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Quantitative and qualitative investigative journalism on the pandemic's impact on California's state prisons and county jails.
See how the virus affected 35 facilities under the Department of Corrections and local jails in Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Sacramento, Yolo and Fresno counties.
Only 42 percent of custody staffers in state prisons have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Half of all outbreaks between May and July were traced back to employees. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association filed documents with the court saying conditions in the prisons were improving, and that mandatory vaccines were not needed.
A third day of in-person visiting will also launch Aug. 13 on Fridays, as part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2021-22 state budget. As of now, visiting had been limited to weekends only. This additional in-person visitation received $20.3 million in the 2021-22 state budget in an effort to increase opportunities for incarcerated people to connect with their families and friends.
Aparna Komarla is the founder and director of the Covid In-Custody project.
She leads quantitative and qualitative reporting for CDCR and county jails, and supports her interns through their article development and research processes. She is from Bangalore, India.
Julietta Bisharyan is an intern covering the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
She is a graduating senior at UC Davis and an upcoming student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. She is from South San Francisco.
Tiffany Devlin is an intern covering Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail.
She is a former San Francisco University student, holding a B.A in Criminal Justice Studies. She is from Richmond, CA.
Dorrin Akbari is an intern covering the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
She received her B.A. in Legal Studies from UC Berkeley in 2019. She is from San Jose.
Minerva Melendrez is an intern covering Sacramento County’s Main Jail, Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, and Youth Detention Facility.
She is a senior at UC Davis studying for her B.A. in Political Science Public Service and Psychology. She is from Pittsburg, CA.
Nick Gardner is an intern covering the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
He is currently a junior at the University of California, Davis majoring in political science with a minor in technology management.
Angela Khov is covering the Santa Clara County jail system.
She is a third-year at UC Davis studying for her B.S in Human Development. She is from Redwood City, CA.
Ned Meiners is an intern covering the Fresno County jail.
He received his paralegal certificate from City College San Francisco and lives and works in San Francisco, California.
Yasmeen Khan is an intern covering the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
She is currently a senior at the University of San Francisco majoring in politics and minoring in legal studies and peace and justice studies.
Roshni Sudharsan is covering the Santa Rita Jail.
She is a second year student at Boston University studying for her B.A. in Political Science. She is from Newark, CA.