Sacramento, CA…The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is launching a pilot program offering targeted rehabilitative services to inmates serving long-term sentences. The Long-Term Offender Pilot Program (LTOPP) provides evidence-based programming during incarceration and services upon release to allow inmates an easier transition back into society.

“Due to the length of incarceration, long-term offenders are often not prepared for the significant changes in technology and day-to-day living that have occurred since they were first incarcerated,” said Millicent Tidwell, CDCR Division of Rehabilitative Programs Director. “Giving these offenders the tools they need to be successful in their own rehabilitation both inside and outside prison is imperative.”

The program is intended to serve inmates who have been identified as having moderate to high risk of criminal behavior and are serving indeterminate sentences with the possibility of parole.

The LTOPP is a voluntary program which will include evidence-based treatment for:
• Substance abuse
• Criminal thinking
• Victim impact
• Anger-management issues
• Improvement of family relationships

The LTOPP will initially be implemented at the following institutions: California State Prison, Solano in Vacaville; Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla; and California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo. Inmates who are serving indeterminate sentences at non-pilot institutions may be allowed to temporarily transfer to a pilot location in order to participate in the LTOPP.

Additionally, CDCR is creating Long-Term Offender Reentry Facilities that will help long-term offenders during their transition back into society, including housing, employment and community-based services. Locations for these reentry facilities are still being determined.

The pilot program will be in effect for 24 months, during which the CDCR Division of Rehabilitative Programs will monitor implementation and effectiveness of the program. If proven to be a successful rehabilitative tool, the program will then go through the Administrative Procedures Act process to become a formal policy.

The LTOPP is being implemented in accordance with the 2012 CDCR Blueprint in which the department was tasked with increasing the percentage of inmates served in rehabilitative programs prior to release to 70 percent of the target population.