Breaking the Barriers for Women on Parole
Full Report
Executive Summary
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2004
For Additional Information Contact:
James P. Mayer, Executive Director
(916) 445-2125
Commission Urges Focus on Women Offenders
The State could save money, improve public safety and break the cycle of crime if it reformed the way it incarcerates women offenders and supervises them on parole, the Little Hoover Commission concluded Wednesday.
While the number of women in California prisons increased five-fold over the past two decades, primarily for drug-related offenses, the State has not adequately changed how it manages facilities or the parole system to break the cycle of criminal behavior. The consequences of this failure are particularly high given the large number of children affected.
More than half of the 10,000 women in California’s prisons and 12,000 women on parole lived with their minor children prior to their arrest. Among those women, two-thirds were single parents. Research shows these children are at a higher risk of behavioral problems, and involvement in foster care and the criminal justice systems.
“If we fail to intervene effectively in the lives of these mothers and their children now, California will pay the cost for generations to come,” said Commissioner Teddie Ray, chairwoman of the study subcommittee.
California’s prison system costs taxpayers more than $5 billion a year. Of that, the State spends $1.5 billion on male and female offenders after they have completed their prison terms – most of it re-incarcerating parole violators. Nearly half of women parolees violate conditions of their parole and end up back in prison, and 90 percent of those violations are for non-violent behavior.
“At this moment, no one can credibly defend California’s correctional policies or be satisfied with the Department of Corrections’ capacity to administer those policies,” Commission Chairman Michael E. Alpert said.
Most female felons were victims before they were offenders, most are single parents, and most were convicted of non-violent, drug or property crimes. The Commission urged the State to develop a new strategy for women offenders that relies less on large and remote prisons designed to incapacitate violent offenders and more on community correctional facilities that can better reconnect paroling women to jobs, housing, emotional supports and their families.
The report is a follow up to a 2003 study in which the Commission concluded that California’s parole system was a “billion dollar failure.” The Commission recommended that the State establish independent oversight of the parole system to ensure the State relies on programs that have been proven to reduce recidivism. It also urged that communities be given responsibility for assisting parolees with housing, employment and drug treatment, along with the resources now spent by the State for those purposes.
In this report, the Commission challenged the State to be smart on crime – not just tough on crime – and to start with women offenders.
“Fixing the system for women parolees also can be a good test of the correctional system’s desire and capacity to improve. Lessons learned improving outcomes for women can inspire and guide the management of the critically necessary larger reforms,” Alpert said.
Reducing crime, violence and drug abuse among women, research shows, will require a strategy tailored to the characteristics of female offenders. Among them:
- Female offenders are less violent. More than two-thirds of female inmates in California prisons were convicted of a non-violent property or drug-related crime, compared to 50 percent of their male counterparts who have been convicted of a crime against another person.
- The majority of female offenders also are victims. Nationally, 57 percent of female offenders have been physically or sexually abused before going to prison, compared to 16 percent of male offenders.
- Female offenders are far more likely to be single parents. Nationally, of those offenders living with their children prior to arrest, 46 percent of female offenders were living in a singleparent household, compared to 15 percent of male offenders.
- To reduce the number of women who return to prison, the State should address these needs using proven, gender-specific correctional strategies and reducing barriers to reintegration, such as the ban on welfare assistance for drug addicts.
- The Department of Corrections has been under intense scrutiny over the past several years for a series of failures, from inmate abuse and cost overruns to dismal outcomes. Many critics, including the Commission, doubt that the system can correct itself.
The Commission said real reforms will require independent, public and performance based oversight to guide and monitor the efforts. In 2003, the Commission suggested that the Board of Corrections assume that role.
The Department of Corrections also is only one part of the correctional continuum. The Commission reiterated that to improve parole outcomes the State must work hand-in-hand with local law enforcement, child welfare, community and faith-based organizations.
The Little Hoover Commission is a bipartisan and independent state agency charged with recommending ways to increase the performance of state programs. The Commission’s recommendations are sent to the Governor and the Legislature. The report, Breaking the Barriers for Women on Parole, is available on the Commission’s Web site: www.lhc.ca.gov.
Fact Sheet
Study Description
This study was a follow-up to the Commission’s 2003 report on the state’s parole policies. The Commission agreed to undertake this project in response to a request from Senator Gloria Romero to specifically examine the impact of parole on women and their children. The goal of the project was to examine specifically how the state’s parole policies impact the ability of women to successfully reintegrate into their communities and reunite with their children – and the social and fiscal consequences of those policies.
The problems and needs of incarcerated women and their children intersect both the criminal justice and health and human services systems. In many of these cases there are the additional costs associated with incarcerated women, particularly to the foster care, juvenile justice and mental health systems. Experts suggested that reforms could significantly reduce costs and improve the performance of these programs.
Previous Studies
- Back to the Community: Safe & Sound Parole Policies
(Report #172, November 2003)
Agenda
Overview
In this report, the Commission urges the state to develop a new strategy for women offenders that relies less on large and remote prisons designed to incapacitate violent offenders and more on community correctional facilities that can better reconnect paroling women to jobs, housing, emotional supports and their families.
During its review, the Commission found that of the many scandals gripping California’s correctional system, the failure to reduce crime, violence and drug abuse among parolees is one of the greatest. The costs and consequences of this failure are most onerous in the case of female offenders. Specifically, the Commission found that the Department of Corrections has not developed a correctional strategy that effectively reduces crime, violence and drug abuse by the growing number of women inmates upon their release. The Commission also found that mega-prisons, designed primarily to incapacitate and punish violent offenders, are not effective for the majority of female offenders who are nonviolent, serve short sentences and need specific services to successfully return home. Female offenders are often denied assistance with housing, employment, substance abuse treatment, and family reunification, and as a result the public costs and personal tragedies continue to plague families and communities.
