Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment already is having a positive impact on the statewide prison system.

The population in these overcrowded prisons has dropped by 11,000 in just six months, to 133,000 today. And the state is on track to get to 110,000 by June 2013.

That's a big change from 2006, when then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency. Overcrowding in the prisons, Schwarzenegger said, "causes harm to people and property, leads to inmate unrest and misconduct, reduces or eliminates programs, and increases recidivism as shown within this state and in others."

California's prison medical care system was so broken that a federal judge took the drastic step of taking it away from the state and placing it in federal receivership. The task, declared the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, was to "reverse the entrenched paralysis and dysfunction and bring the delivery of health care in California prisons up to constitutional standards."

Well, California finally has turned a corner on that front, too.

U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson on Tuesday said, "The end of the receivership appears to be in sight."

The judge ordered state officials, inmate lawyers and the receiver to meet and issue a report by April 30 on how to get to a "post-receivership phase" and plan a "period of oversight" to "sustain the progress" that has been achieved.

A return to state control is within reach.

The judge noted that "many of the goals of the receivership have been accomplished." Medical care has improved, while driving down costs, as shown in inspection reports at each prison by an independent inspector general.

However, the judge also noted that "critical work" remains. The state remains behind in updating clinics at each prison. Some are so primitive that they have no sinks or hot water. Others are in an abysmal state of disrepair.

The state also is behind in building separate facilities for the most seriously ill, mentally ill, aged and disabled prisoners. These are needed to avoid the cost of transporting prisoners to expensive care at community hospitals. Overtime costs for medical guarding and transport remain a big-ticket item.

Once construction gets under way, receiver J. Clark Kelso believes the receivership can end within 24 months. The parties should pin down what construction really is needed with post-realignment populations and get it moving.

Then they can figure out how future oversight should work to prevent backsliding.

The state also is not off the hook for individuals convicted of low-level felony offenses who are now sentenced to counties, instead of to state prison. The governor needs to ensure that counties have the resources they need to supervise and prepare offenders for a return to communities after serving their sentences. Only then can realignment be a long-term success.

The governor has acknowledged that progress is largely a result of the "definitive order" by the U.S. Supreme Court last May to reduce overcrowding. Now Henderson's pronouncement this week should spur even more action to get out from federal receivership and back to state control. That's a great way to launch 2012 in California's prison system.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.