“Offender Education and Skill Building,” a category of programs shown by both Ritter and Hickenlooper’s budget proposals as significantly reducing the frequency with which inmates return to prison, is stripped of over $3 million in funding.
Cuts to correctional education would limit inmates’ ability to earn high school diplomas or GEDs, and limit vocational training, and even basic reading and writing instruction. Approximately 650 inmates would see their access to education suspended as teachers and staff are cut.
Studies have shown that these programs work. And save money.
Multiple studies conducted between 1996 and 2006 showed that correctional education and vocational programs decreased recidivism by 5-35 percent. Those studies further showed that 24 percent of individuals who received vocational training were able to attain full-time work after leaving a half-way house.
...for every $1 million put into correctional education programs, future costs were reduced by $1.6 million.
Other dumb cuts:
The budget also strikes at youth prevention and intervention, behavioral health, and community correction programs touted by the former administration for their ability to make the state safer while also saving money.
And then there's this:
Funded with $1.8 million, the Department of Corrections currently provides wraparound services to parolees as a result of HB10-1360, which consist of job assistance, mental health and substance abuse treatment, psychotropic medication, and assistance integrating back into the community. Hickenlooper’s budget strips this program of funding of $1.3 million annually, leaving $500,000 to administer the services.
Hickenlooper proposed eliminating job positions for 23 employees in Colorado's Therapeutic Community Program, which reduces recidivism among those with mental health and drug problems.
He's also cutting The Circle Program in its entirety:
Circle Program is a Joint Commission accredited, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD) licensed, intensive inpatient treatment program which serves adults who suffer from co-occurring disorders. Our comprehensive treatment program addresses mental illness, chemical dependence, personality disorders and criminal behavior.
....The treatment team consists of a board certified addiction psychiatrist, a master's level team leader, a licensed social worker, registered nurses, licensed psychiatric technicians, mental health workers and a recreational therapist, the majority of whom are also certified addiction counselors or licensed addiction counselors. The team is supported by psychological, vocational, educational, spiritual and nutrition services.
The program's components are here.
Vanita Gupta of the ACLU tells Colorado Independent:
The current budget proposal that cuts education, mental health and reentry programs is the perfect recipe for higher recidivism rates.
Put more people in prison and the budget costs soar. Allow these programs to expand, and they save money. How much easier does it get?
Someone needs to explain this to the Governor. It's like he just doubled-down on every bad crime strategy. By denying people the help they need in prison that will allow them to stay out of prison and the criminal justice system in the future, we're just going to end up with bigger budgetary needs for prisons. Back to square one: more criminals, more recidivism, less safe communities, sky-rocketing corrections costs.
Memo to Governor Hickenlooper: We know you have no background in criminal justice issues. That's okay. But we expected you to hire advisers who do. You're getting very bad advice. Please swap out your team before they torpedo what could be a popular and successful agenda. Make a U turn immediately. This is not about being soft on crime, it's about increasing the safety of our community by decreasing recidivism though programs that give inmates skills, options and tools to live a crime-free life when they get out of prison.
