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Florida Dept. Of Corrections Cuts Programs To Fill Budget Hole
May 2, 2018
Blaming the Legislature for not fully funding the state prison system, Florida corrections officials are slashing substance-abuse services, transitional housing and re-entry programs — services and programs launched to keep inmates from returning to life behind bars — in an attempt to fill a $28 million budget hole.
The Department of Corrections announced the cost-cutting measures late Tuesday. The cuts are focused largely on doing away with or dramatically reducing substance-abuse, mental-health and re-entry programs to plug a $28 million health-care services deficit.
With an annual budget in excess of $2.4 billion and about 100,000 inmates, the corrections agency makes up one of the state’s largest spending areas. But the agency is running an overall deficit of about $79 million, after budget reductions imposed by lawmakers over the past two years and escalating health care and pharmaceutical costs.
The corrections agency has been struggling to keep up with the cost of health care for the majority of the state’s inmates, after one private vendor quit years before its contract was up and the state fired another.
Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones, in a statement announcing the cuts, said she hoped the reductions are temporary.
“In order to secure a health services contractor, fund the increased pharmaceutical budget, and adjust for reductions, we’ve unfortunately had to make some very difficult decisions. At the start of the next fiscal year, we will be reducing some of our current contracts with community providers. Additionally, we are reducing operating costs to include maintenance, repair, utilities, and working to find every possible internal solution to reduce costs in order to maximize services for inmates and offenders,” Jones said in the statement issued Tuesday.
The budget cuts came a month after corrections officials asked vendors for a “voluntary rate reduction and/or cost-saving measure” in their current contracts.
Lawmakers this spring included money in the state budget to address a number of legal challenges centered on health care in the prison system, including the treatment of inmates with hepatitis and inmates with disabilities and mental-health issues.
But according to documents distributed by the department Tuesday evening, the $437 million earmarked for inmate health care — which includes pharmaceuticals — still came up about $55 million short.
Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Chairman Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, told The News Service of Florida on Tuesday evening that he has repeatedly warned his colleagues they were shortchanging the prison system.
Brandes said the funding crisis has “been festering for years” and called the cuts announced Tuesday unacceptable.
“In the short term, we’re going to have to fund the shortfalls in unconventional ways. But they must be funded. Period. These are not options. You must fund them,” he said.
Especially disturbing are the cuts to substance-abuse treatment, which are coming at the peak of the state’s opioid epidemic, and re-entry programs. Both have been shown to reduce recidivism and to aid prisoners as they transition to the community, said Brandes, who has been at the forefront of a criminal-justice reform movement in Florida.
“These are the very programs that have been proven to work. You can’t have an opioid crisis and cut opioid funding. You can’t just let people out of prison without some type of transition back into society. These are the types of programs that the research shows provide the best outcomes,” he said.
Jones announced the cuts as she prepares to sign a new contract with a private vendor to provide health services to about 87,000 inmates in state-run prisons.
The privatization of prison health care has been plagued with problems for the past several years.
Jones severed ties with Pittsburgh-based Wexford Health Sources a year ago, after Corizon Health in late 2015 notified the state that it was walking away from a five-year, $1.2 billion deal three years early. The Tennessee-based company said it was losing money on its contract with the state.
Jones came under fire for signing a no-bid, $268 million contract with Centurion of Florida LLC in January 2016 to take over for Corizon. Wexford’s contract with the state was unaffected by the deal with Centurion, which eventually took over health care for the entire state-run prison system.
Jones decided to redo the health care services contracts in 2015 and issued an invitation to negotiate for select companies to submit proposals.
But, after re-issuing the invitation to negotiate, Centurion — whose contract expires in June — was the only respondent for what is expected to be a $2 billion, five-year contract with the state. According to corrections officials, the agency is finalizing negotiations with Centurion.
“First and foremost, it’s our responsibility to ensure the security of individuals in our custody and to make certain their human and constitutional rights are upheld while incarcerated. Health care is one of these constitutional responsibilities, and in my tenure, I’ve held vendors accountable for ensuring these services are provided at an adequate and appropriate level, that is in line with required standards. Like every state agency, we must make fiscally sound decisions to operate within our legislatively appropriated budget,” Jones said in the statement.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
12 Responses to “Florida Dept. Of Corrections Cuts Programs To Fill Budget Hole”
People on the outside really have no idea how bad prison life really is. There is no air conditioning and they sleep in cells that are a 100 degrees in the summer . Do that to your dog and you’ll be joining them. There is no real meat .They recently learned that the meat flavored protein parties they were eating caused cancer. I have to say compared to N.C. This system is like hell. There is no parole and the 85 % mandatory is the highest in the country. If they would decrease that alone it would eliminate a lot of the cost . Alot of these guys have been in way to long. Also if there no threat to society home bound with monitoring would cut back on there costs. They would take advantage of the tech available .
