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| Reforms needed for women inmates, watchdog panel says |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/16/2004 |
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California must do a better job supervising female convicts in prison and after their release, if only to break a crime cycle that often ensnares thousands of their children, the watchdog Little Hoover Commission said Wednesday. The state should abandon its large, remote women's prisons, relying instead on smaller community centers that could help reintegrate women who often are victims long before they are criminals, said the bipartisan, independent commission. The commission anticipated changes that already are underway, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton. "We agree with their assertion that we need to do a better job with female offenders," Thornton said. "After the first of the year we'll be rolling out a lot of things that agree with their recommendations." Among them are better training for employees and better cooperation with communities where prisons are located and in inmates' hometowns. The department is in line for a National Institute of Corrections grant to study how housing, programs and security classifications should be adapted for women, and to examine what works in other states. And the department will work with university experts to evaluate the success of the new approach. The commission's report is the latest broadside at the nation's largest state prison system, which critics - including the current administrators - say has been plagued by mismanagement and overspending. |
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