Addressing Chronic Vacancies in Prison Mental Health Care

Feb 23, 2026 - Placement of Mental Health Patients in Easier ‑to ‑Staff Prisons Could Help Reduce Vacancies. If CDCR moves patients from hard ‑to ‑staff prisons to easier ‑to ‑staff prisons, it would help address the vacancy problem in two ways.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5134

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

Feb 23, 2026 - Taken together, these steps will help the state better recruit and retain mental health staff, reduce the state ’s reliance on expensive contracted staff, meet its constitutional requirements, lead to more effective care, and help return the mental health system to state control.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5137

The 2026-27 Budget: Department of Justice

Feb 11, 2026 - In developing this framework, DOJ can evaluate its entire workload, the potential impact of FITSM and other actions that can help improve efficiency, and existing federal and state statu te and case law.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5118

The 2026-27 Budget: Judicial Branch

Feb 11, 2026 - These transfers were originally made to help address the fiscal difficulties then facing the state. This led to the fund becoming insolvent and required various actions be taken —most notably the cancelation and suspension of projects supported by the construction account.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5113