Writing in the Sacramento Bee, Ron Broomfield — former warden of San Quentin prison and former CDCR Director — calls on California to “double down” on rehabilitation by funding the Rehabilitative Investment Grants for Healing and Transformation (aka the RIGHT Grant) at a critical time.

The California Assembly and Senate have approved continued funding for the RIGHT Grant in their FY26 budget, which is now under review by Governor Gavin Newsom. The governor must decide to include this expense in his budget allocations for the upcoming fiscal year. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) administers the RIGHT grant, which provides funding to community based organizations for trauma-informed, rehabilitative, and/or restorative justice programming in CDCR institutions. Beyond Us & Them’s Council for Insight, Compassion and Resilience is one such award-winning program that has been historically funded through the RIGHT Grant.

Does rehabilitation work in prisons? Yes, it does, and we have the data to prove it.

Broomfield worked inside California’s prisons for 23 years and, while he retired in 2024, he mentions that he “learned what works and what doesn’t inside the prisons.” Citing CDCR’s latest recidivism report, which found that rehabilitative programming inside prisons contributes to a nearly 50% reduction in the recommitting of crimes upon release, Broomfield called these programs “an investment in a safer society, in a smaller prison system and successful reentry.”

“This means that instead of nearly half of people being released from prison subsequently returning to incarceration, only about a quarter do. Besides the savings in incarceration costs, that means fewer people being wrenched from their families, jobs and communities,” Broomfield explains.

The small price tag attached to these effective, transformational programs is astounding. Less than 1% of CDCR’s budget goes to the community based organizations tasked with providing these rehabilitative programs which, ultimately, contribute significantly to a safer place to live for all Californians.

“These are goals and outcomes we should all be able to get behind and support”

Broomfield mentions that programs offered by CBOs, “create an ecosystem of rehabilitation, where one program leads to another, fostering true and lasting transformation inside and outside of prison walls.”

Beyond Us & Them trainers and staff work within this ecosystem and welcome formerly incarcerated individuals who have graduated from our programs to join us in our Los Angeles Reentry Collaborative, upon release. Some of our formerly incarcerated alumni come to work with Beyond Us & Them, as our programming and operations expand.

“Having had the privilege of participating in several rehabilitative programs as a guest over the years,” Broomfield continues, “I am convinced that it’s the smartest way for California to move forward.”

“The majority of incarcerated people will return to our neighborhoods. How would you like them to behave? Do you want them to return punished or prepared?”

Beyond Us & Them’s Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience program was recognized with the 2020 “Innovation in Corrections” Award by the American Correctional Association for contributing to a shift in culture within jails and prisons, while equipping participants with tools for successful reentry and reintegration upon release into their communities.

The feedback we receive from our program participants is a testament to its power — and reinforces CDCR’s findings that rehabilitative programming is effective and leads to less crime committed upon release. Our program utilizes council practice to foster introspection and awareness, while bridging divides amongst unlikely allies. Here are a few snippets of feedback we’ve recently received:

• “I’ve been to the [Parole] Board a few times. This time I was able to tell my story. I cried. They gave me a date [to come home].”
• “I’ve learned how to communicate more effectively using the 4 intentions.” 
• “I am a different person than what I was when I came in here.”
• “For just a little while, the walls disappeared.”
• “It didn’t feel like I was in prison.”
• “No matter race, color or creed we can all relate in council.”

The work of Beyond Us & Them is made possible, in part, by state initiatives like the RIGHT Grant and by the generosity of our allies and donors.

To become a supporter of our transformational programming click here.

Notable decline in recidivism attributed to in-prison programs, according to CDCR

Want to learn more?

Find out about our dedicated reentry program here.

Learn about all of our Beyond Us & Them programs here.

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For more information on this and other Beyond Us & Them programs, please contact us.