There are several parts of the criminal justice system that most people do not know about unless they have been through them. Being arrested is hardly ever as simple as a person spending some time in jail and then just going about their lives. Even after a person’s release, they often have to worry about parole, probation, fines, community service and rehabilitation programs.
California’s rehabilitation centers strive to ensure that former inmates are able to overcome any of their problems that caused them to end up in jail in the first place. With the proper rehabilitation program, a person has a decent chance of not ending up back in the system.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has several adult rehabilitation programs run by the Office of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (OSATS), the Office of Community Partnerships, the Office of Rehabilitative Program Planning and Accountability and the Office of Correctional Education. All of these programs are meant to ensure a former offender’s success while on parole and in the future.
CDCR lists its main goals as providing “effective evidence based programming to adult offenders” and creating solid relationships between ex-offenders and their local government, communities and community based providers. This is all in the effort to help a person effectively reintegrate back into their surrounding community.
What is Rehab?
Simply putting a person into a rehab program isn’t going to increase their chances of living a non-criminal life; a person must be put into the right program. CDCR uses an assessment tool that involves several factors having to do with the offender, to discover which programs will be best suited for them. These programs often ensure that offenders have access to basic educational and drug treatment programs.
It has been proven that those with more education commit fewer crimes, and getting rid of a drug habit is a quick way to prevent recidivism. Once the state knows which programs will benefit a former inmate, the process of rehabilitation becomes so much easier.
Does Rehab Really Work?
The Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007 set forth certain benchmarks in the reformation of California’s criminal justice system. The CDCR has either met or exceeded each of these benchmarks. The evidence-based programs have been proven to lower recidivism, reduce prison overcrowding and save taxpayer money spent on prisons. Comprehensive research and appropriate planning have begun to make California a safer place for everyone concerned. Rehabilitation goes a long way toward ensuring a prior offender doesn’t see the inside of a jail cell again.
California rehabilitation centers strive to help ex-criminals return to a non-criminal way of life. Research is used to find the right program that will benefit an offender who is returning home. Evidence shows that these programs do work and that the benchmarks set forth by the state of California have been met.
Preventing a person from re-offending is the best way to lower crime rates and improve communities. Parole officers are often not enough to ensure a person doesn’t return down the wrong path, so giving an offender what they need to build a healthy lifestyle can be invaluable in helping both the former inmate as well as the community.
