Transformation campaign plan 2006-2026 : Georgia Department of Correction's strategic plan

Transformation Campaign Plan 20062026
Georgia Department of
Correction's Strategic Plan
James.E. Donald, Commissioner

GDC Mission, Vision and Core Values

Purpose Passion Performance

Mission Statement
The Georgia Department of Corrections protects and serves the public as a professional organization by effectively managing offenders while helping to provide a safe and secure environment for the citizens of Georgia.
Vision Statement
The Georgia Department of Corrections strives to be the best corrections system in the nation at protecting citizens from convicted offenders and at providing effective opportunities for offenders to achieve positive change. We are a leader and partner in making Georgia a safer, healthier, better educated, growing, and best managed state. We accomplish this by:
Ensuring public safety Operating safe and secure facilities Providing effective community supervision of offenders Creating opportunities for restoration to offenders Ensuring the rights of victims Partnering with public, private, and faith-based
organizations Sustaining core values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless
Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage Ensuring the well being of employees and their families

GDC Core Values
Loyalty...................... Bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitutions of the United States and The State of Georgia, the GDC, and other employees.
Duty.......................... Fulfill your obligations. Respect...................... Treat people as they should be treated. Selfless Service........... Put the welfare of the Public, the GDC,
and other employees before your own. Honor........................ Live up to all the GDC values. Integrity..................... Do what's right--legally and morally. Personal Courage...... Face fear, danger, or adversity (physical
or moral).
L e a de r s h i p



Table of Contents
From the Commissioner................................................................................................................. 3
Guiding Principles........................................................................................................................... 4
The Criminal Justice System in Georgia........................................................................................ 5
How Did We Get Here?................................................................................................................... 7
What Might the Future Hold?........................................................................................................ 8
How Do We Move Into the Future?................................................................................................ 9
GDC Transformational Campaign Plan Chart...........................................................................................................11 Optimize Existing Infrastructure.................................................................................................................................12 Build Fast Track Beds..................................................................................................................................................13 Create Correctional Campuses....................................................................................................................................14 Establish Facilities and Circuits of Excellence..............................................................................................................14 Utilize Alternative Solutions........................................................................................................................................15 Benefits of Alternative Sanctions.................................................................................................................................21 A Continuum of Sentencing Sanctions for Georgia's Judiciary....................................................................................22 Offender Re-Entry.......................................................................................................................................................23
Victim Services.............................................................................................................................. 27
GDC Staff Well-Being and Recruitment/Retention Initiatives.................................................. 29
Education....................................................................................................................................................................29 Housing.......................................................................................................................................................................31 Day Care.....................................................................................................................................................................32 Fitness..........................................................................................................................................................................32 Awards.........................................................................................................................................................................32


... from the Commissioner:

"Change, and indeed transformation, is inevitable."

Iam honored to serve along side the men and women of this Department who, in spite of having one of the State's toughest missions, continue to do their jobs in a quiet, civil, and professional manner. Georgia is a safer place to live and work because these dedicated professionals provide Georgia's offenders with custody and supervision, as well as exemplary services and programs that give offenders an opportunity to improve their lives. The employees of the Department are the cornerstone of this agency and I am proud to be their Commissioner.
We face many challenges both in the near-term and in the ensuing years. In the immediate future we face a growing inmate population at a time when budget constraints have limited our capacity to house them. We also face a growing probation population with resources already stretched to the limits. Given the alignment of these challenges, change, and indeed transformation, is inevitable.
I look forward to leading this agency in addressing these issues. However, the Department of Corrections cannot solve these challenges alone. We must embrace, invite and lead our local communities in solving these challenges. The offenders under our charge are either under probation supervision in these communities now or will return to them after their release from prison. It will take all our collective efforts to overcome the challenges we face. I will be calling upon you for your thoughts, suggestions, and leadership as we follow through with our transformation campaign plan.

