But the numbers show that these programs still cannot meet the needs of the entire parolee population. Regional parole administrator Mike Oskins reports that the lab clocks over 1,200 hours a month. Divide by the number of Alameda County parolees, and you get just over fifteen minutes per parolee per month. There is a fair amount of supervision, but practically no transitional services. There is no special effort on the part of parole or correctional officers to invest resources in creating winning transitions.
Transitional services are an afterthought, at best.
As a result, advocates say, released inmates bring the pitfalls of incarceration with them back into their community. They need to learn how to stay professional. We try to teach them to self-evaluate, to keep a professional demeanor, and not to take criticism personally. With little money and few marketable skills, and often with no prior employment, many former prisoners end up unemployed or homeless or turn to crime again. In addition to the stigma attached to a criminal record, ex-offenders in California are barred from working in the education, real estate, law, medicine, nursing, and physical therapy fields.