Male Community Reentry Program (2024 Guide)

California’s Male Community Reentry Program (MCRP) is designed to help eligible inmates integrate back into society. It provides a range of rehabilitative services, ensuring the inmate is well-prepared for life outside prison.

It’s possible you have a family member or friend who is currently incarcerated. If that’s the case, the MCRP may help prepare your loved one for the end of their sentence.

What Is the MCRP?

The MCRP is a voluntary program that was launched in 2015. It’s available to most incarcerated men in California who have 32 months or less left on their sentence to serve.

Those who qualify for the program can serve the remainder of their sentences outside of prison under community supervision rather than in a correctional facility.

California’s Division of Rehabilitative Programs (DRP) operates the program, which helps formerly incarcerated men with issues related to the following:

-Chemical dependence and substance abuse
-Mental health
-Workforce preparation and development
-Residential services
-Medical care services

Ultimately, the program’s goal is to leverage community-based services to reduce instances of released inmates committing crimes and going back to jail.

Such services include:

-Providing access to temporary housing
-Reunification with family members
-Guidance and support related to the issues the inmate will face upon release
-Educational and community resources to help with reintegration
-Access to healthcare services
-Employment advice and guidance

Did you know? The MCRP isn’t the only reentry program in California. The Delaney Street Foundation has operated similar programs since its 1971 formation.

Check out jobs for felons in California.

The Male Community Reentry Program Eligibility Criteria

The MCRP is open to any incarcerated men with 32 months or less remaining on their prison sentences. However, those with fewer than 60 days to serve aren’t eligible for an MCRP placement.

Furthermore, qualifying inmates aren’t transferred to an MCRP facility until they’re within 30 months of the end of their sentences.

All MCRP applications are reviewed by California’s Institution Classification Committee (ICC). This committee refers qualifying applicants to a Classification Staff Representative, who endorses the inmate for community-supervised release.

Every accepted applicant commits to wearing an electronic monitoring device. The removal of this device is grounds for the cancellation of the inmate’s placement.

The MCRP is available to most California inmates who meet the above criteria. However, several issues could lead to an otherwise-eligible inmate being deemed ineligible for placement under the program.

These issues include the following:

The inmate has a California Static Risk Assessment score of five, making them ineligible for the MCRP. A score of five indicates the inmate is prone to high violence, meaning they’re not ready for reintroduction into the community.

The inmate has a current or past conviction for a sexually violent offense per subdivision (B) of the Welfare Institutions Code Section 6600. This restriction also applies to inmates with an R suffix or Penal Code Section 290 registration requirement under the same code.

The MCRP doesn’t service the inmate’s last legal residence. In these cases, they can’t apply to the program unless they’re approved for transfer to an MCRP county.

The inmate has an active or potential felony detainer, hold, or warrant. The same goes for anybody who has an active or probable Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer, hold, or warrant.

The inmate has committed an in-custody offense from the list of Division A-C offenses within the last two years.

However, offenses related to the physical possession of drugs or alcohol aren’t included in this exclusion, though possession with the intent to supply is included.

The inmate has an arson arrest or conviction. An exception is the proposed MCRP facility is non-combustible.

The inmate was released from a Psychiatric Security Unit or Security Housing Unit within the last 12 months.

The inmate is considered a Validated Security Threat per Title 15, Subsection 3378(c) of the California Code of Regulations.

The ICC also has the right to consider each application on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, this may mean an applicant is unsuccessful even if they don’t meet the ineligibility criteria.

However, this review process can work in the opposite direction. Some inmates who fall into the ineligibility criteria may find that a specific case review allows them to apply for the MCRP.

Where Is the Male Community Reentry Program Offered?

The MCPR program is active in the following counties:

Los Angeles County
The program includes three locations in this county
San Diego County
Kern County
Butte
Nevada
Colusa
Glenn
Yuba
Sutter
Placer
Tehama

As noted previously, the ICC uses an inmate’s last county of legal residence when determining program eligibility.

Suppose your friend or loved one lives in California but outside of the above counties. In that case, they may be able to apply for the transfer of their supervision to an eligible county. This transfer must be approved and occur before the ICC reviews the inmate’s application.

Is the Male Community Reentry Program Effective?

In June 2021, a team of researchers from Stanford University examined the MCRP to determine its effectiveness as a rehabilitative program.

They conducted a comprehensive literature review that examines the background of similar reentry programs. From there, the researchers designed a study based on MCRP program data from the fiscal year 2016/17 to the fiscal year 2018/19.

The study discovered that inmates who participated in the MCRP were less likely to re-offend, be rearrested, or get reconvicted than those who didn’t participate.

Furthermore, inmates who committed more time to the program were less likely to reoffence than those who committed less time.

Specifically, the researchers discovered an 8% decrease in re-arrests compared to a control group after seven months of participation.

Once measured against the one-year average rearrest rates, the CDCR says that this equates to a 20% decrease in rearrests.

It also found an 11% decrease in re-convictions after nine months of participation.

Did you know? According to the DRP, the above figures equated to a 92% decrease in one-year conviction rates and a 37% decrease in arrest rates.

Overall, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of the MCRP. Inmates are less likely to reoffend because the program helps to rehabilitate and reintroduce them into the community.

It also equips inmates with valuable social skills, in addition to providing substance treatment and helping inmates to find jobs once they’re released from prison.

The Male Community Reentry Program Serves California’s Inmates

The MCRP’s main purpose is to help California’s inmate population re-enter society. Its array of services helps inmates to confront many of the challenges associated with reintegration.

Plus, its educational and substance abuse services confront the root causes of why many released inmates re-offend.

Anybody interested in the program must ensure they’re eligible before applying. In some cases, an inmate can request the examination of their case individually.