Cut backs on rehab and training programs makes no sense. No wonder the system is a revolving door. The inmates in on drug related charges dont get rehab so therefore they get out and back to what they know. There is not enough job training programs to learn a decent trade. Its a nick pick situation as to who can get to a work release program which there needs to be more of them. The budget will NEVER get right if the system keeps the door open for people to keep coming back! Medical care is hit or miss so let’s not blame it!
I have worked in the substance abuse program for over 7 years. This was helping inmates considerably because it reduced the recidivism rate. No I am not an inmate lover but I love making a difference in someone’s life. I have read all the stories of inmates taking over the prison and getting what they want. Yes, I really believe to a certain extent this true inmates receive amenities but I always felt my safety was in danger because there was not an officer present. Substance abuse is being cut which is going to make the officers job harder. In my opinion the money needs to be used to increase the officers pay, hire officers that can be trusted and other adequate staff to control the inmate.
Wow, I wish I could be like some of the people on this thread and live in a fantasy land, especially those saying that they should cut back on amenities. Have you ever actually been in a Florida prison? There is no cable or weight room, it’s not a spa. There are some facilities where they lose drink-able water on certain days and many of them are insect and rat infested. As far as programs go, there are hardly any to speak of due to lack of staff or funding.
The punishment for someone convicted of a crime is their removal from society, and you hear judges say it all the time. “I hope you do something constructive to better yourself while you are in the prison system.”, yet the system doesn’t provide the help necessary. Most of these men and women who are incarcerated have an “out date”. Treat them less than human and then turn them loose back into public. Great idea.
@JustAsking – Denial of medical care is a violation of federal constitutional rights. I know you think prison is “comfortable”, it is not. Do you research.
Well of course! By cutting the programs you ensure the revolving door thus keeping the prison machine fed. And as far as health care……….have you ever had a horrendous toothache-forget seeing the dentist, my son cant even get a Tylenol.
put all the inmates back to work along the roads, in sign shops, making a product, growing their own food. no cable, no weight room, no amenities.
Prison is no place to be either well, infirm or sick. Actions have consequences and punishment should not be an R&R environment. As the old saying relates…If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime! The justice system prevailed and those incarcerated are where they should and need to be!
My husband has been in for 24 years now. And I can assure you these inmates are NOT getting any great form of medical I even have a signed paper from FDOC telling an inmate he cannot receive medication for his illness and this inmate DIED due to liver failure. As for stopping programs I do not understand this either because it’s the inmates themselves that are teaching all programs and none are paid for it. Also the public should know that inmates are charged $5 for medical visits and are NOT paid to work so it’s not actually all free. Taxpayers need to be asking questions and asking for proof and records as to where all these billions of dollars are going!
@just asking, you are part of the problem in this world. You don’t recognize poverty and mental health as issues. You automatically assume if someone has done something wrong they shouldn’t recieve help. Not everyone in prison are bad people. People can and will CHANGE with the right guidance. Not by being pushed to the side and forgot about. Not everyone is as perfect as you are.
@ Jerry
Inmates in prison for marijuana related offense (which can only be sale/manufacture/deliver or trafficking, since possession of personal amounts of marijuana is a misdemeanor) accounts for less than 1% of the inmates in Florida State Prisons.
I do not understand why tax payers are providing some of the things inmates are receiving. When I was allowed to punish my children (now grown) I took things away from them, i.e. TV, video games, etc. and they where put outside to work in the yard. Punishment for bad behavior.
Why do we provide health care for inmates? most of them probably didn’t have it out in the real world, so why GIVE it to them while incarcerated? They are supposed to be being punished for wrong doings.
I don’t understand??????????????? This “BUDGET” could require less funding if all of the pleasures where taken away and punishment was reapplied, they might would straighten up and not want to return if it wasn’t…….comfortable so to speak.
If the state cant afford them then why keep putting them there? Legalize marijuana and allow everyone with those sentences to be free and erase all records of those previously convicted. Boom! Budget solved