The push to privatize one-fifth of the state corrections facilities along with all inmate health care could net prison companies hundreds of millions of dollars in state contracts, and those companies have spent millions in the past year trying to win support for the plan. Report by The Palm Beach Post.

But Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, who made the prison outsourcing one of his top goals, put the bill on hold twice last week because he lacked the votes within his Republican caucus to pass it.

Research by The Palm Beach Post shows that Boca Raton-based GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, have contributed nearly $2 million to candidates and political parties since Scott’s election.

GEO has contributed at least $475,000 in the past year, including $336,000 to the Republican Party of Florida.

During the 2010 election cycle, the company contributed at least $880,000 – more than two-thirds of that going to the Republican Party – including $25,000 to defray costs of Scott’s inauguration. Just before last year’s legislative session kicked off in March, GEO gave $25,000 to a political committee headed by House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park.

CCA contributed a minimum of $38,500 for the 2012 election cycle and at least $62,000 for the 2010 Florida elections.

The contributions do not include money given by principals of the corporations or their lobbyists.

Asked about the companies’ siz able contributions, Haridopolos said unions as well as the prison companies are big donors. And he’s correct.

Labor unions in Florida have contributed more than $1.3 million since 2009 to legislators, the Cabinet and the political parties. That includes about $586,000 from the Florida Police Benevolent Association and $284,000 from the Teamsters. The PBA represented corrections workers until defeated by the Teamsters in the fall.

But privatization is not the only issue labor unions are fighting in Tallahassee. The unions lost one battle over pensions last year when the legislature ordered all state workers to contribute 3 percent of their salaries to their pensions. The retirement age for firefighters and police officers was raised from 55 to 60 and from 25 years to 30 years of service for full pensions, changes law enforcement unions are fighting to undo.

Political activity increased on both sides when Scott, on the campaign trail in 2010, opened the door for a major privatization by pledging to slash $1 billion from prison spending. GEO contributions rose sharply, and the PBA launched a tough television ad campaign equating Scott’s proposed spending cuts to setting dangerous criminals on the loose.

Florida legislators included a sweeping privatization proposal in last year’s budget, signed into law by Scott in May. The plan would have outsourced more than two dozen prisons and all other Department of Corrections operations, including work camps and re-entry facilities, in the 18-county region south of Polk County to the Florida Keys. A separate plan also privatized all health care services for the state’s 100,000-plus inmates.

Judge killed initial plan

GEO affiliate GEO Care is one of the businesses in the running for the lucrative health care contract, which could garner up to $1.5 billion for seven years. GEO Care is headed by Jorge Dominicis, a lobbyist who previously worked for Florida Crystals Corp.

A Tallahassee judge late last year scrapped the privatization effort, saying the way legislators went about approving it – by blending it into the budget bill instead of putting it up for consideration in a stand-alone bill – was unconstitutional. The PBA filed the challenge.

Last week, the union representing nurses filed a similar lawsuit against corrections officials over health care privatization.

Legislators revived the prison privatization plan as a stand-alone bill this time, but Haridopolos has delayed a vote on the measure, which would require at least two companies to take over Department of Corrections duties, after it became clear that Sen. Mike Fasano, a New Port Richey Republican fiercely opposed to the measure, had the votes to stall the effort by first requiring a study. In retaliation, Haridopolos stripped Fasano of his chairmanship of the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee, saying he had lost confidence in the veteran legislator.

Backing like-minded pols

CCA spokesman Scott Owen said his Nashville-based company gives to legislators who share its philosophy. “We participate in the process just as other organizations do, including public employee unions,” he said. “We do contribute to support those who are either supportive of public-private partnership or receptive to that.”

GEO, which did not respond to several requests for comment, and CCA have been steady contributors in Florida and throughout the nation for years. But since 2004 in Florida, GEO’s contributions peaked from a low in 2004 of just over $89,000 to more than $833,000 in 2010, just before legislators began publicly discussing the privatization plan.

