Paradigm Education Solutions
ST. PAUL, Minn., June 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Paradigm Education Solutions, one of the nation's leading providers of digital literacy learning solutions, is pleased to announce that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has adopted its courseware to help thousands of incarcerated individuals statewide become highly proficient using Microsoft® Office applications—a key competency for achieving employment in today's labor market.
Paradigm's Benchmark Series and SNAP assessment and training platform will be used within 35 correctional facilities throughout California. Through this adoption, thousands of inmates will achieve the skills and knowledge needed to effectively use Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint—three applications widely used in hundreds of occupations across a variety of industries.
"Putting inmates on pathways to academic and employment success is critical to reducing recidivism and preparing them for a successful reentry. By adopting Paradigm's courseware, CDCR is investing in a solution that uses in-demand, skills-based training to drive rehabilitation," said Michael Valdez, director of career and technical education at the CDCR Office of Correctional Education.
Throughout the United States, initiatives to improve prison education have gained traction, with policymakers and secondary and postsecondary institutions increasingly partnering to enhance and improve the educational opportunities for individuals who are incarcerated or recently released.
"With the adoption of Paradigm's courseware—which is widely used in community colleges and career schools throughout the United States—CDCR is taking significant steps to ensure its prison population has access to exceptional education and training programs. We applaud their commitment to learning and rehabilitation, and we look forward to supporting the CDCR staff in this innovative and important effort," said Scott Burns, vice president of sales and marketing at Paradigm.
About Paradigm Education Solutions
Paradigm Education Solutions is one of the nation's leading postsecondary providers of courseware in computer technology, health careers, accounting and business technology. Paradigm is committed to providing instructors with solutions for building and delivering successful courses and preparing students with the knowledge and skills needed for academic and career success. Visit ParadigmEducation.com for more information.
CALIFORNIA PRISONS
Rachel Zirin, The Folsom Telegraph
There are many programs and events Folsom State Prison (FSP) and Folsom Women’s Facility (FWF) inmates participate in, but one stands out as a group effort – Relay for Life.
Cancer affects everyone in some way, shape or form, whether it’s you, your best friend, family member, or cellmate.
Relay for Life was held at both the FSP and FWF on Friday, June 15 and thousands of dollars was raised to support the American Cancer Society. Inmates produced speeches for all to hear and walked together around the prison grounds to raise as much money as they could for the national organization. Many teams put in the little money they make working in the prison, which shows the true spirit of this cause.
The event originally started at FSP in 2014 and soon after, FWF joined in after seeing much success on the men’s side.
Hundreds of inmates were on the FSP yard during the event as well as dozens on the FWF yard, which speaks to their character, as they dedicated their time, effort and money.
Inmate Ubaldo Cervantes co-organized the event with inmate Ruben Stewart, and this was their first time planning the event together. Cervantes co-organized last year’s event as well.
Cervantes said at the time of the interview on June 15, the inmates had raised $18,570.71. Stewart said they are projecting that number to double, as they haven’t done a final count of funds raised and they will continue to fundraise throughout the year.
Their largest fundraiser was $21,000 in 2015, and since the inaugural event, they have raised more than $100,000.
Stewart said his and Cervantes duties as organizers are to make sure the event goes smoothly as planned and to make sure the inmates get involved and that they contribute anything they can.
“We always want to make each year better than the year before and raise more money so individuals in here, who feel like they may not be worth anything, can do something good at least this one day,” Stewart said. “They see inside themselves that they have the ability to do something positive and that they can do something positive all the time they choose to do so.”
Cervantes said this event also helps the inmates feel like they are a part of society.
“There are a lot of people in here who have cancer, who passed away from cancer, and there are some still fighting cancer, so they really do get involved for the cause,” Cervantes said. “This event gives the inmates an opportunity to be a part of society, so it is a good event for everyone in here.”
Cervantes wanted to thank the band, the color guard, and all of their volunteers, as the event wouldn’t have been the same without them.
“This is a big thing to be able to put together, especially inside the prison walls, so thank you to the staff and volunteers that have helped us,” Stewart said.
Inmate Larry Lawson feels especially grateful for this event, as he is a cancer survivor thanks to early detection.
