Meet the one-person alternative sentencing program connecting Californians to a better life outside of jail
Riverside County social worker directly connects people charged with crimes to rehabilitative programs Read More
Nadine Ono
Correspondent
Nadine Ono is a correspondent for California Forward. She started her career as a writer for television news shortly after graduating from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism. She then moved into the public relations arena where she worked with a variety of clients including municipalities, non-profits and major corporations.
Articles
Knowing the Data: How to build better outcomes for inmates with mental health needs
Getting to know why people are in jail helps set justice reforms up for success Read More
Pilot program gives select San Bernardino County inmates a chance to live, work on the outside
Small group of low-risk inmates is monitored, allowed back into community to encourage a successful reentry Read More
Data-driven criminal justice reform yielding results say San Bernardino County supervisors
CA Fwd study of county jails showed which strategies working best to cut recidivism Read More
Can California’s Techies Move the Needle on Mental Health?
How California's innovation economy can have a positive impact on public services Read More
County and Tech Innovators Are Rethinking California’s Mental Health Services
The state's diverse 58 counties could benefit from a high-tech hub for mental health solutions Read More
Tech Industry and Mental Health Advocates Seek Solutions at First-Ever Summit
Diverse crowd comes together to brainstorm atypical solutions to serve Californians with mental health needs Read More
Mental health services are cutting criminal justice detention rates and homelessness in L.A. County
Study shows adults and transition-age youth enrolled as county mental health clients were detained fewer times Read More
How removing barriers to higher education can help prevent a life of incarceration
Report provides roadmap for using education support for incarcerated Californians to cut recidivism Read More
College students help lead San Bernardino County inmates toward rehabilitation
Interns teach in-jail parenting and trauma classes and build their skills serving others Read More
Sheriff’s Department team offers fresh S.T.A.R.T. for repeat offenders in San Bernardino County
Inmates connected with services before reentry to improve chances of staying out of jail Read More
Success in transforming county criminal justice continues into 2018 for CA Fwd
California counties approved CA Fwd recommendations in 2017 and made headway in anti-recidivism work Read More
New California mental health roadmap recommends alternate routes away from incarceration
Commission report calls for maximizing diversion away from criminal justice system for people in mental health crisis Read More
Riverside County finds success, earns praise in justice system change effort
State's influential CSAC organization hears about county's data-driven work to lower jail populations Read More
Interactive visits in San Bernardino jails strengthen parent-child ties cut by incarceration
More time together allows families to normalize relationships, reduces chance of a return to jail Read More
Riverside County adopts “Lean” approach to transforming probation department
Streamlining creates more time for engaging clients and hopefully preventing a return to jail Read More
San Bernardino parole program helps its “students” reenter the community successfully
Partnership between state corrections and a university provides services to keep parolees on track Read More
California wrapping up report on cost-effective mental health strategies to cut jail population
Recommendations include better alternatives to jailing people with mental health needs Read More
Training program lifts up underserved in the Central Valley into construction careers
Pre-apprenticeship provides training to get residents living in poverty and others ready to fill skilled labor pipeline Read More
Riverside County builds team dedicated to inmates with mental health needs
Deputies work along with mental health specialists embedded at the jails to improve success of inmates Read More
VIDEO: Rehabilitative programs prepare San Bernardino County inmates to live on the outside again
Community partners and Sheriff's Department team up to train on range of skills from jobs to parenting Read More
California Community Colleges Helping Address Nursing Shortage
Internationally-trained nurses face a difficult barrier to practice in California. The Single Subject Course pilot is one example of improving the workforce pipeline by providing international healthcare workers access to courses needed obtain their state license. Read More
San Bernardino County team builds stronger “bridge” for mentally ill offenders transitioning back into community
CA Fwd jail study showed mentally ill offenders are booked twice as often and stay three times longer Read More
Following father’s footsteps into welding, California student aims to inspire more women
The only woman in her college welding class, she went on to win awards in statewide competition Read More
CA Fwd jail data helps counties secure anti-recidivism funds
Prop 47 grants aimed at improving mental health and substance abuse treatment Read More
Santa Cruz County supervisors unanimously approve CA Fwd jail recommendations
Study showing most arrests drug and alcohol related could lead to better outcomes and cost savings for county Read More
Specialists embedded in Riverside County jail help stabilize, treat mentally ill inmates
Program aims to better transition inmates into general population and eventually into the community Read More
Expanded substance abuse treatment finds success in Riverside County
Residents seeking treatment previously waited weeks, now placed in programs within a couple of days Read More
Report reveals gender differences in incarceration in California county
Women in Santa Cruz County jails more likely to have mental illness compared to men Read More
Riverside County takes proactive approach to transitioning inmates back into community
Inmates previously released often with little planning or mental health resources for life after incarceration Read More
Peer support specialist draws on own struggles to help at-risk Riverside County youth
Program pairs peer personnel with troubled youth on path to detention Read More
San Bernardino County jail study by CA Fwd leading to change in criminal justice
Data gives county opportunity to make jail system more cost effective, maintain public safety Read More
California county organizations warn on ACA repeal without replacement
Groups involved with health care law sign letter urging the creation of comprehensive plan to support existing coverage levels. Read More
Summit: Strong supply of housing and water key to upward mobility in California
Public and private leaders came together to stress the urgency of state's housing crisis and persistent water issues Read More