GEO also spent up to $520,000 on a cadre of lobbyists in 2010 and up to $475,000 from January through September last year. CCA spent up to $80,000 in 2010 and up to $45,000 last year through September.

Haridopolos and his budget chief, J.D. Alexander, insist Florida taxpayers will save from $16.5 million to $44 million a year once the region is privatized, because the contracts require vendors to cost 7 percent less than what the state is paying now to run the prisons. Much of those savings are anticipated to come from lower salaries and fewer benefits for the non-­unionized employees. About 3,800 prison workers now on the state payroll would be out of jobs if the privatization takes place.

The political contributions were not a factor in GOP leaders’ decision to privatize, Haridopolos said recently.

“Yes, there’s some vested interests. That’s what Madison talked about when he came up with the Constitution. So there’s not a lack of money on either side,” Haridopolos said.

Haridopolos said the cost savings are his goal, and repeated his argument that the money would be better spent on education and health care.

“If we’re given the same quality of work at a lower price, who wouldn’t select the lower price at the same quality?” he said.

PBA Executive Director Matt Puckett also said he did not believe the privatization effort was linked to political support from the prison companies, facing a decline in prisoners and mixed reactions to privatization nationwide.

“They’ve been giving money for decades. This is a different moment in time. They’re looking at a declining prison population. They’re looking at declining revenue. So they’re striking now. I don’t think it has anything to do with the contributions they give,” he said.

Like many states, Florida is challenging itself to find ways to do more with less. The state’s Department of Corrections wanted to take advantage of water- and energy-saving technologies as it upgraded its correctional institutions, but it wanted to do so without compromising security, unnecessarily disrupting inmate populations or shutting facilities down for extended periods. Report by Correctional News.

Through a partnership between the Florida DC and FPL Services LLC (FPLS), 18 major and 25 smaller facilities, comprising approximately 6,000,000 square feet, will be upgraded through a multiphase project that began in 2002 and will reach completion in October 2011. Because the massive project was undertaken using a financing vehicle called an “energy savings performance contract,” no capital appropriations were required by the state.

Working together, FPLS and the Florida DC created an energy master plan that would stretch across all the phases of the project. This made it possible for FPLS to guarantee savings of more than $4.5 million a year over the term of the contract. Since 2002, the guarantee has been exceeded by an average of 8 percent annually, which will result in additional savings of more than $14 million for the state of Florida. In all, the savings that will result from renovations of approximately half of the state’s correctional facilities are expected to surpass $55 million.

Although construction activities covered by the current contract will end this year, annual savings are guaranteed through 2025.

“The significant upgrades to our facilities were made possible by the energy savings performance contract and the public-private relationship between the Florida DC and FPLS,” said Gretl Plessinger, director of public affairs for the Florida DC. “In terms of energy conservation and security, it’s a ‘win-win’ for the state, the DC and employees of the agency.“

Ensuring Savings and Security

Under a performance contract, the general contractor facilitates financing for a governmental or municipal project through a third party, with the energy and maintenance savings designed to more than pay for the capital costs of the improvements. One of the particular benefits of a performance contract is that it can create positive cash flow from day one. This requires a detailed analysis of current electricity, gas and water usage, comprehensive energy modeling to project future needs and rigorous benchmarking to ensure that all goals are being met at each phase. A performance contract stipulates that if projected savings are not delivered the contractor covers the shortfall. Teamwork among all parties has been so effective that FPLS, with 20 years of experience executing work covered by performance contracts, has never missed a savings target.

Comprehensive engineering design was only one key element in the Florida DOC performance contract project. In addition to the detailed planning of all physical construction and renovation work, the development of project-specific electric, gas and water rate structures helped to virtually eliminate financial risk to the agency.