“I had prostate cancer and started my radiation in 2003. I learned I was cancer free in 2004,” he said. “This day is a celebration that cancer is curable and you don’t have to die from cancer. This day is a great day to give back and to celebrate.
Inmate Flora Smith has been the organizer for the event at FWF for two years now, and she has made sure the event goes off without a hitch. Smith said this day was very special to her, as she lost her favorite uncle in 2014 to lung cancer
“Overall, we have raised more than $100,000, but this year, the women have raised about $1,000,” Smith said. “It’s about giving back for the people who have died of cancer, been diagnosed with cancer and have been affected by someone who has cancer. We are here to show our support that they are not in this fight alone.”
Inmate Tamica Darnas recently became a cancer survivor only two months ago after finding out she had stage two breast cancer in 2011. On June 15, she said that she was going home on Monday, June 18, and this day was a celebration for her.
“It feels excellent to be cancer free. I am going to live, and I have something to live for.” she said. “I never thought for a day that I would have cancer and I didn’t take it seriously. But I went to my appointments and did what I was told. Since I actually listened and went along with it, I get to live.”
CALIFORNIA PAROLE
Kelly Puente, Orange County Register
A woman dubbed the “Evil Twin” for plotting to kill her identical twin sister in Irvine, in a case that made international headlines in the 1990s, has been released on parole after 20 years in prison, officials confirmed Wednesday.
Jeen “Gina” Han was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison in May 1998 for conspiring to kill her estranged sister, Sunny Han, who was bound and gagged in her Irvine apartment along with her then-roommate, Helen Kim, before they were rescued by police.
She was released on parole on May 24, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed Wednesday.
Han declined a request for an interview with the Orange County Register while still in prison at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. In a note on a Harley Davidson postcard, she deferred questions to her lawyer, Keith Wattley. Wattley could not be reached for comment.
The case of the Korean-born twins who were co-valedictorians at their San Diego County high school made headlines worldwide and shook the Korean-American community.
Irvine police even referred to Han as the “evil twin,” while they called her sister the “good twin.”
The sisters were once close but had a history of fighting and their relationship further deteriorated after Sunny Han accused her sister of stealing her BMW.
Prosecutors said Gina Han in 1996 plotted to kill her sister and enlisted help from two teenage boys – Archie Bryant, then 16, and John Sayarath, then 15.
Posing as magazine salesmen, the two teenagers forced their way into Sunny Han’s apartment and tied up her roomate with twine as Gina Han waited outside in her car.
Sunny Han heard the commotion and quickly called 911 from the bathroom before the teens restrained her. The two were quickly rescued by police.
Gina Han was later arrested. A recovered sales receipt showed that she had bought Pine Sol and garbage bags the previous day.
Following a high-profile trial, Gina Han and the teens were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and other charges.
Bryant was sentenced to 16 years in prison, while Sayarath was sentenced to eight years.
During the trial, Korean-Americans and Koreans rallied in support of Gina Han and generated thousands of signatures asking the court for leniency. She has maintained she never intended to kill her sister.
Under California law, the decision for parole includes a 120-day review period, with Gov. Jerry Brown having the final say on upholding or rejecting parole.
The law presumes that an inmate should be recommended for parole unless there is evidence that they are a current danger to the community.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office had petitioned the governor to reject the parole board’s decision, stating that Gina Han failed to address her alleged mental disorder and is “still manipulative.”
Deputy District Attorney Nikki Chambers in a letter to the governor last year said Gina Han, as an example of her plans for parole, gave the board letters from male pen pals that offered her money, jobs and lodging. The pen pals, from abroad and across the country, included one man from England who gave her $100,000 after corresponding for a year, the prosecutor said.
A forensic psychologist in a report for the parole board noted that Gina Han has a positive disciplinary history and educational accomplishments, but has “never participated in mental-health treatment,” the prosecutor said.
CORRECTIONS RELATED
Pauline Bartolone, California Healthline
Patrick Garcia wasn’t completely surprised when he learned recently he had hepatitis C. Until a few years ago, he had experimented with numerous drugs, injecting heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine — you name it.
“I haven’t lived exactly a perfect life,” said Garcia, 43, whose mouth, hand and back were injured in a motorcycle wreck last year.
