Pubdate: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA) Copyright: 1999 The Fresno Bee Contact: http://www.fresnobee.com/man/opinion/letters.html Website: http://www.fresnobee.com/ Forum: http://www.fresnobee.com/man/projects/webforums/opinion.html Author: Robert Presley Note: The writer is the Agency Secretary for the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency in Sacramento REAL STORY ON PRISONS In his Nov. 13 Valley Voices column, Eluterio Escamilla made several misstatements about the state prison system. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not at the cost of promulgating erroneous information. First, 40% of this year's state budget did not go to the prison system. In fact, a little less than 8% of the general fund expenditures in this year's budget went to the Department of Corrections. Eight percent of the budget to run 33 prisons, 38 camps (where inmates are trained as wildland firefighters), 16 community correctional facilities and 136 parole offices in 70 locations throughout the state. The Department of Corrections employs more than 45,000 Californians with that 8% of the budget. Its primary responsibility is to oversee more than 160,000 inmates and nearly 114,000 parolees. Mr. Escamilla also implied that "major corporations" provide food, clothing and shelter to prison inmates. That simply is not true. Inmates make their own clothing; they make their own shoes and jackets. They build the furniture they sit on and the bunks they sleep in. They cook their own food and bake their own bread. One of Gov. Davis' major programs this year is the READ Initiative (Raising Expectations, Achievement and Development in schools) aimed at improving our student's academic achievements by setting high expectations and then rewarding the results. Giving all of California's children a better education improves their sense of self-worth and provides them with a better opportunity to succeed. That is one of the best way to break the cycle of poverty, and on that I think we can also agree. Robert Presley, Agency Secretary, Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, Sacramento - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D