Abstract
With the implementation of Public Safety Realignment (AB 109), California counties experienced a great influx of high-risk offenders diverted from the state prison system. Due to the current fiscal climate of California, these high-risk offenders enter the community untreated, creating a public safety concern. In spite of this dilemma, one self-funded new program in Sacramento county which implements several evidence-based treatment techniques is the Ascend program. Ascend incorporates cognitive behavioral treatment (cognitive restructuring, social skills training, problem solving training, etc.), life skills training, and exercise as a means to rehabilitate offenders. In the evaluation of the Ascend program, participants of Ascend (N=41) illustrated promising results with recidivism rates at approximately ten percent, and provided evidence that implementing several evidence-based treatment techniques could potentially reduce an offender’s level of criminal thinking.