In this document, I intend to provide you information about the state of Corrections in Georgia and in particular the exciting plan we are working on for moving this Department into next two decades of service to the citizens of this state.
The Georgia Department of Corrections has a non-negotiable mission of protecting and serving the public; we are stewards of the public trust. We will never compromise these constitutional responsibilities.
We want the Department, through its unwavering commitment as a learning organization, to be a satisfying and rewarding place to work and grow professionally.
Adult corrections across the nation, and most certainly in Georgia, is about to enter a period of transformation as the complex issues of crime and society's response to crime evolve. I am excited about confronting the challenges that lie before us. I'm excited about the transformation that is inevitable in the Department of Corrections. I'm excited about the difference we can make in the lives of not only thousands of offenders, but their families as well.
James E. Donald Commissioner



Guiding Principles

No successful transformation can occur without a set of guiding principles. As we chart our course into the future, we are adhering to the following organizational principles:
Values Based We take seriously the role of stewards of the public trust. 10,000 correctional officers and 1,000 probation officers swear an oath of service to the citizens of Georgia. We live by the principles of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. We are apolitical; trust us to be honest brokers of modern correctional policy and practice.
Embrace Change Our business theory is changing. For over two decades we have attempted a `bricks and mortar' solution to ever-growing prison populations, which have simply gotten larger regardless of our efforts. Although we have tried alternative solutions in the past, we still face rising numbers going to prison. We must
be more aggressive as a system in

pursuing these other types of sanctions. While some organizations like Wal-Mart lead through change, others have failed to adapt as needed and suffered the bitter consequences. Corrections must lead the way in transformation.
Business Acumen We must better leverage our usage of technology such as computers to manage the immense volume of work and achieve our mission. We have recently reorganized our Department, flattening the structure, streamlining the chain of command, consolidating along functional lines. In the process, we managed to eliminate one division and closed costly regional offices. Our management philosophy is centralized managment with decentralized execution.
A Learning Organization People are the centerpiece of an organization like the Georgia Department of Corrections. In learning organizations everyone's opinions are valued and the amount that people can contribute is not determined by position in the organization. The old way is for senior managers to do all the thinking while everyone else "wields the screwdrivers". The old way works, but doesn't tap the greater energy available when the team is fully engaged. Tapping into this energy can result in improved processes and services for those in our custody and an improved work environment for our staff.

"When you're finished changing, you're finished."
Benjamin Franklin



The Criminal Justice System in Georgia

"In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future.
The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists."
Eric Hoffer


T he Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) represents only a single, but vital part in a complex system of criminal justice.
GDC is often considered the final stop in the administration of justice. This justice system includes the State Legislature that creates laws and penalties, state and local police and sheriffs' departments (over 560), prosecuting attorney offices, defense attorneys, Superior Courts, jails, state probation offices, and prisons in 159 counties throughout the state. By the time a person enters a prison to serve a sentence, he or she has had contact with at least four different agencies and public officials. Many times this number is much higher. Unfortunately, many offenders come through this system more than once. The criminal justice process, while at times unwieldy, creates checks and balances and ensures that the administration of justice is fair and equitable.
In 2000, over 388,000 crimes were reported in Georgia's communities. In the same year, over 10,000 offenders were admitted to the state prisons directly from courts. Compared to the number of reported crimes a relatively small percentage of offenders go to prison. The outcome of an individual case depends on many factors such as material evidence and witnesses. Resources, such as time and personnel, frequently limit how successfully a case is resolved. There are even more factors affecting the sentence associated with the case, including the past history of the offender, the availability of viable alternatives, and the public opinion surrounding the case.

Throughout this process, individuals can be returned to the `pool' of the citizenry of Georgia. Police can elect not to arrest, prosecuting attorneys can elect not to prosecute, judges can dismiss cases, jurors can find defendants not guilty. Once an individual is found guilty and is adjudicated as a felon, the judge must decide how that person is to be treated. The length of sentence imposed by the judge is a critical factor in what happens to this offender.
If an offender is sentenced to a very short incarceration term and sent to jail, he or she may be released having completed the length of the sentence while in jail awaiting adjudication. An offender might by sentenced to probation by the court, and begin his or her sentence on any of a variety of sanctions. Or the judge, based on the offender's prior record, nature of the offense and other considerations could sentence the offender to prison.
The backlog of adjudicated state inmates awaiting pickup in county jails is one of the key indicators of the health of the criminal justice system in Georgia. In a healthy system, no more than ten percent (10%) of the total jail population should be such adjudicated state inmates. Lately, the system has been holding upwards of 14 to 15% of this population. However, this percentage does not include probationers and parolees held in county jails on warrants, which could number some 1,500 more offenders.
From prison, an offender will either serve the maximum of his sentence, or if favorably considered by the State Board of Pardons and Parole, be paroled out of prison, to be supervised on the street for the remainder of his sentence.

