California set to send thousands of female inmates home early

Prison officials in California are set to start sending thousands of female inmates home early.

On Monday, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced the implementation of the Alternative Custody Program (ACP), which is "aimed at reuniting low-level offenders with their families and providing inmates with rehabilitative services within the community." 

“Approximately two-thirds of CDCR’s female inmates are mothers whose children are either with relatives or are in foster care,” CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate said in a statement. “ACP is a step in breaking the intergenerational cycle of incarceration, as family involvement is one of the biggest indicators of an inmate’s rehabilitation.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, the move will also help the state meet a court-ordered deadline to make space in its crowded prisons. From the Times:

Mothers who were convicted of non-serious, non-sexual crimes — and have two years or less remaining on their sentences — could start going home as early as next week, prisons spokeswoman Dana Toyama said. The women would be required to wear GPS-enabled ankle bracelets and report to parole officers.

The CDCR said in its announcement that 45 percent of the state's female inmates are potentially available for the ACP, but approval will depend on individual reviews. Sex-offense convictions, escapes in the last 10 years and gang membership are among the exclusionary criteria outlined by the CDCR. The program is open only to female inmates for now, but could be opened up to male inmates in the future.

ACP is expected to save California $6 million next year.

The Times spoke with several critics of the program.

"If they were such great mothers to begin with, they never would have committed the heinous crime that got them sent to state prison," Harriet Salarno, founder of Sacramento-based Crime Victims United, told the paper.

CNN reports that California has the nation's largest prison system. In April, Governor Jerry Brown signed a law that aims to reduce prison crowding by moving 33,000 low-level offenders to county jails.