Iowa Prison Releases Delayed
Iowa’s prisons have serious problems that are delaying release of inmates into rehabilitation programs and potentially costing taxpayers millions of extra dollars, the state’s ombudsman told lawmakers Wednesday. Report from the Des Moines Register.
Among the problems:
- A work-release program that costs taxpayers less than daily prison fees has a waiting list of 800 inmates. In one inmate’s case alone, the additional cost to taxpayers was $25,000.• Some prison officials have improperly held inmates’ earnings instead of applying them to victim restitution or court reimbursements.
• A gradual release program has been revamped so dramatically that some offenders are unable to do what is required to qualify for early release.
“We can’t continue to keep people in prison when they would be better placed in a less restrictive environment at a significantly reduced cost,” Iowa Ombudsman William Angrick said.
Lawmakers agreed the issues and likely extra costs are vital at a time when the state is discussing cuts to key services, such as education and health programs for low-income families.
Rep. Wayne Ford, a member of the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee, expressed anger at the findings and told committee members they would be violating their duties as lawmakers if they fail to immediately look more closely at the issue, despite a shortened legislative session.
Ford, D-Des Moines, has worked with prisoners through his social agency, Urban Dreams. Failures in rehabilitation programs not only cost taxpayers money but also increase the likelihood of recidivism, he said.
“Our No. 1 job as a Legislature is the public safety of this state,” Ford said, noting Angrick’s report. “Somebody is going to kill somebody, saying they’re mad as hell because these things are against me.
“This blood is on our hands.”
Fred Scaletta, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections, said the administrators who could speak about the programs were unavailable for comment Wednesday.However, Scaletta pointed to November board notes in which Director John Baldwin thanked Angrick for his comments about prisoner payments and said that a final resolution would be handled when the attorney general issues a ruling.
The attorney general has not issued any opinions or advice on the matter, Bob Brammer, a spokesman for the office, said Wednesday.
About 800 inmates are on a waiting list for placement in a residential facility as required for work-release programs, according to Angrick’s report. The programs save taxpayers $19.08 a day compared with prison costs.
He said one unidentified inmate was held in prison 351 days longer than anticipated. If the work-release program had been immediately available, the prisoner would have been eligible for lesser levels of imprisonment, such as day reporting and eventually parole, which costs about $3.75 a day. Angrick estimated the extra costs to taxpayers at about $25,000.
A September state audit of the corrections department verified Angrick’s findings about prisoner payments. Inmates at the North Central Correctional Facility in Webster County, by labor law, should have been paid about $7.80 an hour to pull tarps over harvested grain at two local elevators. Instead, they were paid about $6.15, the audit showed.
The disparities are important because much of the earnings from prisoners are turned over for court or victim reimbursements. However, according to Angrick’s findings, some of that money was not being properly distributed.
In another finding, Angrick noted that some prisoners through no fault of their own have lost the ability to meet the Iowa Board of Parole’s requirements to receive early release.
The problems stem from a policy change made a year ago that no longer allows inmates to live and work outside the secured perimeter of the prisons, the report said.
“If the Board of Parole requires an offender to work outside the fence as a prerequisite for release, but the Department of Corrections’ policy prevents the offender from doing so, one can safely draw the conclusion that the releases of many offenders will be delayed,” Angrick said. “That will undoubtedly increase incarceration costs for the state of Iowa.”
The Oversight Committee will attempt to organize a public meeting with the corrections department, said Rep. Vicki Lensing, D-Iowa City, co-chairwoman of the committee.
Uncategorized