Federal Receiver Terminated
After 21 months at the helm of California’s prison health care system,
Robert Sillen was terminated as the receiver. The federal
judge named veteran state official J. Clark Kelso as his replacement.
J. Clark Kelso, a professor at the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento with experience working under the last two governors, was appointed to immediately begin serving as the new federal receiver overseeing the state’s prison medical system.
“In working on the reclassification of information technology workers, SEIU Local 1000 found Clark Kelso to be very effective at bringing stakeholders together,” said Yvonne Walker, Local 1000 vice president for bargaining. “We look forward to a collaborative relationship between Mr. Kelso and the nurses and medical staff we represent.”
Judge Thelton Henderson indicated that Sillen had developed and put into practice a number of critical short-term measures, but the focus of the receivership must now shift towards long-term reform. Henderson said the federal receivership had moved from “primarily investigative and evaluative phase … into an implementation phase.” Robert Sillen oversaw development of a long-term reform plan for the state corrections medical system that must ultimately be transitioned back to the State of California’s control. Sillen, 65, came to the job with a long record as a medical administrator. Kelso, 48, is not a medical or corrections specialist but he has worked effectively with Capitol leaders of both parties on a wide range of projects.
Kelso’s experience includes a variety of positions in all three branches of state government, including:
- In the 1990s, Kelso worked with the California Judicial Council and Administrative Offices of the courts, helping oversee the unification of the state’s trial courts.
- In 2000, Kelso served as interim insurance commissioner after Chuck Quackenbush abruptly resigned.
- In June 2002, Kelso began serving as the State’s Chief Information Officer, and worked to begin restoring the state’s crumbling information technology program.
“Mr. Kelso is a good choice for moving forward with the necessary reforms,” Walker added.
State workers blow the whistle on illegal delays in releasing prisoners who have served their time
SEIU Local 1000 is petitioning the Sacramento Superior Court to force CDCR to recalculate release dates for up to 33,000 prisoners as required by recent court decisions.
The Local 1000 petition charges that the state has failed and continues to fail to abide by recent court decisions which, if implemented, would relieve overcrowding and reduce spending.
CDCR Case Records Analysts, who calculate release dates, will be available to speak to the media.
“It goes back to chronic understaffing throughout the case records system,” said Marc Bautista, Local 1000 vice president for organizing and representation, who filed the suit. “CDCR won’t hire or train enough people to do the work the courts say we must do.
“Instead, they have thumbed their nose at the courts, the legislature and their own policies which require uniform and accurate sentencing. It undermines the credibility of the whole system.”
Click here to view the lawsuit. 