Criminal Justice System Flow

By the time a person enters a prison to serve a sentence, he or she has had contact with at least four different agencies and public officials.


How did we get here?
Release via Clemency: down significantly

Length of Stay: has doubled and is going up due to statute (Seven Deadly Sins) and policy (Parole 90% service).

Clemency vs Maxout
Prison Admissions: slight increase

"Seven Deadly Sins" Annual Admissions and Cumulative Population

Inmate admissions by type, FY1985 to present

Annual Admissions and Year-End Population of Inmates Under 90% Parole Policy



What might the future hold?

The graph below shows a population projection of future commitments to prison. The various lines represent range alternate projections, varying by what percentage of past commitments the future holds. If we receive 100% of past commitments, then by 2014 we could see approximately 57,000 inmates in our system. If on the other hand, we receive 15% more commitments than in the past, the population could go as high as 71,000 inmates.

Judicial sentencing patterns remain the same; and It is assumed, only for the purpose of the projection, that
there will be unlimited space in the prison system for these projected inmates.
`Seven Deadly Sins' legislation remains the most powerful determinant of future population size. The full impact of this legislation probably will not be felt in its entirety for another 5 to 10 years.
The availability of prison space is also a strong factor in predicting future populations, as the graph below demonstrates.

Projection of Georgia Prison Population Plus Jail Backlog with 90%, 95%, 100%, 105%, 110% and 115% of Baseline Commitments
All population projections are based on set of assumptions about the future. These assumptions are supplied by studying factors affecting past populations. In this projection, the following assumptions were made: The mix of types of sentences would remain the same; Length of Stay remains constant; Current Board of Pardons and Parole policies remain the
same;

Prison Capacity and Population

1994's "Seven Deadly Sins" legislation remains the most powerful determinant of future population size.


How do we move into the future?

We need to clearly determine
"Who we are afraid of" and "Who we are
mad at."

In 1993, the Department of Corrections housed 25,000 inmates; 15,000 considered violent offenders, 10,000 non-violent. Today, that total number is 50,000 inmates, including 30,000 violent offenders and 20,000 non-violent. Last year we received 20,000 new inmates into prison, while releasing only 18,000.
To build for a projected 11,000 more inmates in the coming years, we would need $500 million in capital outlay, and $200 million additionally a year for operating expenses. We have shown over the years that we cannot build our way out of this oncoming population crisis.
We need to clearly determine who we are afraid of (violent repeat offenders) and who we're simply mad at (nonviolent, property and drug offenders). Can we truly afford a `bricks and mortar' solution, or can we find alternate solutions to this challenge?
Our long-range goal is to move from a system that devotes 80% of its resources to prisons, to 50% of its resources devoted to alternative sanctions. The near term will be constrained budgetarily, but we must creatively envision the end state we desire. We can create a greater fidelity to this vision in the near term by leveraging the current infrastructure to its fullest.

