During the pandemic, the already-high number of people being released from California’s jails and prisons soared. Now, several state officials joined service providers to launch a program aimed at helping formerly incarcerated people re-enter society. Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) joined Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan and Mia Bonta Oct. 28 to launch the Re-Entry Providers Association of California (REPAC), which aims to equip re-entry service providers with resources as they help those re-entering society. However, those re-entry service providers say their programs have been chronically underfunded by the state, having to “fight for those resources” while the state spends more on incarceration than it does on higher education, according to Bryan. “Ninety-five percent of folks who are incarcerated are coming home at some point,” Bryan said during the conference. “When they come home the quickest thing to rebuilding your life is having stable employment and stable housing, education and behavioral …