By Sunny Zhou
SACRAMENTO, CA – Legislation was introduced here last week designed to reduce California’s high recidivism rate by expanding access to therapy to all incarcerated Californians, regardless of security level, sentence length, or mental health classification.
Two thirds of the 97,000 inmates in California’s prisons do not have access to therapy, according to a statement released by the office of Senator Scott Wiener (SD-11).
And for those that do, the statement notes that “their sessions are often as short as 15 minutes, and they are often cycled through different therapists sporadically…[making] it impossible for them to build rapport with their therapist and establish consistency…”
The true need for mental health treatment in prisons may be higher, Wiener’s office added, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness found 63 percent of people incarcerated in state or federal prison with a history of mental illness do not receive treatment, and the Prison Policy Initiative said incarceration by itself is often traumatic enough to warrant treatment.
“California pays the price for this lack of treatment in its recidivism rate, which is among the highest in the country,” said Wiener’s office, adding the California State Auditor’s office found that over the past 10 years California’s recidivism rate has averaged around 50 percent.
“Incarcerated persons need to be rehabilitated, but our outdated system for classifying mental health need is providing poor care to some and no care to tens of thousands of others,”
Weiner said. “Providing access to therapy for all prisoners, regardless of classification, security level, or sentence length is a compassionate step that will improve public safety.”
In addition to expanding prisoner access to therapy, SB 513 requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to increase virtual and in-person sessions to incarcerated Californians “to the greatest extent possible.”
The bill also redefines mental health therapy as “50-minute sessions offered up to two times per month by a psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed social worker, or licensed therapist” and requires the CDCR to provide an appointment within two weeks of care and ensure appointments are on schedule.
”Therapeutic care…provided me a space to process my traumas, better understand the harm I caused, and reenter society ready to move forward as an engaged member of my community,” said Esteban Nunez, Chief Strategy Consultant of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition.
Nunez added, “Unfortunately, most incarcerated Californians don’t have that opportunity. SB 513 is long overdue in ensuring that they do.”
