Sierra Conservation Center Avoids State Closure List
Sacramento, CA — Citing a desire to cut costs, the California Department of Corrections has decided to close two state prisons.
The CDCR reports that it evaluated the state’s various prisons when deciding which to close, taking into account factors like the costs to operate, potential impact on the workforce of surrounding communities, rehabilitation programs available, etc. In the end, the state announced that the Chuckwalla Valley State Prison in Blythe (2,039 inmates) will close in March of 2025. In addition, a $32-million annual lease with the company CoreCivic for the California City Correctional Facility in Kern County (nearly 1,900 inmates) will be terminated in March of 2024, effectively ending the use of that facility as a state prison.
Some other prisons will be scaled back. including the Folsom Women’s Facility and Facility C at Pelican Bay State Prison.
The Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown is among those which are not impacted and will remain fully operational.
The CDCR indicates that it will work to “limit the impact on employees” at the prisons on the closure list and hopefully transfer many to other facilities.
The inmates incarcerated will be relocated to other state prisons that have room available.
Last year, the state also decided to close the California Correctional Center in rural Lassen County, effective this coming June.
