The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) enacted budget rose by 2 percent, from $14.6 billion in the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year to $14.9 billion in FY 2023-24, including infrastructure expenditures. The department’s total approved positions declined about 3.6 percent, from 64,661 in the enacted FY 2022-23 budget to 62,344 in the enacted FY 2023-24 budget. The department submitted 45 budget change proposals (BCP) in the 2023-24 budget year, many of which received funding. The technology spend includes:
- $10.4 million from the General Fund and 11 positions for eDiscovery ongoing needs. This derives from a BCP dating to Nov. 18, 2021, seeking 11 positions and $10 million from the General Fund in FY 2023-24 and ongoing to develop and implement the eDiscovery platform, which will comprehensively manage CDCR’s electronically stored information (ESI) now stored as email data — but also across the cloud, mobile devices and on computers, none of which it had been able to retain or produce. The system will be able to manage enterprise-level legal matters and digital evidence in an industry-specific manner, audio and video with redaction and transcription, and capture end-user ESI, all with an intact chain of custody. In a BCP from Jan. 23, CDCR had also sought an increase for the project of $391,000 from the General Fund in FY 2023-24 and a reduction of $2.8 million in FY 2024-25 to reflect project revisions. The department has worked with the California Department of Technology to identify and implement an eDiscovery and data storage solution that will meet existing and future needs.
- $11 million from the General Fund and 85 positions to expand the statewide tele-mental health program. In a BCP, CDCR and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) sought 85 positions and $11 million from the General Fund in FY 2023-24; 144 positions and $17.3 million from the General Fund in FY2024-25; and 144 positions and $16.8 million from the General Fund in FY 2025-26 and ongoing to expand its use of tele-mental health services to include psychology and social work in addition to psychiatry. The work, CDCR said, will be a huge benefit in improving the delivery of mental health-care services and meeting court-ordered requirements. With the right operational support structure and oversight, it hopes to build on the success of its statewide telepsychiatry program to further improve the statewide mental health program, plus support recruiting and retaining for hard-to-fill clinical positions.
- $8.1 million from the General Fund to migrate its Business Information System. In a BCP, CDCR sought $8.1 million from the General Fund this fiscal year, $9.3 million in FY 2024-25 and $7.8 million in FY 2025-26 to migrate its System Applications and Products (SAP) software to SAP’s new system, which offers S/4HANA. System support for the existing SAP version ends in 2027 and existing systems must move to S/4HANA, which is cloud-based, before then. CDCR estimates the migration will take three years and, if it doesn’t make the move, its version of SAP will become obsolete, lose functionality and become vulnerable to breaches.
- $3.1 million from other funds, $207,000 from the General Fund and 12 positions for the CalAIM Justice-Involved Initiative Medi-Cal Reimbursement System. In a BCP, CDCR sought 12 positions, $207,000 from the General Fund and $3.1 million from Providing Access and Transforming Health reimbursement funding in FY 2023-24; plus 19 permanent ongoing positions and $4.5 million, limited-term, from the General Fund in FY 2024-25; and $3.7 million, limited-term, from the General Fund in FY 2025-26. The funding, it said, will enable it to stand up an IT-based billing system, the Medi-Cal Reimbursement System, that will allow federal reimbursement and support implementation of the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Justice-Involved Initiative. CDCR and CCHCS need a new billing claims system to get federal reimbursement for services and medications under CalAIM. It must be developed and fully integrated between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2026.