10

Now
COUNTY JAILS 20,000 awaiting trial 4,000 awaiting GDC pickup
PRISON

GDC Strategic Plan
Transformation Campaign Plan
& Planning for the Future

CORE ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES:
Valu e Based: Stewards of the Public Trust Embrace Chang e: Change, Transformation is Inevitable Business Acum en: Better Business Practice A Learning Organiz ation: People are the Centerpi ece

CORE FUNCTIONS Mission Public Saf ety Vision Help make GA safer,
healthier, better educated Criteria Who we're afraid of
Who we're mad at

CORE GOAL
A S afer, Healthier, Better Educated,
Gro wing, and Best Manag ed
Georgia

20K in

18K out

ReorganizEeliSmt iantae tHeQRPreegsiiodneanlt'HsQPFraisitoh n&eBrCoRoaerrpdesnortrayt e

Jan

'

05

Pay

R aisFeemaleRPeRalSigAnTFacility

MFai si tshi o&nsChaPrrai csNotener wBCash(erCodnuil cveCr

ar Ki

e Facility dd)

2004

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

TRifet ClocolalteegHe,QFotorsyth
2010 2015

S wi tc hed T echnologyMPLS Infrastructure Roadmap Rollout upgrades
IT Timeline
Resource Allocation 80/20
Inc arc erati on/Communi ty

Latest SCRIBE Rollouts begin Second Linux
LT S pilot
Medical Transformation

Near T erm (budget will constrai n)
70/30

Long Term (objecti ve years)
2020 2026
50/50

Sustain F acilities/Cir cuits of Exc ell enc e Programs Bas ed Budgeting
Sustain Victim Services Victim/Offender Dialogue Victim Wrap Around
Text C olor Key: Red = Core Commitments Green = In Progress Blue = Future Plan / Progress

CORE COMMITMENTS

Altern ative Solutions
Clayton, Mac on, Rome, Tift, Griffi n, and Atlanta DRC Probation Management Act
Federally funded centers (Probation Detenti on and Di version Centers) Female RSAT center
Governor's Pilot MH Program Community Outreach: "Choose Freedom"

Optimize Existing Infrastructure

Offender Reentr y

"Fast Tr ack" Correctional C ampuses Expand wor k release transition Three annual phases of bed c onstruc tion Centers

New Female PRSAT

"In House" Transition Dorms

Increase Sex Offender Programming GCI/Prison Industry Enhanc ement

and Rehabilitation New Chronic C are Facility Multipurpose Correctional Compl ex GDCP High Max Harvest Trees

(PIE) Prisoner Reentr y GDC Offender Pl acement Faith and Character Based Dorms Li ve Wor ks

Blended Architecture

W ell-Being Recruitment/ Retention Initiatives
New Career Ladder: Multi-functional Offic er Educati on: AA & BA degrees
Peach State Residenti al Community Initi ati ve Fitness
Awards Day Care
Updated: 06/15/06

"Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordi-
narily well."
John W. Gardner

Optimize Existing Infrastructure
We have found space in our system to place 1,000 offenders for the short term. This will take us above our "Do not fill above" line (see page 7). In 2004, we conducted a facility expansion survey to determine which facilities can be expanded utilizing the current infrastructure. Fifteen (15) such facilities were identified that could be safely expanded.
With an infrastructure valued at $2.3 billion and owning thousands of acres of land, the Department of Corrections has a very large footprint on the map of Georgia. Much of this acreage in devoted to forest land. We need to do a better job of stewarding this resource, to maintain healthy trees and to reduce the risk of fire. We will be working with specialists in this area to better manage this valuable resource through planned harvest procedures.

This will also generate a modest revenue which will be used to develop vocational programs for our offenders in nursery skill and experience building. Plants and landscaping shrubs produced from these programs will then be used to help `blend' planned correctional architecture with community look and standards.

12

Build Fast Track Beds
We have $12 million in capital outlay in the FY05 budget to add 900 `pre-engineered' beds in FY06. We will be asking for funding for an additioinal 3,300 pre-engineered beds in the next 3 years.
By building on existing facilities, we can build at half the cost of new facility construction. Once in operation, due to the economy of scale, our operating costs will be minimized since there will be no need for new administration or support staff.
We plan to add a 200-man, high maximum-security unit to the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison at Jackson, Georgia. This will allow us to shut down the antiquated and inadequate `L' and `M' buildings at Georgia State Prison in Reidsville, Georgia.
In addition, we have taken over two Youth Development Centers (YDC) from the Department of Juvenile Justice: Emanuel YDC in Swainsboro and Pelham YDC in Pelham, Georgia. Emanuel will become a probation detention center while Pelham will serve as an in-house transitional dormitory attached to Autry State Prison.
The National Institute of Corrections classifies inmates 50 years and older as `geriatric'. As can be seen in the graph below, our inmate population is getting increasingly older. With this advanced age typically comes a long history of basic medical attention neglect on the part of most offenders. Augusta State