The physical modifications made across the state’s facilities included the installation of high-efficiency T8 fluorescent lighting; water fixture upgrades; water conservation and control measures; higher-efficiency HVAC systems; more accurate electrical distribution, load control and metering; and the replacement of aging steam systems used for laundry and cooking with natural gas or electric appliances. In addition, the project incorporated elements of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification system. It featured traditional and renewable technologies, including solar, with the opportunity to incorporate other alternative sources of energy, including biofuel, geothermal and wind, in the future.

The project covered areas for an inmate population as well as facilities housing agency staff. In the inmate-occupied areas, design and construction teams worked closely with DOC operations personnel to coordinate activities around regularly scheduled functions, such as meals and inspections.

All subcontractors were interviewed and prescreened by FPLS prior to undergoing full background checks conducted by the Florida DOC. This process helped to make sure that every subcontractor on the job was an appropriate fit and reduced turnover of staff and companies. The teams worked fewer, but longer, shifts in order to reduce the frequency of site access. A “one tool in, one tool out” inventory system, complete with carts fitted with a specific, marked place for every tool, ensured that nothing got left behind.

“Security is paramount when any outside contractors work within DOC facilities,“ said Plessinger. “We worked closely with FPLS at the agency level and with staff at specific facilities to minimize downtime and ensure security in all areas under renovation. In 10 years of construction, there were no security issues.”

The project also created nearly 400 jobs for local businesses, most of which were smaller, minority- or women-owned companies.

Major Savings from Conservation

Water conservation measures and the elimination of steam boilers and kettles produced some of the more significant savings.

With the introduction of low-flow, limited-flush toilets, flow restrictors on showerheads and sink diffusers and other water usage control systems, water conservation accounted for over 62 percent of the total savings for the program. One site, the Martin Correctional Institute, saved over 100,000 gallons of water per day. The combined water savings are projected to exceed 90 million gallons per year. Reducing water consumption, sometimes by as much as 50 percent, has made it possible for some facilities to accommodate a larger inmate population without making additional major modifications to on-site treatment facilities.

An additional benefit of the upgrades was the reduction of maintenance and repair costs.

Water control systems give facility staff control over the number of flushes per hour by inmates, making it nearly impossible to flush bed sheets, contraband or other items. Tamper-proof, timer-controlled lavatory and shower controls were also installed as part of the project.

New light controls, featuring a recessed touch-bolt instead of an external switch, are much less prone to intentional vandalism and accidental damage. The cost of a new, single-switch, vandal-proof light control unit is only about $15, compared to more than the older multi-switches, which cost $100 to install or replace.

By making water and electric fixtures easier for staff to control and more difficult to abuse, serious damage is prevented, and routine repairs are proving more infrequent and less costly.

The conversion from central steam generation to the use of more localized electric or natural-gas-fired water heaters, dryers and cooking appliances also produced significant savings. State and local budgets for repairs to the aging steam-generating systems, including leaking or deteriorated distribution piping, had been drastically reduced or eliminated in the past decade, making upkeep a difficult and sometimes dangerous proposition. The old systems needed annual state inspections and specially trained operators, limitations that the newer appliances do not have. The elimination of central steam boilers was responsible for about 20 percent of the overall savings generated by the project, but the reduced maintenance and operating costs are expected to help the Florida DOC capture even more savings over the life of the new systems.

Further savings came from a reuse/recycle program. Light fixtures, bulbs and other products were harvested by FPLS from facilities under renovation and sent to buildings that were not yet being upgraded. The lighting system reuse program alone is estimated to have saved over $250,000 in maintenance and supply costs, while reducing the amount of waste being sent to recycling centers or landfills.

Many of the nation’s correctional institutions are aging and less efficient than they could be. Energy savings performance contracting can be an effective way to save resources and insulate against ever-increasing operating, maintenance and energy costs, says Daniel Hedrick, management review specialist with Florida’s Department of Management Services. Hedrick oversees performance contract projects for the state.

“The multiple phases of energy savings performance contracting with FPLS have made it possible for the Florida Department of Corrections to make significant upgrades to their facilities without capital appropriations,” Hedrick said. “The Department of Corrections is one of the leading Florida state agencies in the application of this process and serves as a model that could work well for other state agencies.”

