FRESNO, Calif. -- On a hot August morning, state and local leaders gathered in Fresno to cut the ribbon on California’s newest community reentry facility. The site, run in partnership with TURN Behavioral Health Services, is designed to help people finishing prison sentences adjust to life on the outside.

For Jorge Moreno of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), it’s about giving people a chance to breathe. “(It’s) like a phase down from the institutions,” he said. “(They) can decompress from the pressures and politics of prison and start acclimating back into the community.”

Jim Callaghan, president of TURN Behavioral Health Services, emphasized the collaborative nature of the Fresno center. He pointed out that it’s a shining example of what can be achieved when public agencies and private partners work hand in hand.

“This is another example of a private and public benefit coming together for communities,” he said.

From Prison Walls to Job Interviews and Skills Training

Reentry facilities look very different from prisons. Participants live in low-security housing, where the focus is on stability and preparation. They can finish out the last 60 days to two years of their sentence while receiving counseling, vocational training, and even permission to leave for school, work, or church once specific requirements are met.

In Sacramento, women at a facility run by Saint John’s Program for Real Change recently earned firefighting certificates through the Future Fire Academy. The six-week course, a collaboration between the program and the local fire department, doesn’t just teach fire prevention and suppression. It also includes resume writing, mock job interviews, and career coaching — skills many people leaving prison lack. Saint John’s also provides wraparound services for women and children, making the reentry process less isolating.

The program has even drawn Hollywood’s attention. Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner visited a firefighting camp for incarcerated persons, highlighting both the risks and the promise of rehabilitation through meaningful work.

The Numbers Are Striking

California leaders say the Fresno site is about more than second chances. It’s about public safety. And the data backs them up. According to CDCR, men who participate in reentry programs are 34% less likely to reoffend, while women are 44% less likely.

Governor Gavin Newsom said the numbers demonstrate why California is making rehabilitation a central focus of its corrections system. “We believe in second chances and rehabilitation, not in spite of their effect on public safety, but because of their effect on public safety,” he said this month.

Reentry programs, which began in 2015, have already seen more than 9,000 men graduate, according to the Los Angeles Times. Of those who spent at least nine months in programs, 92% were not reconvicted in their first year after release. This success rate is a beacon of hope, especially when compared to the nearly 22% of the general prison population who returned to custody within 12 months.

A study covering the period from 2019 to 2020 found that more than 80% of women and 74% of men who participated did not return to prison, compared to significantly higher rates for those who did. 

A Broader Mission

The voluntary reentry initiative gives eligible incarcerated people the chance to serve the last portion of their sentence in settings with fewer restrictions than prison. Once participants meet certain requirements, they may be granted permission to participate in approved activities. The model is designed to gradually restore independence while maintaining a structured and supervised environment.

The program for men includes three facilities in Los Angeles and one each in Butte, Kern, and San Diego counties. The program for women is available at facilities in Sacramento, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Fe Springs, and Stockton. With the addition of Fresno, California now has 13 reentry facilities statewide, serving more than 1,000 participants at any given time.

State spending reflects the scope of that network. For the 2023–24 fiscal year, California allocated nearly $112 million to the men’s program and $28 million to the women’s program. In 2024–25, funding for men’s reentry facilities was approximately $81 million, while the women’s program was funded at $35 million. 

The Corrections Department has identified plans for six more men’s sites, with new facilities coming to Stockton and Sacramento in addition to Fresno.

A Stanford Public Policy study found that two men’s reentry facilities, in Butte County and Los Angeles County (Amity), cost taxpayers far less than traditional incarceration. With the average annual cost of housing a state prisoner now topping $132,000, the Butte facility averaged about $48,000 per participant annually, while the Amity facility averaged roughly $38,500.

California’s Push for Reform

The Fresno opening is part of a broader realignment of California’s correctional system. In 2005, at the direction of the Legislature, the Department of Corrections added an “R” for Rehabilitation to its name, signaling a shift in priorities. The department began searching for new approaches, such as reentry programs and vocational training, that would prepare people for life after prison.

Governor Newsom has carried that mission forward, pledging to transform San Quentin into the country’s first rehabilitation-centered prison. The project draws on international models, including those from Norway, where reintegration programs have helped keep recidivism rates among the lowest in the world.

Since 2019, California has invested $1.7 billion in public safety, including funding for police hiring and operations targeting retail theft. But officials emphasize that reentry programs remain central to the state’s long-term strategy.

“Let this day remind us rehabilitation is not just an idea, it’s a practice,” said Sydney Tanimoto. “With visionary community reentry programs like this, California is leading the way forward in creating a new model for public safety.”