The History of California Juvenile Correction Headquartered in Sacramento, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), under which the juvenile justice system falls, oversees prison operations and the state’s parole systems. CDCR is the second largest police agency in the U.S. after New York City Police Department. History The state of California commissioned its first state-run institution in 1851, which was a 268-ton wooden ship named “The Waban” moored in San Francisco Bay.