The Brief

A year ago, California State University, Dominguez Hills started the state's first master’s degree program for incarcerated students, with the goal of creating a pathway for a growing number of college graduates to continue their education behind bars. Already, its future is uncertain.

The state agency that paid tuition for 31 students in the inaugural class of the humanities graduate program says it may have made a mistake.

Not all of the students funded by the Department of Rehabilitation, which provides vocational services for people with disabilities seeking employment, should have been deemed eligible for its services, officials said. And that means that both students already enrolled and new ones seeking to start the grad program may have no way to pay for classes.

Now, students are anxious and college officials are scrambling to find alternative ways to cover tuition costs.

More than a month after classes officially started, around a third of the 41 students who had been accepted into the program’s second cohort had not yet received funding. The rest of the students are in limbo: some have explicitly been denied funding, others are waiting to see if the funding will be approved, and a few haven’t even had interviews about their eligibility for support yet. And some students in the first cohort are wondering if they’ll be able to finish their degrees.

Access to graduate programs inside is becoming increasingly important as the number of bachelor’s programs in prison grows with the return last year of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students. Since the first incarcerated bachelor’s graduates got their degrees from California State University Los Angeles at the state prison in Lancaster in 2021, California prisons now offer 11 bachelor’s programs, with two more starting next year.

Several of those Cal State LA grads continued on to the master’s program, which is open to students across California’s 34 prisons. It’s part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation commitment to offering education “from grade school to grad school.” Research shows that the higher the level of education someone achieves in prison, the less likely they are to return to prison once they are released and the more likely they are to find a job.

Graduate programs in prison are rare. The few master’s programs that are available are usually print-based programs where students submit their assignments and communicate with professors via mail. The Cal State Dominguez Hills program is different. Most of its students have laptops that allow them to communicate with their professors and also interact with their classmates on moderated discussion boards.

But the current challenges facing the master’s program highlight the vulnerability of prison education programs that rely on a single funding source. Programs must often cobble together funding from various sources, sometimes resulting in tenuous partnerships between agencies with different primary missions. The situation underscores the need for diversified and sustainable funding models for prison education programs.

The federal rules are clear

The Department of Rehabilitations funds people, not programs, said Kim Rutledge, deputy director of legislation and communications. The agency is primarily focused on preparing individuals with disabilities to find jobs. "Sometimes we pay for education as a part of getting someone to competitive, integrated employment, but we're not strictly an education program,” she said.

Although the agency serves people with disabilities in California, its funding primarily comes from federal workforce dollars. That money has clear eligibility rules, said Mark Erlichman, deputy director of vocational rehabilitation.

The guidelines mean the agency cannot fund individuals who don’t have job opportunities in the near future without putting the entire agency and the population it serves at risk. As a result, the agency can’t in most cases provide money or services to incarcerated students who are not expecting to be released soon.

“We have a program that served 154,000 Californians with disabilities last year,” Erlichman said. “There's no flexibility that wouldn't jeopardize our entire program.”

Counselors evaluate individuals on a case-by-case basis to see if they can receive services from the Department of Rehabilitation. Eligibiity to receive financial support includes having a disability that significantly hinders someone’s ability to work and being able to benefit from services to achieve employment in a competitive, integrated setting.

All costs for the Cal State Dominguez Hills master’s program — estimated to be between $12,000-15,000 for the two years — have to be covered by tuition and fees. The program doesn’t receive any direct funding from the university or the corrections department.

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Courtesy California State University, Dominguez Hills

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In practice that means a job in the community that pays at least minimum wage. Individuals who are serving life without the possibility of parole or other long sentences are generally precluded from finding such employment.

“Therefore they would not be eligible for our services, which in this case is asking for education to be paid for," Rutledge said.

Most prison jobs would not meet the competitive employment criteria either. Incarcerated individuals in California usually earn less than $.74 an hour.

