SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After decades of unsuccessful efforts to improve California prison conditions ruled unconstitutional and blamed for record-high suicides, advocates and a federal judge are betting that bonuses and better work accommodations will finally be enough to attract and keep the mental health providers needed to treat prisoners.
The funds come from nearly $200 million in federal fines imposed because of California’s lack of progress in hiring sufficient mental health staff. They are being used for hiring and retention bonuses, including an extra $20,000 for psychologists and psychiatric social workers — roles with the highest vacancy rates — and $5,000 boosts for psychiatrists and recreational therapists.
“I think it’s important to point out that this is the money that the state saved by not hiring people for these positions,” said Michael Bien, an attorney representing the roughly one-third of California prisoners with serious mental illness in a class action lawsuit. “And we know that not hiring caused suffering, harm, and even death.”
The cash is aimed at countering a scarcity of mental health workers in California and across the country. State officials blame this dearth of workers for their chronic inability to meet hiring levels required by the long-running suit — a failure that led a federal judge to hold top officials in contempt of court last year. The funds are being distributed after an appeals court upheld the contempt order in March, saying staffing shortages affect whether prisoners have access to “essential, even lifesaving, care.” The spending plan was jointly developed by …