SAN FRANCISCO (Jan. 23, 2008) — SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Effective immediately, J. Clark Kelso is appointed Receiver in Plata, et al. v. Schwarzenegger, et al. Mr. Kelso is a Professor of Law and Director of the Capital Center for Government Law and Policy at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law located in Sacramento, California. Mr. Kelso comes to the California Prison Health Care Receivership with more than fifteen years of experience in a wide variety of positions in all three branches of state government, including the California Judicial Council and Administrative Office of the Courts, where he worked in support of court unification; the Department of Insurance, where he replaced Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush, who abruptly resigned amid allegations of corruption; and as California’s Chief Information Officer, where he turned around the State’s troubled information technology program. Because of his achievements, Mr. Kelso has developed a well-regarded reputation for independence and integrity and maintaining a commitment to collaborative leadership and organizational change in government.
Mr. Kelso has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious 1998 Bernard E. Witkin Amicus Curiae Award from the California Judicial Council and the “Top 25 Award for 2004 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers” from Government Technology. He was also named by Computerworld to their list of “Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2007.” He resides in Sacramento with his wife, Kari Kelso, Ph.D., and two daughters.
Mr. Kelso replaces Robert Sillen as Receiver. Since April 2006, Mr. Sillen has provided the bold, creative leadership necessary for the Receivership to effectively investigate, confront, and break down many of the barriers which stand in the way of providing constitutionally adequate medical care in California’s prisons. In addition, under Mr. Sillen’s direction, significant remedial progress has been achieved, including reducing clinical vacancy rates, resolving the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation contracting crisis, implementing successful pilot programs, and successfully recruiting a team of correctional and clinical experts to assist the Receivership with its remedial obligations. Mr. Kelso will build on such progress, as well as on the infrastructure created during Mr. Sillen’s tenure, as he focuses the Receivership on implementing additional reforms necessary to creating a constitutionally adequate inmate health care system that will ultimately be transitioned back to the State of California’s control.