36CCB016D6A78159872584620070AD55 Hearing Summary

Lenny Woodson, Assistant Director of Clinical and Correctional Services, DOC, provided an overview of treatment programs offered in each facility and distributed pamphlets about mental health treatment services, the sex offender treatment and monitoring program, and substance use disorder treatment (Attachment H, I, and J). 

Joanie Carson, Associate Director of Education, DOC, discussed the various educational and vocational programs offered by DOC.  She distributed the following handouts:  Overview of Educational and Vocational Programs Fiscal Year 2018 (Attachment K); pamphlet about the "Correctional Education Program Act" and program offerings (Attachment L); and, comparison of private prison and DOC programs and treatment services (Attachment M).  Ms. Carson stated that over 11,000 inmates access these programs throughout DOC facilities, but noted that the programs are not uniformly offered at each facility because of funding, physical space, and providers.  Ms. Carson noted that DOC makes efforts to not disrupt programming when transfers occur. 

Vance Roper, Joint Budget Committee Staff, discussed the relationship between assessment and offender placement and success rates.  He further stressed the need to better define and measure success for vocational and educational programs. 

Committe members inquired about recividism rates between private and public prisons.  Discussion followed about the difficulty of differentiating between the two because inmates are often transferred between them. 

The committee discussed increasing services and programming at private prisons.  The committee asked questions about the following: wages for both inmates and providers; daily costs at private and DOC-run facilities; post-secondary educational opportunities; telepsychiatry; Second Chance Pell Pilot Program; and continuing educational and vocational programs from prison into the community. 

Committee members made closing remarks about the need to think differently about what promotes public safetym and the concept of "normalization," which aims to bring prison life as close as possible to normal life outside of the prison.