The California Health Care Facility (CHCF), a state prison in Stockton, is among the numerous California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) facilities that are leaning into the rehabilitative component of incarceration, so once people are out of prison, they stay out.
One of those efforts at CHCF is the BARK Program, where certain incarcerated individuals get a chance to raise future service dogs for people with disabilities, in partnership with the organization Canine Companions.
“Incarcerated persons who are interested in raising a service dog have to go through a huge vetting process that we have here,” said Jasmin Gin, Community Resources Manager. “Rehabilitation is a huge thing for CDCR. We want to make sure they’re super serious about giving back to the community. They do that by raising the service dogs that we have here.”…