Calif. pays a lot for sex offender workups

SACRAMENTO, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- California has paid a group of psychologists and psychiatrists what one called "a boatload of money" to evaluate sex offenders, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Fourteen of the 79 contractors used by the state were paid at least $500,000 each in 2007, the newspaper said. Robert Owen was paid more than $1.5 million while Dawn Starr received $1.1 million, including $17,500 paid for one day's work.

Shoba Sreenivasan, a psychologist who works part-time, got $900,000 last year and at least $290,000 so far in 2008.

"It's been a boatload of money, to put it colloquially," she said on the witness stand late last year.

Jessica's Law, a referendum approved by California voters in 2006, required psychiatric evaluations for many more sex offenders to determine if they should be subject to civil commitment after completing prison terms. While the number of evaluations has skyrocketed and recommendations for commitment have increased significantly, the number of offenders actually committed has remained stable, the Times said.