A hidden wrinkle with excused time off
Graduations. Cultural celebrations. Mental health days. Vacations. Individuals outside of prison take time off work for these reasons and many more. But what about the incarcerated population in the state of California?
Excused Time Off (ETO), outlined in California Code of Regulations, Title 15, § 3045, allows incarcerated individuals to be excused from work in order to attend various events and functions.
Specifically, ETO can be used for family (overnight) visits, regular visiting under extraordinary circumstances, attendance at approved religious functions/services, and non-routine recreation/ entertainment activities.
Incarcerated people earn ETO by attending work and education programs. Unlike time off from work outside of prison, anyone utilizing ETO is not paid.
Recently, Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) has hosted some special events. Some, like Project Music Heals Us facilitated by Julliard or the Cinco de Mayo celebration, are uncommon occurrences or have never been offered at CCWF.
“The events we’re going to are rare events. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing to go to Juilliard,” said resident Renecha Gulley.
Incarcerated individuals sign up to attend some events, while others — like a graduation — require having completed a program to attend.
While attendance at some special events seems like a foregone conclusion, some incarcerated individuals have experienced difficulties in utilizing the ETO they have earned, even for their own graduations.
Melinda Rocha, a long-time CCWF resident, works for Prison Industry Authority (PIA) Optical. Rocha, along with Gulley and the other incarcerated individuals who commented, works fulltime for PIA and even works overtime when requested.
“When I get encouragement from staff that I’m appreciated as an employee and individual, it makes me want to work harder. It shows you’re valuing me all the way around,” Rocha said. “It’s discouraging for people who may want to work for PIA, but [some PIA administrators] won’t allow us to attend groups, graduations, or events. We’re trying to be prosocial, supporting our peers and demonstrating positive attitudes; not being able to go to something we’ve worked for hinders that.”
Resident Angela Phakhin echoed Rocha’s sentiment.
“It stifles our growth,” she said. “It may cause some people to regress back to how we started.”
One goal of the California Model is to make life within prison mirror life in the community, so it is less of a shock when someone paroles. What’s more normal than celebrating life’s milestones with loved ones or peers?
CCWF Paper Trail contacted Martin Johnson, PIA’s Workforce Development Coordinator, regarding this issue.
Johnson responded, “CALPIA strives to have more than enough incarcerated individuals working to attain the work goals so we can allow attendance as able, but we are often short-handed in critical enterprises.”
