VISITING PRISONS

Editor -- Regarding the article, "Inmates' advocates decry visitation plan"
(March 26): While the California Department of Corrections claims its
visiting regulation changes are an effort to mitigate the flow of drugs
into the prisons, the majority of the sweeping changes will do nothing to
further this goal.

Running background checks on minors, including babies, won't stop drugs
entering prisons, but will place an additional financial burden on state
taxpayers who already shoulder a prison budget of $5 billion, accounting
for more than 7 percent of the state's annual budget.

Fifty years of expert research demonstrates that visiting improves inmate
behavior and dramatically increases success upon parole. If California
wants to alleviate its $15 billion budget deficit, it can begin by
improving visiting conditions and encouraging -- not discouraging --
contact with family and friends. Then we can spend less money on locking
people up and more money rehabilitating our ailing public schools.

Susan L. Jordan

Novato