million that was previously cut from education, drug rehabilitation and other programs, according to a report released by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

“The department frequently and purposely reduces program services — such as offender rehabilitation programs and prison maintenance — to 'free up' funding to support increased prison security costs,” the report states. “This means that CDCR is not performing critical functions for which funding was specifically provided in the budget.”

The LAO's Paul Golaszewski told an assembly subcommittee yesterday that some of the savings came “from not running rehabilitation programs at full capacity.”

Only one in ten inmates was enrolled in an education program in 2009, according to a report released last year by the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board.

Corrections officials say they are committed to enhancing rehabilitation programs to reduce recidivism rates in spite of severe cuts to the department budget.

A department spokesperson said the lack of inmate enrollment in some programs was due to a transition to new “program models” and not a deliberate effort to save money - and transfer the savings to other parts of the system - at the expense of inmate rehabilitation.

But Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, accused the department of using internal budget maneuvers to hide shortfalls from the legislature.

“The CDCR should not be able to make its own determination on where to spend this money,” he said. “That’s what the budget process is all about.”

Nielsen said the department was undermining it’s own stated goal of enhancing rehab programs to reduce recidivism, which is nearly 70 percent state-wide.

“We could do much more to bring down recidivism if we weren’t re-directing these dollars for programming into a department slush fund,” he said.

Dave Lewis, deputy director of fiscal services, conceded that the department needed to “true-up” the budget so that it reflects the real costs of operating the prison system.

“We agree that it’s time to shed light on the subject and show how money is being spent in the department,” he said.

Governor Jerry Brown’s budget for 2011-12 provides an additional $395 million to the CDCR for expenses that go beyond its budget authority in previous years.  It includes:

*$266.5 million in additional funding to support the actual earnings of security staff.

*$55.2 million in additional funding to transport and guard inmates at health care facilities outside prison walls.

*$35.7 million in additional funding for officer overtime.

*$20.5 million in additional funding for legal fees including the cost of settlements.