Study of Expansion of Rehabilitation
Programs for Inmates in Escambia
and Santa Rosa Counties
Report
February 18, 2012
Tryon Library
• The Problem
• The Study
• Rehabilitation Programs
– State
– County
– Community
• Report Conclusion
• 2.3 million prisoners, the • State of Florida operates
United States leads the
the third largest prison
world in incarceration.
system in the United
States.
• 1 in 100 adults in this
country are in jail or prison. • Department of
Corrections oversees just
over 104,000 inmates
around the state in public
or private prisons, in
addition to 150,000
individuals under
community supervision.
• Approximately 88% of
• Rehabilitative
inmates will be released
programs such as
from prison or jail at
mental health
some time in their lives.
counseling, substance
abuse treatment,
• 1/3 of these individuals
educational and
will be rearrested and
vocational training, and
return to prison, or
post-release support
recidivate, within 3
have been shown to
years of their release.
reduce recidivism.
State of Florida has:
•
•
•
•
62 prisons
45 work camps
1 treatment facility
33 work release
centers
• 5 road prisons
• 67 jails are under local
control
 Services are fragmented
some facilities offer
substance abuse
treatment, some offer
vocational training and
some offer mental
health services.
 None provides the full
range of services needed
by the inmates housed
there.
• The study began in March 2010
• Follow-up of the League’s position of support
for “a criminal justice system that emphasizes
rehabilitation and alternatives to
incarceration.”
• Committee members visited the facilities and
agencies in question and interviewed prison,
jail and agency staff as well as community
volunteers.
Neither Juvenile Justice nor the Federal System
were explored in this study
Local State Structures in
Escambia & Santa Rosa
– Century Correctional
Institution
• Work Camp
• Work Release Program
• Berrydale Forestry Camp
– Santa Rosa Correctional
Institution & Annex
– Blackwater River Correctional
Facility (privately operated)
• Rehabilitation Programs
– Adult Basic Education (ABE)
– General Equivalency
Diploma (GED) prep
– 100 hour transition program
– DCF &CDAC program
– Modality Unit
– Life Skills
– Vocational Training
– Mental Health Services
Escambia County Jail Rehabilitation Programs
• Alcoholics Anonymous,
Narcotics Anonymous, life
skills, parenting, GED
instruction, computer
classes as well as self-help
classes.
• A program to divert
mentally ill inmates from
incarceration into a
treatment program.
• Women’s Reentry
Assistance Program (WRAP)
Escambia County Road Prison
Rehabilitation Programs
•In 2010 inmates were required
to have a GED to participate in
training programs
•Working in partnership with
George Stone Vocational Center,
inmates were offered programs
in carpentry, welding,
horticulture and plumbing. 100
to 150 hours in programs.
•Attended three 10-hour classes
per week and participated on
work crews on the remaining
two workdays.
Santa Rosa County Jail
Rehabilitation Programs
• Voluntary programs are
offered, including AA and
GED preparation.
• Anger management
classes are voluntary or
can be ordered by a judge
when the inmate is
sentenced.
• A faith-based program,
The Most Excellent Way
Pathways for Change
• Founded in 2005 as a
sentencing alternative for
individuals with substance use
disorders.
• 28 court-ordered men at a
time
• The men complete 9, 12 or 18
months of treatment
• Rehabilitation Programs
– 12 Step fellowships
– individual and family
counseling
– Job readiness training,
communication and
relationship skills
– Anger resolution and conflict
resolution training
– Budgeting and financial
literacy classes, access to
educational and vocational
programs
– Case management,
– Assistance with housing
placement.
Reentry Taskforce of
Northwest Florida
• Began April 2009 as a coalition
of individuals from public,
private and faith-based
organizations in the two
counties.
• 100 volunteers to collaborate,
coordinate and develop
services with the goal of
reducing recidivism among
prison inmates.
Taskforce Sub-Committees
•
•
•
•
Employment
Housing
Behavioral Health
Families’ and Children’s
Services
• Gang Reduction
• Veterans
• Advocacy
Other Community Rehabilitation Programs
• Pensacola United
Methodist Community
Ministries
– Operation Fresh Start
• New Life Ministries
• A Will and A Way, Inc.
• M & A Community
Outreach Center
REPORT CONCLUSION
• Taxpayers spend 3 times more per year to house
an inmate than to educate a student.
• Committee’s research found good programs in
the two-county area, they are inadequate to
meet the existing need.
• Community programs are small and lack steady
sources of dedicated, recurrent and sufficient
funding.
– Provide needed services, unable to fill the gap left by
the public programs.
• If the government is running prisons and jails
there is an incentive to spend taxpayers’ money
wisely and reduce expenditures by reducing the
inmate population.
• Recent moves to privatize more state prisons
makes this committee question whether the
private sector will be motivated toward
rehabilitation which would decrease the number
of inmates they receive and, hence, their profits.
 Critical Need Areas Identified by Committee
– Complications that released inmates face in
getting sufficient state-issued identification
• Without a valid form of identification, inmates cannot
obtain employment, even at day labor sites, nor can
they rent a room or receive services from a social
service agency.
– Lack of access to temporary housing for people
recently released.
• Former inmates need safe, affordable housing where
they can stay while they are getting back on their feet.
• Strictly from a financial
viewpoint, providing
rehabilitation programs
to inmates is a good use
of resources.
• The vast majority of
inmates will return to
our communities at
some time.
• Education with an
emphasis on vocational
programs will make our
communities safer and
save taxpayer dollars by
reducing recidivism.
QUESTIONS???
Download full report by visiting www.lwvpba.org