Facts on Prison Spending and Prison Closures

Did the budget cut prison spending?

• The state is facing a $14 billion deficit this year, and big cuts to healthcare, education and social services have already been proposed.
  
• The Governor's budget called for administrators reduce prison spending by $400 million by 2005. But this year, the Governor approved $500 million increase in funding for prisons, because the California Department of Corrections overspent its budget. A recent analysis by the Associated Press found that CDC has overspent its budget every year over the last five, to a total of 1.4 billion in overspending. Most of that overspending went to the staffing of prisons.
  
• The Governors budget says the state will add 1,200 more prison staff this year (at the same time as school districts are laying off teachers).
  
• California is still scheduled to open the Delano II prison, which would house 5,000 people, despite projected reductions in the state prison population.

How Can Prison Populations Be Reduced, and Prisons Closed?

• The Governor has called for prison closures because the CDC estimates that changes made to sentencing policy last year will bring down the prison population by about 15,000 people.
  
• Other states, including Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Illinois have decided to close prisons to save correctional costs.
  
• The budget crisis has derailed prison construction in Oregon, and delayed prison openings in Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
  
• Real safety and security in our communities will come only from a shift in resources away from prisons, prisons and more prisons and toward the creation of a comprehensive safety net for those coming home from prison.

What Do Prisons Cost Our Communities?

• While the Governor proposes modest cuts to prison spending, he proposed slashing $2 billion from K-12 education, $1.3 billion from local governments, and continued with plans to chop $3.9 from social services and health care.
  
• For the cost of operating one prison, 341,800 eligible children get provided health care through the Healthy Families Program, 77,963 children not eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families could enroll in California Childrens' Services (CCS), and 336,469 individuals could utilize Vocational Rehabilitation, employment services to people with disabilities.