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CENTER ON JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PRESS ROOM | |
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| Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 54 Dore Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 | Tel: (415) 621-5661 | Fax: (415) 621-5466 |
California's court-appointed receiver for its dysfunctional prison medical care program has been on the job only since April, but already he sees the enormity of the work ahead of him.
In a report released this past week, Robert Sillen wrote, "Almost every element of a working medical care system either does not exist, or functions in a state of abject disrepair," noting that this includes medical records, pharmacy, information technology, peer review, training, chronic disease care and specialty services.
"Remedies envisioned," he wrote, "may be more dramatic, far reaching and difficult to achieve than previously envisioned."
His report backs up the concerns we've expressed for years: The system has spiraled out of control, is wasting taxpayer dollars at breakneck speed, and is inflicting unnecessary pain and even death on inmates. It has, in essence, turned life sentences into death sentences, and created a deplorable environment for thousands of hard-working employees.
This madness must come to an end, but that will only happen through strong leadership, unwavering focus and cooperation throughout the ranks.
Is it an impossible task? We hope not.
Mr. Sillen was appointed by U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson of San Francisco in February after hearings revealed that no consequential improvements had been made to the prison medical system, despite the settlement in 2002 of a class-action lawsuit.
He began in April and in the ensuing months has visited five prisons, interviewed hundreds of executives, employees, and inmates.
He has been respectful, focused and driven, thus far. And, as a result, his 33-page report is insightful, pointed and focused.
One interesting conclusions is that the system's problems reach far beyond the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Mr. Sillen said the governor, the Legislature, and the departments of Finance, General Services and Personnel Administration are all in part responsible for the morass.
Reform is difficult enough when dealing with one entity, but with so many, it is overwhelming. We encourage Mr. Sillen to pull representatives of the many parties to the table. The objective is not so much to point fingers and cast blame, but to find collective solutions.
Key will be getting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on board immediately. He has taken some harsh criticism in recent weeks for having his staff cozy up to the immensely powerful California Correction Peace Officers Association. It is, after all, an election year. Some say that relationship led to the resignations of two corrections chiefs since February.
As prison overseer John Hagar wrote in a recent report, "Integrity and remedial plan efforts must begin at the top and then percolate down."
The prison conundrum may be the state's biggest problem. And it has grown to monstrous proportions because most of California's citizens would rather not think about inmates and prisons. But the fact is that we as taxpayers will spend nearly $8 billion on the system this year, and it is a failing system, with medical services "broken beyond repair," according to Mr. Sillen.
With two prisons in Vacaville, which employ hundreds of our neighbors, we demand that prison reform be a front-burner issue for the governor and his challenger.
There are a couple of hearings in San Francisco this month about this issue: one on Wednesday looks into leadership issues; another on July 26 explores the pharmacy crisis.
Public airing is critical. Reform will be possible only when the dirty details come to light and when unwavering leadership takes command.
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