In Depth: Proposed Budget Would Bring Changes To Florida’s Prison System

November 24, 2019

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Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed increasing the Florida Department of Corrections budget by millions to create hundreds of new jobs and address “exceptionally high turnover rates”, including a $60.6 million retention pay plan and $29.1 million to modify shifts for corrections officers.

Here’s a an in-depth look at the proposed DeSantis budget for the Florida Department of Corrections:

$96.4 Million to Improve Operations and Create Safer Correctional Facilities

  • Targeted Retention Incentives to Improve Staffing, $60.6 Million: The department proposes a targeted retention pay step plan which would apply to correctional officer to Colonel, correctional probation officer to correctional probation senior supervisor, and inspector to inspector supervisor position classes. The plan addresses exceptionally high turnover rates by providing a $1,500 pay increase at two years of service and a $2,500 increase at five years of service for included classes.
  • 8.5-Hour Shift Pilot Program to Create Safer Conditions, $29.1 Million and 292 FTE: This pilot program will allow the department to convert approximately one third of its institutions to an 8.5-hour shift. Prior to implementation of the current 12-hour schedule, the department’s institutions and security staff worked an 8-hour schedule. After moving to a 12-hour schedule, the department has experienced numerous issues directly related to extended shifts, including increases in separations of staff, use of force incidents, contraband, violent incidents and more.
  • Security Threat Group (STG) Sergeants, $2.2 Million and 34 FTE: These positions will allow the FDC to better manage STG members (gangs), improve staffing levels and increase the safety and security of institutions. STG activities within correctional institutions have increased 141% between FY 09-10 to FY 18-19. Contraband incidents increased 484%. In FY 18-19, there were 16,739 identified STG members, 17.5% of the total inmate population.
  • Additional Office of Inspector General Inspectors, $1.5 Million and 20 FTE: Transparency and accountability remain priorities for the department, and these additional positions will reduce the average criminal and administrative investigation caseload. High volume of case assignments has negative impacts on quality, accuracy and timeliness of the investigative process.
  • Security Enhancement Equipment, $3 Million: This recommendation targets the purchase of critical equipment including: netting systems for throw overs, metal detectors, radios, location tracking systems, intercoms for mental health units, cell phone detectors, drone detection systems, ID verification systems, warehouse x-ray inspection systems, perimeter cameras, perimeter motion lights, rapid ID for visitors, narcotics canines and grounds maintenance equipment.

$5.4 Million to Expand Reentry Programming and Reduce Recidivism

  • Academic Education Expansion, $1.4 Million and 17 FTE: This recommendation expands academic programs statewide. This will expand the number of inmates who have access to educational programing such as General Education Degrees. By adding 17 teachers, more than 1,500 additional inmates will have access to educational programing. The goal is to continue to expand educational opportunities over the next three years.
  • Career and Technical Services Education Expansion, $4 Million: This provides funding for FDC to partner with local technical/state colleges and industry training providers to expand vocational programming to 50 additional sites. Each site would be able to serve approximately 30 students annually. The request will increase the number of vocational and industrial certificates that are earned, help ensure inmates return to their communities with job skills and will increase the readiness and skill of Florida’s workforce.

$17.1 Million to Improve Health Services

  • Wellness Specialists, nearly $1 Million and 17 FTE: This recommendation reestablishes wellness programs at major institutions and annexes. Inmate wellness activities decrease health costs and reduce incidents of disciplinary action by reducing inmate idleness.
  • Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Infrastructure, $4.2 Million: The Department recently negotiated an EMR solution as a value-added component of the health services contract. The current IT network and systems do not support the connectivity needed to implement the EMR solution, and this funding will allow the necessary IT upgrades to implement the program.
  • Mental Health Hospital at Lake Correctional Institution, $11.9 Million: The FDC will build a new mental health facility at Lake CI. The facility is required to provide the mental health services needed by the inmate population, and in line with the Disability Rights of Florida Consent Decree entered December 2016. This new facility will create staff and building efficiencies and is located near an adequate pool of mental health and security staff.