The state has no choice but to tend to their medical needs. Report by Fox10tv.com.

“It is a constitutional obligation to provide appropriate healthcare to our inmate population, regardless of their needs, and how expensive those might be,” said Gretl Plessinger of the Department of Corrections. “Forty-four percent our hospital days were because of inmates who are over 50-years-old. It cost about $53 a day to house an average inmate in the state of Florida. Of that $53, almost $12 goes into healthcare.”

That adds up to about $19,500 per year, per inmate, and they get pricier with age. According to the DOC, when an inmate turns 60, it takes an average of $70,000 to provide for them.

River Junction Work Camp

In Chattahoochee, Florida, many fit to give back to their community head to River Junction Work Camp .

“I’m keeping all the state vehicles looking as you can see quite well, nice and shiny, yes sir,” said inmate Jimmie Lee Kirkland.

Kirkland gets to do on the inside what was one of his favorite tasks on the outside – making cars look like new again. He’s serving five years for cocaine possession, but feels taken care of.

“They don’t treat like convicts or inmates; they treat us like we human beings like everyone else,” Kirkland said. “They don’t try to run us down or try to make us feel lower than we already are, they help us.”

Kirkland is receiving an education through River Junction.

Inside the facility, Edward Childress showed us how cells are traded for dormitory-style housing, which makes it easier to care for elderly inmates’ needs.

Childress, who’s serving 19 years for armed robbery, handles maintenance at the facility. He’s happy to be around his peers.

“With the senior citizens that are here at River Junction, we’re able to interact with each other on a calmer level, and I think the officers see that, and so they treat us accordingly to that,” Childress said. “So as far as the living conditions here, everybody gets along well. A prime example is one inmate can bump against another inmate here at River Junction and he’ll say, ‘Excuse me.”

Unfortunately, though, Childress and Kirkland are the minority.

Some of the state’s most violent offenders are taking the biggest portion of taxpayer money.

The Senate Steps In

By state law, criminals must serve 85 percent of their sentence.

The Florida Senate has tried changing that, offering programs which would release inmates early – if they could prove they’ve been rehabilitated.

The programs has failed every single time.

So the question is, do we set some inmates free, or lock them up for good?

“Floridians have to make a decision, and might have to make a decision at some point about the risks involved, and what they want to do, where they want to go from here,” Plessinger said.

Childress and Kirkland

Childress still has two years before he’ll return to his Pensacola family. He’s missed his children grow up.

When we spoke to Kirkland he only had 10 days remaining on his sentence.

“We call it the junction because it’s like a cross roads, if you make it to River Junction, you halfway there,” he said.

He was released Sunday, November 13.

Where we stand

According to the DOCA, Florida’s inmate population is on the decline, as they’ve been able to close a few facilities in recent years.

They say as attrition hits the regular inmates,the elderly prison population will start to decrease as well.

State Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa (Pic by Meredith Geddings, via myfloridahouse.gov)

State Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa, says she is getting ready to re-introduce legislation that would create humane rules for the shackling of pregnant women who are incarcerated.

Last session, the bill almost made it to a final vote, but it eventually died in early May. Reed tells The Florida Independent she is not sure why House Speaker Dean Cannon did not move the bill forward, but says she is ready to try again. Report by The Florida Independent.

In 2010, the state of Florida received an “F” for its shackling policies in a report compiled by the Rebecca Project for Human Rights. The report (.pdf), “Mothers Behind Bars: A state-by-state report card and analysis of federal policies on conditions of confinement for pregnant and parenting women and the effect on their children,” analyzes whether a state’s policies harm pregnant women who are incarcerated. It was also “intended to help advocates assess their own state’s policies affecting these significant phases of pregnancy, labor and delivery, and parenting.”

The report gave a failing grade to any state that failed to “comprehensively limit, or limit at all, the use of restraints on pregnant women during transportation, labor and delivery and postpartum recuperation.” Thirty-six states, including Florida, received failing grades.