California’s higher education leadership share Summit stage to talk upward mobility
California leaders at Summit tout needed investment & long-term planning for state's higher education system Read More
Challenges of housing, workforce and water take spotlight on day one of 2016 Summit
Action teams gathered to brainstorm ideas to tackle premier problems putting a drag on California's upward mobility Read More
Substance abuse treatment to expand in Riverside County
Low-income residents and ex-offenders will benefit from improved and expanded treatment options Read More
How California’s housing affordability gap can strain family health
The struggle to cover housing needs and other costs can lead to toxic levels of stress and poor decision making Read More
LAPD turns to “SMART” approach for defusing mental health crisis calls
L.A. program combines training, assessment teams, and a database to prevent the mentally ill from cycling in and out of jail Read More
Communicating with ex-offenders on probation via texting finds success in California county
Riverside County probation clients sometimes more honest with officers via text message in new test program Read More
Two counties, same challenge: Data helping to reshape California jail systems
San Bernardino and Santa Cruz are latest counties utilizing CA Fwd criminal justice research Read More
Successful Reentry: Partnerships on outside critical for ex-offenders making new start
Massive shift in thinking key to helping offenders successfully return to California communities Read More
Probation “bridge” program aims to keep young offenders on track and out of jail
New Riverside County probation program underscores how the right interventions can help prevent costly cycle of incarceration Read More
California seeks cost-effective mental health strategies to help reduce jail population
Upcoming meetings on intersection of mental health and criminal justice will ask community members and county agencies about what's working, what's not. Read More
CA Fwd jail study on mentally ill offenders in Riverside County receives high marks
Steps to improve treatment of incarcerated presented to California council dedicated to ending the criminalization of mental illness Read More
Riverside County aims to help mentally ill stop cycle of incarceration
Mentally ill offenders stayed in Riverside County jails for longer periods of time and were booked more often. Read More
Riverside County moves forward with steps to make criminal justice system more cost effective
Board of Supervisors approved this week recommendations to improve public safety outcomes and cut costs with advice and analysis from CA Fwd. Read More
Report: Prisons and jails fast replacing hospitals as treatment centers for mentally ill
In some places, ten times the number of seriously mentally ill are incarcerated than the number housed in state psychiatric hospitals. Read More
Mentoring program offers Kern County offenders a pathway away from jail
Promising partnership with county and nonprofit having impact on high rate of return to jail by the formerly incarcerated. Read More
San Diego job center uses employment to prevent a return behind bars
Participants in reentry program receive workshops, employment services, even the loan of business attire. Read More
Report: New thinking needed to break cycle of incarceration of mentally ill populations
Rate of serious mental illness in prison populations shown to be two to four times higher than the community populations Read More
Riverside Supervisors adopt criminal justice reform recommendations by CA Fwd and partners
Partnership with County will use data to drive creation of cost-effective solutions to reduce the need for incarceration. Read More
Report: Reforming felony threshold for theft would not increase crime rates
New data shows that states could likely reduce costs of incarceration without a negative impact on crime. Read More
How culture shift and data redefined probation success in Riverside County
Focusing on results and data helped staff rethink about what their department could do to lessen the burden on the jails. Read More
CA Fwd and Riverside County put data to work on jail overcrowding
The county probation department successfully used data analysis to create a 25 percent reduction in probation violations since spring of 2014. Read More
Summit generated ideas to better manage California’s long-term water issues
Attendees put their heads together to create real actions to conserve, capture and reuse 1 million acre-feet of water every year. Read More
Summit sharpened strategies to take on California’s affordable housing crisis
Action plan to address challenge to build 1 million more affordable homes emerged from Day 2 of the 2015 California Economic Summit in Ontario. Read More
Economic Summit creates action plan to train one million more skilled workers
Attendees brainstormed strategies to close the skills gap and improve California's workforce which could have a shortage of 1 million credentialed workers over the next decade. Read More
What does rise of California no-party voter mean for major party outreach?
As voters increasingly register No Party Preference, experts say major parties will need to evaluate how to campaign and engage with citizens in less traditional ways. Read More
Low voter turnout seen among fast growing California demographic groups
Predicted population trends will result in more eligible Latinos and Asian Americans in California, but if voter turnout percentages remain at low levels, the groups will remain under-represented in the political process. Read More
Report: Taking open data to next level requires quality data, committed leaders
While city governments are increasingly making their data open, the standards of data quality and leadership dedicated to initiatives are often all over the map, says a new report from USC. Read More
Bill signed by governor creates workforce data “dashboard” to improve education
Effort will look at student progress before and after graduation to track the effectiveness of how the state is preparing workers. Read More
Online voter info key to getting hyper-connected Millennials to the polls
Remember a time when you couldn't think of any song or any clip from any movie, look it up on YouTube and immediately share it with a friend in a few seconds time? Millennials don’t. Read More
Latino Millennials are an expanding and influential voter demo
Hispanic Millennials make up about seven percent of California’s voting population and are influential both for their own numbers and how they also provide information to older generations Read More
California voter turnout will depend on educating unaffiliated Millennials
The millennial generation increasingly has identifies as "no party preference" and votes less than other generations. That means voter turnout will increasingly rely on getting more voter information to that population. Read More