ABSTRACT
The reorganization and re-emphasis of rehabilitation were praised as a much-needed first step in solving California's many correctional woes. California had a growing correctional budget and still had one of the highest recidivism rates in the nation. In the years following the 2005 reorganization, California implemented several laws aimed at reform. These laws were an attempt to support the reorganization and bring the system into constitutional compliance. In January 2007, the Little Hoover Commission released another report on the state of California corrections. This concern was echoed in a letter to the California State Legislature from Linda Penner, president of Chief Probation Officers of California. Concerns were raised that the Realignment would shift the burden of overpopulation from state prisons to local jails and probation offices. The commission found that prison overcrowding was linked to the parole system. While California was reconsidering its correctional system, some court cases were working their way through the judicial system.
