A barbecue behind bars: How a California prison is changing expectations for inmates, staff
The California State Legislature last month approved spending $13 million to boost rehabilitation programs at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla.
The money is meant to help the prison incorporate elements of the Norwegian model of incarceration, which aims to make life inside prison as normal as possible to prepare inmates for life after they’re released.
The spending amounts to a minor investment for California’s $17 billion correctional system, but if the program succeeds at Valley State, it could eventually be applied at other state prisons, potentially introducing a big culture shift.
The budget designates $30,000 for a barbecue patio and picnic tables for inmates’ family visits, which are set to be extended to three days in August, from two today.
The prison plans to spend $8.4 million on two 6,000 square-foot modular buildings to expand inmate programs focused on things like anger management, domestic violence and impacts of crime on victims. Many inmates are on waiting lists to join the programs, according to budget documents.
Adding the modular buildings will also free up other space inside the prison to expand job training, according to corrections officials.
The prison is launching an HVAC training program and plans to start another $1.2 million program in which teams of inmates will build mini-homes, honing skills in carpentry, plumbing and electricity along with heating and ventilation.
The prison plans to launch two bachelor of the arts programs for up to 80 inmates per year who have already obtained associate’s degrees, and will add a bachelor’s program in science, technology, engineering and math, according to budget documents.
The Madera County American Job Center of California will help about 1,200 inmates prepare for, find and apply for jobs at an annual cost of about $150,000 according to the proposal.
The prison plans to spend $740,000 on “thin-client laptops” for 800 inmates, many of whom lack basic internet navigation skills needed for critical tasks such as establishing utility and internet services and applying for driver’s licenses and jobs, according to the request.
Studies have shown how critical job skills are to staying out of prison after release.
About half of prisoners in both Norway and the United States were unemployed before they arrived, according to two studies from 2016 and 2018.
Norwegian prisoners who participated in job training were much more likely to be employed and to have committed no new crimes five years later than people who were sentenced to probation, according to a 2019 study from Norwegian researchers and the University of California, San Diego.
Sam Lewis, a former California prisoner and executive director of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, said he has seen striking changes among formerly incarcerated people who trained for new careers in prison.
“I know guys who were heavily entrenched in the gang culture, now they’re making $50 an hour,” Lewis said. “I ask them, have you been back to the neighborhood? They say, ‘I’ve got to get up and go to work, I don’t have time for those dudes.’”
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "A barbecue behind bars: How a California prison is changing expectations for inmates, staff."