According to the report, of the states that received failing grades:

Twenty-two states either have no policy at all addressing when restraints can be used on pregnant women or have a policy which allows for the use of dangerous leg irons or waist chains.

When a pregnant woman is placed in restraints for security reasons, eleven states either allow any officer to make the determination or do not have a policy on who determines whether the woman is a security risk.

Thirty-one states do not require input from medical staff when determining whether restraints will be used.

Twenty-four states do not require training for individuals handling and transporting incarcerated persons needing medical care or those dealing with pregnant women specifically, or have no policy on training.

Thirty-one states do not have a policy that holds institutions accountable for shackling pregnant women without adequate justification.

Thirty-four states do not require each incident of the use of restraints to be reported or reviewed by an independent body.

With help from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Reed and state Sen. Anthony Hill, D-Jacksonville, introduced House Bill 779 this past session. The bill would have put policy in place specifically regarding the restraint of incarcerated pregnant women in Florida.

According to a summary, the bill:

Prohibits use of restraints on prisoner known to be pregnant during labor, delivery, & postpartum recovery unless corrections official makes individualized determination that prisoner presents extraordinary circumstance requiring restraints; provides that doctor, nurse, or other health care professional treating prisoner may request that restraints not be used, in which case corrections officer or other official accompanying prisoner shall remove all restraints; requires that any restraint applied must be done in least restrictive manner; requires corrections official to make written findings within 10 days as to extraordinary circumstance; provides that use of restraints at any time after it is known that prisoner is pregnant must be by least restrictive manner necessary; requires findings be kept on file; authorizes woman restrained in violation of act to file grievance within specified period; provides that these remedies do not prevent complaint under any other law; requires facilities to inform female prisoners of rules; requires reports.

Reed says she was disappointed the bill did not make it to a final vote, and was surprised it did not get more momentum from Cannon, considering the priority state legislators gave a slew of anti-abortion bills that session.

“I thought that was the perfect time,” she says. “They said they were going to protect babies, and I was hoping they would protect women, too. I don’t understand why they did not push this to pass.”

Reed says another obstacle was the the Department of Corrections’ reaction to the bill.

A response (.pdf) from the department posted on the website of the Association of State Correctional Administrators, claims that the Rebecca Report was “misleading.”

According to the agency’s statement:

The Florida Department of Corrections does not shackle or otherwise restrain female inmates in any stage of labor. As per the accompanying procedures pregnant inmates are restrained in wrist restraints in front of their body during transport outside the facility for medical appointments and closely escorted by a corrections officer utilizing a ‘custodial touch’ to insure that the officer can provide assistance should the inmate stumble or otherwise become unstable so as to assist her in preventing a fall. A pregnant woman, who is being transported, may be restrained in this manner, depending upon her custody level and behavior. If the inmate is already in labor during transport, she will not be restrained. In the hospital after delivery is complete, inmates are tethered to their beds by one ankle. This is the department’s standard restraint practice for inmates in outside hospitals to provide security for the hospital and to prevent escapes. Additionally, there is a correctional officer in the room with them at all times, to be sure they have access to the bathroom or any other needs they may have.

Reed, along with civil liberties and reproductive rights advocates, believe each state should have specific policy in place that would deter bad practices.

“I know the Department of Corrections wasn’t happy,” Reed says, “but I am going to keep on filing [the bill].”

Reed says she “in no way supports the criminal behavior of the women.” However, she does believe that they should receive humane treatment.

“We are not telling [the Department of Corrections] how to do their job,” she says. “This is a human issue.”

State Rep. Mack Bernard, D-West Palm Beach, said DOC Secretary Ken Tucker told him and others that the 250 employees of the prison will get notice of the closure on Oct. 15. Those employees will be eligible to apply for openings elsewhere in the state prison system, including other South Florida prisons that are being privatized this fall. Report by Sun Sentinel.

The Glades Work Camp near the prison will remain open, and the 50 employees there will retain their jobs, Bernard said.