$9 Million to Address Aging Infrastructure

  • Facility Maintenance and Repairs, $9 Million: Major repair and renovations are necessary for facilities statewide, including roof replacements, electrical repairs and necessary renovations to unusable buildings due to natural disasters. The department is responsible for the repair and renovation needs of 145 facilities statewide, which equates to more than 22 million square feet of space. Many of these facilities are old and the physical plant systems are well past their operational life expectancy.

Pictured: Inside a prisoner dorm at Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com photo.

Comments

8 Responses to “In Depth: Proposed Budget Would Bring Changes To Florida’s Prison System”

  1. Chris Pennington on November 27th, 2019 1:53 pm

    The 12 hour shifts are great. I worked those in the Military in Germany. Called the Panama schedule & we got a 3 day wk end off, which is excellent when you have families. Little ones especially. FDOC is suppose to be family oriented, what happened?? As far as the raises…EVERYONE SHOULD GET AN ACROSS THE BOARD 2.5% or more. You have a lot of good Officers–this is how you thank them and….all employees. When you “cherry pick” who you’re giving a raise to…that is a slap in the face and causes GREAT animosity. You have someone who has been here for 15 years and hasn’t gotten an increase for over 5 years, when everything is going up and then you get this “rookie” with no experience, coming in making more with a promise of a raise in 2 years. What is that??? Disrespect to all of us that have endured.

  2. Chillywilly on November 25th, 2019 5:02 pm

    Ron. Desantis. Is. Just. Restoring. What. Rick. Scott. Cut. And. Gutted. Politics as usual. They. Ran. All. Their. Experienced. Staff. Off. Department. Of. Corruption. Inmate assaults an officer. He gets a. Displanary. Report. And. Confinement. An officer. Gets accused of. Assault. He gets. Outside charges. Rick Scott. Ran all the. Experienced. Staff off. And. Privatized. The. Prisons. To. His political donors. Unbelievable. Incompetence

  3. CCI Wife on November 25th, 2019 12:07 pm

    As a wife of a CO in Century. I am with the guards that want to stay on 12’s. So many reasons why. What I do not like is that after working a 12 hour shift, there are times that they are told that they have to stay – so a 12 hour shift leads to a 16 or 18 hour shift. Then by the time they get home, get some rest (just a couple of hours) they are back at it again. Keep them at 12’s and not a minute later.

  4. The weak on November 25th, 2019 9:59 am

    Fight the 8 hour shifts, they suck and for you new staff say goodbye to your families and buddies. Your getting weekdays off for the next 10 years. Hey but they say eights will fix the world. I guess they think we are complete idiots to buy this crap. And then they say smile and accept it. Straight bull_ _ _ _ . And the raise is a slap in the face. County bound!

  5. Dumb on November 25th, 2019 9:00 am

    When they tried going to 8 hour shifts a year or two ago they had us because the economy wasn’t the best and we had more senior staff with more to lose. Our legislators are idiots to try it now. Economy is great and we have a young group of staff with nothing to lose and plenty jobs out there waiting. They just put their intelligence level out there for everyone to see. Sit back and watch this catastrophe. The education level of the people running the state is astounding. NOT!

  6. Dedicated on November 24th, 2019 9:58 pm

    Eight hour shifts means bad days off unless you got serious time in. Put me In for a demotion and that’s if I even stay. I might pack up with everyone else that’s leaving and searching for other jobs. I got kids that enjoy seeing me on the weekends. Family first, Job second. Although the state will tell you otherwise.

  7. Dan on November 24th, 2019 9:14 pm

    In the meeting the officers we told the pay increase would be 2000 and 4000 for over five years now they have changed it again I guess 17 million for a P. E coaches is not important than giving officers a decent pay raise after almost nine years without one

  8. Almost a good idea on November 24th, 2019 8:04 am

    All this sounds great except for the staff that had to rearrange there life when we went to twelves and now the state is selling fake statistics in order to try and get us to go back to eights and rearrange our lives all over again. 80 to 85% of the staff at century are against eight hour shifts. Keep your eight hour shifts century don’t want them. To my brothers and sisters actually in the trenches keep up the fight against this political nonsense our lawmakers are trying to sell. And by the way eight hour shifts have been tried and failed miserably, give us the staff and 12s will work better than ever.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News