Medi-Cal, California’s public health program for the poor, paid for his post-accident care and the bloodwork that led to his hepatitis C diagnosis. But it wouldn’t pay for the pricey new medications that cure the disease.
“I got denied twice,” said the Sacramento-area resident, who was told he didn’t meet the criteria for treatment. “It’s frustrating, to say the least.”
For at least four years, Medi-Cal has limited coverage of medications such as Harvoni and Sovaldi. Under current guidelines, only people with liver scarring or HIV, women of childbearing age, active injection-drug users, and patients who fall into other high-risk categories can get these drugs.
Still, many Medi-Cal patients who need the drugs have been able to get them.
Starting next month, Medi-Cal is expected to loosen its restrictions and begin providing the drugs to hepatitis C patients, like Garcia, who currently don’t have access.
Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers have set aside $70 million in next year’s budget — which starts July 1 — so that almost all Medi-Cal recipients with hepatitis C will become eligible for the medications, as long as they are at least 13 and have more than one year to live.
The agency expects to treat 2,090 Medi-Cal patients with that extra money in the next fiscal year. In 2017, about 7,800 Medi-Cal recipients received the drugs under the current guidelines.
Brown, who proposed this funding, is likely to approve it by the end of the month.
“We are really glad to see California … ensuring that everybody gets hepatitis C treatment, particularly the most vulnerable in the state,” said Anne Donnelly, health care policy director at Project Inform, which advocates for patients with hepatitis C and HIV.
Hepatitis C, the most deadly infectious disease in the United States, was responsible for 18,153 deaths in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus is primarily transmitted through intravenous drug use and, less frequently, through sexual contact.
In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Sovaldi, one of the first new hepatitis C drugs known as “direct-acting antivirals.” At that time, its list price was $84,000 for a 12-week course of treatment. Public health programs such as Medi-Cal often negotiate prices down.
Sovaldi and similar drugs, including Harvoni and Viekira Pak, have fewer side effects, work faster and are more likely than older medications to cure the disease.
In the past few years, newer direct-acting antivirals have come to market at lower list prices. Merck’s Zepatier lists at $54,600 for a course of treatment, and Mavyret is $26,400.
Compared with other states, California’s current restrictions are moderate, according to stateofhepc.org, a Harvard University-affiliated research project. The website gives California a “B+,” docking its grade for the requirement that a patient have liver damage.
Montana, Arkansas and South Dakota received “F” grades for requiring Medicaid patients to have severe liver damage and six months of sobriety, and to choose from a limited list of providers to obtain a prescription.
Patient advocates and researchers believe the high cost of the newer hep C drugs has led some state Medicaid programs to ration them to the sickest patients. The state of Washington was sued over the matter.
“[Medi-Cal] plans were being very restrictive,” Donnelly said. “It did seem to hinge on money.”
California’s Department of Health Care Services, which manages Medi-Cal, has previously denied that drug costs determine coverage.
Agency spokesman Tony Cava said the impending changes are based on recommendations from the federal government and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
“Evidence suggests that when people with chronic hepatitis C are treated early in the course of the disease, outcomes improve and the spread of disease decreases significantly,” Cava said in a written statement.
State officials also have allocated $106 million in next year’s budget to treat inmates with hepatitis C in California’s prisons. The officials plan to allocate the same amount in each of the two following years.
About 22,000 prisoners with the disease started benefiting from expanded access to the lifesaving drugs in December. The new guidelines in prisons essentially mirror the new Medi-Cal rules.
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has treated about 2,300 inmates this fiscal year at a cost of $60 million, according to recent budget documents.
Dr. Aaron Cleveland, medical director at the Sacramento Native American Health Center, which serves mostly Medi-Cal recipients, said his patients experience long delays and bureaucratic hurdles trying to obtain the groundbreaking hepatitis C drugs.
“It has taken us over a year to get approval for some patients,” he said. “But we keep fighting. And we fight, and we fight and we fight” until the patients receive the medication.
Cleveland said the change will streamline the treatment process and make patients happier.
Patrick Garcia said he’ll try again to obtain the medications under the new rules. He doesn’t want his condition to deteriorate into liver cancer or make him unemployable, he said.
Garcia said he just wants to live a “long, fruitful life. Isn’t that what anybody wants?”