The loss of jobs in the area could cripple the area’s economy, where the unemployment rate is as high as 40 percent.
“Looking at the numbers in the Glades, where you have such high unemployment and high percentage of people in poverty and high percentage of sub-standards housing, the reaction is sad that GCI is going to close,” Bernard said. “But at the same time we have to move forward with a strategic plan to move the Glades in a different direction.”

Belle Glade Mayor Steve Wilson said he hoped that state officials would work quickly to find another use for the prison building.

“I am hoping that people have the wits to understand if you are going to close it, that we find ways and means to utilize the structure to put people to work, Wilson said.

State Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, Palm Beach County lobbyist Todd Bonlarron and Gov. Rick Scott’s legislative affairs director, Jon Costello, also were at the meeting with Tucker, Bernard said.

The group was told that the state hoped to have a contract in place for privatization of South Florida prisons by Nov. 1 and that employees would have the option of applying for positions at the privatized prisons, meaning they would have to move out of the area, Bernard said.

GCI was not designated for privatization.

Closing the prison will significantly worsen the already dire budget shortfall facing the fledgling Glades Utility Authority. The utility’s budget assumes that the prison, its largest customer, will continue to pay base water and sewer charges, even if it closes its doors.

County Commissioner Jess Santamaria, whose district includes the Glades, said the region needs federal money to help keep it afloat.
“It is just never ending, one calamity after another,” Santamaria said. “To me, this is what the government is supposed to help. It is no different than a flood, or a hurricane, or an earthquake. You come to the aid. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Jim Baiardi, president of the Police Benevolent Association for state correctional officers, said that DOC officials had not yet contacted the PBA about the decision to shut down Glades. The union will probably ask to bargain with the department to ensure GCI workers get other jobs within the state prison system, but some guards may not be willing to relocate, Baiardi said.

The shutdown of the prison will be difficult for the community to absorb, he said.

“It’s hard to deal with that situation particularly because there’s not a lot of options for them to go to work somewhere else,” Baiardi said. “They’re not only hurting the officers who work there and the facility itself, but also the community. There’s just no winner in that. It’s just a lose-lose all the way around.”

The state raised prices about three weeks ago under a new contract with an outside company. Since then, the department has gotten at least 60 phone calls and letters from inmates and their families complaining about the hikes.   The Department of Corrections says it’s working to see if some prices can be lowered, but costs are going up everywhere. Some of the price changes: Peanut M&Ms and Snickers (66 cents to 89 cents), a can of Coke (57 cents to 89 cents) and a Honey Bun pastry (66 cents to 99 cents).

The provision could save the state up to $5 million a year and is supported by the Department of Corrections. At least eight other states, including neighboring Georgia, require offenders to pay for some or all monitoring costs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.  “The idea is that all of our punishment is geared toward making sure the person pays back his debt to society, and I think that’s what this seeks to do,” said Department of Corrections head Walter McNeil.

The state currently monitors about 2,300 people statewide, approximately three-quarters of them sex offenders. Last year, monitoring them cost the Department of Corrections approximately $5.5 million. Right now, only people under house arrest have to pay for the devices, and the department was only able to get ten percent of its money back, about $500,000. The bill lawmakers considered Tuesday broadens the payment requirement to all people wearing the devices…

[Secretary Walt] McNeil acknowledged that the money the state would be able to recover would be only a fraction of the department’s $2.2 billion budget, but he said it was important Florida citizens not pay for the monitoring. The department already requires probationers to pay for required drug tests and sometimes polygraphs … GPS monitoring costs $8.94 per day or $3,263.10 over the course of a year.   About 100 low-risk offenders wear a simpler and less expensive bracelet. It lets probation officers know whether an offender is at home during curfew but does not track them during the day. That kind of monitoring costs $1.97 a day and would cost an offender a little more than $700 a year.

