PLATFORM
"I come from proud a family that has been involved with public service for as long as I can remember. I want to work for you. We need to create more living wage jobs, improve our schools, and make public safety - especially getting guns off the streets, a top priority. With nearly a decade of government experience, I know what it takes to find solutions, navigate the complicated governmental agencies, and get things done."
LIST OF ISSUES
Education
The Prison Education Project has expanded educational opportunities for the in-custody population in 25 California correctional facilities and four international correctional facilities. With the assistance of 3,000 university student and faculty volunteers, PEP has serviced approximately 8,000 in-custody students in these facilities since 2011. PEP is the largest volunteer-based prison education program of its kind in the United States. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and PEP have embraced a progressive and innovative approach to supplementing and expanding educational opportunities for the incarcerated population. By providing academic, life skills, and career development programming, PEP aims to educate, empower, and transform the lives of incarcerated individuals. The goal of PEP is to create a "Prison-to-School Pipeline" and provide in-custody students with the cognitive tools necessary to function as productive citizens. Our multi-layered approach enhances human development, reduces recidivism, saves resources, and allows participants to ultimately contribute to the economic and civic life of California. The overarching philosophy of PEP is to use the resources in the backyard of each of the state’s prisons to make change e.g. university student and faculty volunteers...
Diversity
There is now and has been historically a disproportionate percentage of African Americans and other people of color incarcerated in America. Jail staffs must recognize that racial and cultural differences among inmates and among staff is the cause of tension in a jail and should be specifically addressed. Appropriate responses pertain to staff training, policy development, recognition of the issue, an assessment of jail tensions related to racial and cultural differences, recruitment for staff of color, and involvement of the community in addressing jail problems. Regarding the latter issue, jail managers should meet regularly with minority and majority community leaders to explore options and alternatives that relate to employment opportunities at the jail for persons of color.
Housing
The 4-day program explores the following: a brief history of Restrictive Housing, issues related to the use of Restrictive Housing, constitutional amendments and court decisions related to Restrictive Housing, management strategies for Restrictive Housing focusing on addressing behavior and successful reintegration into general population, jail organizational culture and climate, staffing, and functional analysis/behavior management plans.
Healthcare
Summary
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has created a new opportunity for California to reach and enroll a medically vulnerable population-the jail population-in health insurance coverage. While inmates receive health care services from county jail systems while incarcerated, few have coverage after they are released from custody. Expansion of the state’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) under the ACA has extended insurance eligibility to much of the currently uninsured jail population. As a complement to the ACA, California recently signed into law Assembly Bill 720 (AB 720), which facilitates the use of jails as sites of health insurance enrollment. Increasing enrollment levels for the jail population holds the potential to reduce corrections costs, as well as improve public health and safety.
Environment
On Earth Day, many people contemplate past and future demands for clean air, clean water, and protected landscapes. But society’s calls for a healthier environment rarely extend to incarcerated people, many of whom are confined in toxic detention facilities. We recap some aspects of how prisons leave both people and planet worse off.