The California Prison Condom Pilot: From Formative Research to Implementation and Evaluation

The California prison system condom pilot program is unique in being directed by the Governor’s October 2007 veto of legislation that would have required the Department to allow health agencies and non-profits to distribute condoms to inmates. Key challenges, successes and lessons learned will be discussed relevant to creating a multidisciplinary/multi-agency task force, conducting background research regarding legal and labor issues, weighing distribution model pros and cons in the context of a prison system with significant stigma associated with STDs and homosexuality, designing and conducting a comprehensive evaluation, and making recommendations for program expansion throughout the prison system.