Barbara Bloom's Continuing Work with Women Offenders

Dr. Barbara Bloom, an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice Administration at Sonoma State University, has begun work with the California Department of Corrections on a project that is designed to reduce the women's prison population and expand community-based program options for women offenders.

The overall goal of this year long project is the development of a strategic plan and implementation strategy, which would reduce the female offender recidivism rate by expanding the capacity and range of community-based correctional programs.

This work will be accomplished by examining the existing classification system, reviewing eligibility criteria for community-based program participation, coordinating and /or interviewing Institutional, Office of Substance Abuse Programs, and Parole and Community Services staff, incarcerated women and parolees, and community-based providers.

Bloom is the past President of the Western Society of Criminology and a recipient of the 2003 WSC Fellow Award for important contributions to the field of Criminology.

She is currently completing a five-year outcome evaluation of a program for pregnant and parenting women incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail and conducting strategic planning for the state of Connecticut regarding gender-responsive programming and treatment.

Contact: Jean Wasp, Media Relations Coordinator, (707) 664-2057