Much of the Department of Rehabilitation’s work with the incarcerated population is with reentry planning before people are released. Formerly incarcerated students with disabilities have been also able to use its support to pay for college. But it’s unusual for the agency to be working with individuals who might still have a long time to serve.

Last year, counselors may have determined that some incarcerated individuals in the first cohort were eligible for services based on limited information, Rutledge said.

“There are some instances last year where the counselor who made the determination wasn't aware that there was no possibility of parole,” Erlichman added.

Erlichman stressed that there hasn’t been a change in criteria and there is no Department of Rehabilitation policy against funding people who have life sentences. He said they will work with individuals in the first cohort who had been determined eligible for support in error.

“We're not going to pull [funding] right away, but we really have to look at those again on a case-by-case basis,” Erlichman said.

The case for postgraduate opportunities in prison

Just because someone doesn’t have a release date or has a life without parole sentence doesn’t mean that they won’t ever get out of prison. “Parole dates are moving targets,” said Matt Luckett, director of the Cal State Dominguez Hills master’s program.

People are often released early through clemency or state legislative reforms that allow them to be resentenced, and precluding them from services that support education means that they are less likely to be able to support themselves if they are released. Twenty-one students who were in the first three cohorts of the Cal State LA bachelor’s program at Lancaster — many of whom thought they’d never be going home — have gotten out.

“We want to give them every chance to be as prepared as they can be to get a job if they do get out,” Luckett said.

Even if they never get out of prison, lifers often become mentors and tutors to younger individuals inside. Sometimes they even start education programs.

Master’s student Dortell Williams, who is a Cal State LA grad serving life without parole, said that people serving extreme sentences are often excluded from rehabilitative programs despite the ways they can benefit their communities.

“We are expected to die in prison. And while that outcome is a real possibility, the irony is that our permanence in prison is used by the guards as a stabilizing influence on rowdy youth and people sojourning through the system,” he said. “We mentor, peer instruct, quell violence and lead people in the right direction. Education helps us shape a safer environment inside for our peers and staff, and helps us keep the youth in our families and communities from coming to prison at all.”

Kunlyna Tauch, another Cal State LA graduate at Lancaster who was accepted to the master’s program, said that seeing peers earn a degree – particularly a master’s – can change a prison’s entire culture.

“Consider the wider implication of what graduate-level education can mean to a community of people that don't think they are worth it,” said Tauch, who will be released in October. “When one person achieves something, the entire population experiences that accomplishment.”

The need for broader investment

As graduate students, individuals enrolled in the Cal State Dominguez Hills program are not allowed to take out federal student loans and are not eligible for federal financial aid such as the newly reinstated Pell Grants. Most students are unable to cover costs themselves.

All costs for the Cal State Dominguez Hills master’s program — estimated to be between $12,000-15,000 for the two years — have to be covered by tuition and fees. The program doesn’t receive any direct funding from the university or the corrections department.

Luckett said it was never the intention for the master’s program to rely solely on funding from the Department of Rehabilitation. In the short term, individual students are applying to scholarships and Luckett is looking at alternative sources of funding such as a GoFundMe campaign. But, he says, with hundreds more graduates expected from prison bachelor’s programs over the next several years, there needs to be broader investment in postgraduate opportunities in California from both public agencies and philanthropic organizations. “The whole point of building this ecosystem is making sure it’s sustainable,” Luckett said.

A representative for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said that over the past few years the department has worked with Cal State Dominguez Hills to explore options for tuition and will continue to support graduate opportunities. “Just as for students in the community, it is a challenge to find financial support for the master's degree,” the spokesperson said. “Although DOR's policy clarification is a hurdle, it is not the end of the program or of CDCR's commitment to the program.”

Charlotte West is a reporter covering the future of postsecondary education in prisons for Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education. Sign up for her newsletter, College Inside.

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.

That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.

“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.

The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.

Brandon Jay.

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Robert Garrova

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LAist

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Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.

“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”

You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.

Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.

Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.

Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.

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Even Keel Imagery

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“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”

Details

Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show
Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic.
Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m.
1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena
Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.