The measure, approved by the Criminal and Civil Justice Policy Committee, authorizes three pilot sites that supporters hope will serve as a model for how to deal with tens of thousands of state residents who are in jail or under state supervision despite their condition. It follows a 2007 report by the Florida Supreme Court that found lacking the state’s methods for dealing with mentally ill offenders.

More than 30,000 Floridians with mental illnesses are in jail and another 40,000 are under supervision, according to the Supreme Court’s report, while an overwhelming majority of the 150,000 juvenile offenders are also believed to have a mental illness.   The state also maintains 1,700 beds, at a cost of $250 million a year, for defendants who are being treated so they can be fit to stand trial. In most cases, those individuals are convicted and then sentenced to time served.  Within 10 years, the cost of those beds is expected to double. “It is the worst money the state spends. … It is the true definition of insanity,” said Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon …

By encouraging more community-based care for the inmates, Sheldon and other supporters say, the state can actually save money by reducing the number of times mentally ill inmates shuffle in and out of the criminal justice system and by treating the individuals before they end up in the emergency room … Miami-Dade County Judge Steven Leifman, tapped by the Supreme Court to work on mental health issues, said only nonviolent criminals would be eligible for the community services instead of jail.   “This is not a bill to get people out of the system that should be in the system,” Leifman said. “This is to keep people out that shouldn’t’ be there and get them the kind of treatment so they don’t come back.”

The Marion County Commission says a pilot program could release some inmates with ankle bracelets would reduce overcrowding at the jail and cut expenses. Inmates would pay the cost of their own supervision.  Commissioners are seeking more information from potential contractors. Some county judges approve the plan, saying “the answer is not always banishment.”

Sheriff Ed Dean says he’ll comply if judges approve the program, but he opposes the idea “if it’s only a way to save money.” He says an ankle bracelet wouldn’t change behaviors that landed many inmates in jail.

The cuts have heightened concerns that Florida’s tough-on-crime laws — including a mandate that inmates spend 85 percent of their sentence behind bars — have become too costly and ineffective.   Even the head of the state’s prison system says so.    “If you can’t read, if you don’t have any employable skills, if you have a substance abuse problem and you’ve spent three years in prison and you come out and you still have those issues, what the heck are you going to do?” said Department of Corrections Secretary Walt McNeil. “You’re going to hit my mom or someone else’s mom or somebody’s child over the head breaking into someone’s house. It is too costly to continue this uninformed way of trying to fight crime.”

But efforts to provide alternatives to prison are finding little support in a Legislature where being called “soft on crime” is seen as a devastating insult … Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, is sponsoring a bill that would provide funding for mental health courts, pre-arrest diversion programs, crisis intervention police teams and other means to treat drug addicts and the mentally ill instead of putting them in jails and prisons.   “It’s the moral thing to do, it’s the humane thing to do,” Fasano said. “And it will save money in the long run. Law enforcement supports this.”   But Fasano admits his bill, which has yet to find a sponsor in the House, has little chance of passing this year …

Sen. Frederica Wilson and other Democrats say they have a study showing that hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved by allowing early release of inmates who are first-time offenders with less than two years remaining in their sentence who have had no disciplinary problems in prison.  But Sen. Victor Crist, R-Temple Terrace, the chairman of the Senate criminal justice appropriations committee, said the 85 percent mandate is likely going to stay. “I am confident that will not change, at least not in my lifetime,” said Crist …

Without the funding to increase re-entry preparation for inmates, McNeil is relying on more than 10,000 volunteers statewide to teach inmates. He has created two facilities, Baker Correctional Institute in northwest Florida and Demilly C.I. in Polk City, that focus on inmates who will live in those areas by preparing them with work skills and intense education.  Fran Barber, the DOC’s deputy assistant secretary of institutions, said the volunteer-based programs draw from retirees, teachers and programs with sheriff’s offices and community colleges. The agency’s goal is to reduce recidivism, the rate of prisoners that return, from nearly 33 percent to 20 percent.

There is a lot more background in this report from the South Florida Herald Tribune.