Report 2005-111 Highlights - November 2005
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation:
The Intermediate Sanction Programs Lacked Performance Benchmarks and Were Plagued With Implementation Problems
Our review of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's (department) intermediate sanction programs for parole violators revealed the following:
- Although the department had data regarding parole violators in the programs, it did not analyze the data or establish benchmarks that it could measure the programs' results against.
- The department's savings were substantially less than anticipated because its savings estimates were based on unrealistic expectations and the programs were implemented late.
- To minimize the risk to public safety, less dangerous parole violators were placed in the intermediate sanction programs; however, a small percentage of parole violators were convicted of new crimes during the time they otherwise would have been in prison.
- Although implementation of the intermediate sanction programs was planned for January 1, 2004, the implementation was delayed due to state hiring and contract freezes, a department leadership change, and unanticipated contracting problems.