The 2017-18 Budget: Department of State Hospitals (DSH)

Feb 22, 2017 - Coleman v. Brown In 1995, a federal court ruled in the case now referred to as Coleman v. Brown that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) was not providing constitutionally adequate mental health care to its inmates.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3578

The 2017-18 Budget: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Mar 1, 2017 - Coleman v. Brown In 1995, a federal court ruled in the case now referred to as Coleman v. Brown that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) was not providing constitutionally adequate mental health care to its inmates.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3595

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - Supreme Court issued a decision in the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen case that found laws requiring people provide “good cause ” to carry a concealed weapon to be unconstitutional.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

State Corrections: Response to COVID-19

May 8, 2020 - In 2009, a federal three-judge panel —convened at the request of the plaintiffs in Coleman v. Newsom and Plata v. Newsom —declared that overcrowding was the primary reason that CDCR was unable to provide adequate health care and ordered the state to reduce the population of its prisons.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4229

The 2018-19 Budget: Criminal Justice Proposals

Feb 27, 2018 - In 1995, a federal court ruled in a case now referred to as Coleman v. Brown that CDCR was not providing constitutionally adequate mental health care to its inmates. As a result, the court appointed a Special Master to monitor and report on CDCR ’s progress towards improving mental health care.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3762

Overview and Update on the Prison Receivership

Nov 8, 2023 - Federal Court Orders State to Reduce Prison Overcrowding In November 2006, plaintiffs in the cases now known as Plata v. Newsom (involving prison medical care) and Coleman v. Newsom (involving prison mental health care) filed motions for the federal courts to convene a three ‑judge panel pursuant to the U.S.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4813

The 2026-27 Budget: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Feb 23, 2026 - As mentioned in the “Establishment of the Second California Prison Receivership ” section of this brief, CDCR is under federal court order in the Coleman  v.  Newsom case to reduce mental health vacancies.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

State Correctional Spending Increased Despite Significant Population Reductions

Feb 4, 2020 - In November 2006, plaintiffs in Coleman v. Newsom and Plata v. Newsom  filed motions for the federal courts to convene a three ‑judge panel pursuant to the U.S.  Prison Litigation Reform Act to determine whether ( 1)  p rison overcrowding was the primary cause of CDCR ’s inability to provide constitutionally adequate inmate health care and ( 2)  a prisoner release order was the only way to remedy these conditions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4145

Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - For example, in court documents, CDCR estimated that the staff fill rate for ICF and APP beds in June would have been 98  percent for psychiatrists (instead of 81  percent), 73  percent for psychologists (instead of 52  percent), 105  percent for social workers (instead of 82  percent), and 127  percent for recreational therapists (instead of 101  percent) had all 249  inpatient beds been deactivated that month.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

The 2022-23 Budget: Governor’s Public Safety Package

Feb 17, 2022 - As previously discussed, APPS identified nearly 23,600 armed and prohibited persons as of January 2021. The 2021 ‑22 budget provided $10  million one ‑time General Fund to DOJ ’s Gun  Violence Reduction Program for competitive grants to county sheriff ’s departments to reduce the number of armed and prohibited persons by seizing firearms and ammunition from them.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4546