Newsroom

Promising Programs in Practice
Inside/Out Students Study Together at Imperial Jail
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When he dropped out of high school, Pedro thought academics weren’t for him. But in the Imperial County Jail his mind was freed.
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Wild Horse Redemption in Sacramento County
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At a rustic ranch in rural Sacramento County patient wranglers learn to coax the wildness out of mustangs, while hoping the animals will one day flourish outside of the corrals that have held them since capture.
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In LA, New Section 8 Rules Mean Some Felons Can Go Home
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Damae Miller’s mother went to prison when the young woman was just 15. Now 25, she is looking forward to helping her mother transition to freedom after a decade in the Central California Women’s Facility at Chowchilla.
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Erasing The Past, One Tattoo At A Time
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STOCKTON -- Juan Nila has made a lot of decisions he regrets, but at least one can be erased: the prominent Aztec tattoo across the front of his neck that signaled his membership in a street gang.
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Dogs, Humans Strive For Second Chance
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Shannon Plummer is a 53-year-old heroin addict serving time at the James A. Musick Jail in Orange County for felony drug possession. Frosty is her year-old roommate, a lanky white Labradoodle mix whose time was up at the county animal shelter....
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Can Horses Help Offenders Process Destructive Emotions? Success In Siskiyou County Is Riding On It.
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James Lineberger drank too much for too long trying to quell his lifelong feelings of deep anxiety, and eventually landed in jail for domestic violence. Then into his life at the Siskiyou County Probation Department’s Day Reporting Center came Big Dar, a massive paint-colored draft horse. At first Big Dar was skittish and standoffish with Lineberger and wouldn’t come close, mirroring back the feelings Lineberger emitted...
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Military Vets Find Support in Jail
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In a calm and orderly pod of San Diego County’s Vista Detention Facility the quiet that is a rarity in county jails is interrupted by an occasional “Ooh-rah,” the solidarity cry of the U.S. Marine Corps. The 32 men incarcerated here, from all branches of service, are part of an experiment in which the special needs of military veterans are addressed to improve their odds of success upon release...
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San Diego County Agencies Collaborate on Realignment Goals
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In San Diego County an ambitious collaboration to help Realigned offenders escape from cycles of crime is underway between public safety officials, the courts, probation, the District Attorney, Public Defender and community-based organizations.
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San Diego Invests in Collaborative Courts to Reduce Recidivism
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SAN DIEGO – The man with the offensive tattoos on his hands was nicknamed Angry Bird when public safety officials here diverted him into a special Reentry Court to deal with issues surrounding his addictions, anger and impulse control.
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Sacramento County’s Adult Day Reporting Center Offers Hope for Change
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Robert grew to adulthood lacking the mental acumen to see how a sketchy situation might deteriorate into something he would regret being a part.
“Now before things arise, I stop and say to myself, ‘How is this going to move my life forward?’ I use these skills every day.”
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In Fresno, Inmates Learn to Handle Life’s Challenges
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On the fifth floor of the Fresno County Jail 32 men have put aside their gang affiliations and racial and social prejudices for the chance to turn their lives around.
These are AB 109 inmates whose risk score was medium to high for recidivism – mostly substance abusers with addictions that propelled their revolving door existence in this Central California lockup.
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LA County Jail Education Programs Transform Lives
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“It’s so remarkable to see human intelligence triumph over bad behavior,” Sheriff Leroy Baca of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Jan. 16, 2014.
“We’re confined, but our minds are always free to learn,” inmate Solomon Brown, 30.
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