The Commission recommends for the Department of Corrections to develop a coherent strategy to hold female offenders accountable for their crimes and improve their ability to successfully reintegrate into their communities. A core element of a strategic plan for women should be a robust system of community correctional facilities focused on preparing women offenders for success on parole. The Commission also recommends for the state to develop a community-based re-entry model to reduce recidivism among women offenders, improve public safety and reduce public costs.

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May 272004Women and Parole9:00 a.m., State Capitol, Room 113, Sacramento, CAPublic HearingAgenda
AGENDA
Public Hearing on Women and Parole
Thursday, May 27, 2004, at 9:00 a.m.
State Capitol, Room 113
Sacramento, CA
Opening RemarksIntersections Between Criminal Justice, Foster Care and Other Systems
- Stephen V. Manley, Judge, Santa Clara County Superior Court (Written Testimony)
Reentry Courts
- John Surbeck, Judge, Allen County Superior Court, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Written Testimony)
Improving Parolee Outcomes -- Volunteers in Parole Mentoring Program
- Mike Zimmerman, Executive Director, Volunteers in Parole, Inc. (Written Testimony)
- Robin Taylor, Attorney Mentor, Volunteers in Parole, Inc.
- Phyllis Gonzalez, Mentee, Volunteers in Parole, Inc.
A New Way of Life Foundation -- A Reentry Program for Women
- Susan Burton, Executive Director, A New Way of Life Foundation (Written Testimony)
The Role of Victims in Reentry
- Cindy Marie Absey, Victim/Witness Director, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office (Written Testimony)
Public Comments
- Stephen V. Manley, Judge, Santa Clara County Superior Court (Written Testimony)
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April 222004Women and Parole9:00 a.m., 722 Capitol Mall, Employment Development Department AudiPublic HearingAgenda
AGENDA
Public Hearing on Women and Parole
Thursday, April 22, 2004, at 9:00 a.m.
722 Capitol Mall
Employment Development Department Auditorium
Sacramento, CA
Opening RemarksWhy Gender Matters
- Barbara E. Bloom, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Justice Administration, California State University, Sonoma; Project Director, National Institute of Corrections, Gender-Responsive Principles Project (Written Testimony)
Panel: State Corrections Policies and Female Offenders
- Jeanne S. Woodford, Director, California Department of Corrections (Written Testimony)
- John Dovey, Warden, California Institute for Women
- Jo Ann Gordon, Warden, California Rehabilitation Center
- Richard Rimmer, Acting Chief Deputy Director, Field Operations Division, California Department of Corrections
Panel: A Jail-based Community Corrections Program for Female Offenders
- Curtis L. Watson, Undersheriff, Alameda County Sheriff's Office (Written Testimony)
- Elizabeth Belzer, Women's Programs Coordinator, Alameda County Sheriff's Office
- Casondra Tshimanga, MOMS Program Alumna
Public Comments
- Barbara E. Bloom, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Justice Administration, California State University, Sonoma; Project Director, National Institute of Corrections, Gender-Responsive Principles Project (Written Testimony)

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May 272004Women and Parole9:00 a.m., State Capitol, Room 113, Sacramento, CAPublic HearingAgenda
AGENDA
Public Hearing on Women and Parole
Thursday, May 27, 2004, at 9:00 a.m.
State Capitol, Room 113
Sacramento, CA
Opening RemarksIntersections Between Criminal Justice, Foster Care and Other Systems
- Stephen V. Manley, Judge, Santa Clara County Superior Court (Written Testimony)
Reentry Courts
- John Surbeck, Judge, Allen County Superior Court, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Written Testimony)
Improving Parolee Outcomes -- Volunteers in Parole Mentoring Program
- Mike Zimmerman, Executive Director, Volunteers in Parole, Inc. (Written Testimony)
- Robin Taylor, Attorney Mentor, Volunteers in Parole, Inc.
- Phyllis Gonzalez, Mentee, Volunteers in Parole, Inc.
A New Way of Life Foundation -- A Reentry Program for Women
- Susan Burton, Executive Director, A New Way of Life Foundation (Written Testimony)
The Role of Victims in Reentry
- Cindy Marie Absey, Victim/Witness Director, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office (Written Testimony)
Public Comments
- Stephen V. Manley, Judge, Santa Clara County Superior Court (Written Testimony)
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April 222004Women and Parole9:00 a.m., 722 Capitol Mall, Employment Development Department AudiPublic HearingAgenda
AGENDA
Public Hearing on Women and Parole
Thursday, April 22, 2004, at 9:00 a.m.
722 Capitol Mall
Employment Development Department Auditorium
Sacramento, CA
Opening RemarksWhy Gender Matters
- Barbara E. Bloom, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Justice Administration, California State University, Sonoma; Project Director, National Institute of Corrections, Gender-Responsive Principles Project (Written Testimony)
Panel: State Corrections Policies and Female Offenders
- Jeanne S. Woodford, Director, California Department of Corrections (Written Testimony)
- John Dovey, Warden, California Institute for Women
- Jo Ann Gordon, Warden, California Rehabilitation Center
- Richard Rimmer, Acting Chief Deputy Director, Field Operations Division, California Department of Corrections
Panel: A Jail-based Community Corrections Program for Female Offenders
- Curtis L. Watson, Undersheriff, Alameda County Sheriff's Office (Written Testimony)
- Elizabeth Belzer, Women's Programs Coordinator, Alameda County Sheriff's Office
- Casondra Tshimanga, MOMS Program Alumna
Public Comments
- Barbara E. Bloom, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Justice Administration, California State University, Sonoma; Project Director, National Institute of Corrections, Gender-Responsive Principles Project (Written Testimony)