Medical Prison (ASMP) serves our system as an acute care medical facility of excellence, while Phillips State Prison is our mental health treatment facility of excellence. These older offenders in poor health are literally clogging our acute care medical system. Inmates aged 50+ are 22 times more likely to need a special medical bed than younger, healthier inmates. We have a desperate need for a chronic care facility to serve as a chronic care and assisted care facility. We are currently considering several possible sites, considering configuration and size of the facility, geographically centralized location, and community medical resources.
Age Composition of Standing Prison Populations on June 30th 1972 through 2004

"...GDC has a non-negotiable mission of protecting and serving the public..."

13

We want our division directors to manage their operations using
data-driven, performancebased techniques.
14

Create Correctional Campuses
There are 120 probation offices located throughout the state, as well as at least 50 offices operated by the State Board of Pardons and Parole. Many of these offices are leased spaced from private owners. As mentioned before, the Department of Corrections has a very large footprint on the map of Georgia. Other state agencies, such as the Department of Transportation, Department of Labor, Department of Education among others, also own considerable sizes of property throughout the state.
We want to leverage this resource by creating multipurpose correctional complexes. We are currently drafting architectural prototypes of this type of facility, envisioned as accommodating several state functions in one location. At the same time, we are creating an overlay of GDC and other agencies' state owned property locations.
Once we have our prototype in hand, we'll go to the private sector and enlist their assistance in:
Determining optimum locations, taking into consideration such factors as demographics, transportation, commuting patterns, as well as other considerations;
Having them build the complex on our land, which we will in turn lease at a slight profit for the company. This is a unique lease-purchase program, allowing the agency to build premier facilities, maximizing efficiency of the tax dollar, while building equity in the facility. Lease payments would then cease after some period of time.
No capital outlay is required on the part of the Department.

Establish Facilities and Circuits of Excellence
One of our primary thrusts has been to centralize our management while de-centralizing the execution of dutiesin essence, flattening the organization of the Department of Corrections. Through our newly reorganized Operations, Planning and Training Division, we want to nurture, train and equip our wardens and probation chiefs with the necessary skills and confidence to handle problems and issues at the lowest level possible.
We then want our division directors to manage their operations using data-driven, performance-based techniques. Key performance indicators are being developed for these managers' use.
In the Fall of each year, we plan to hold a recognition conference to award those facilities and circuits, which demonstrate exemplary performance of their assigned missions. The highest of these awards will be the Commissioner's Facility and Circuit of Excellence Awards.

Utilize Alternative Solutions
During the past 20 years, many states have tried to build their way out of a looming offender population crisis. At the same time, Georgia realized that such a policy was doomed from the start. In fact, as we saw earlier in the graph of prison capacities and populations, studies have shown that one of the most reliable predictors of future populations is the construction of new prisons cells "If you build them, they will come."
In the early 1990's, the Violent Offender Truth In Sentencing Act (VOITIS) was passed which intended to extend the duration of prison for repeat and violent offenders. If a state provided by law or practice that such offenders would serve 85% of their sentence, the Federal government would fund 90% of the construction costs of new prisons.
Georgia led the nation at that time in creating and implementing innovative alternative sentencing sanctions for judges to utilize. Judges agreed to send more offenders to probation if the Department of Corrections would build and operate more probation detention and diversion centers. Georgia did so, using VOITIS monies. At the present: Four centers are ready to open, 4 more are nearing
completion; These centers are designed for the offenders `we're mad at'; Could greatly help us in closing the gap between admissions
and releases; Given a typical six-month length of stay, 5,000 offenders can
be accommodated annually.

In fact, we could find a "10% solution" in the use of centers. The annual difference in the number of admissions (20,000) and releases (18,000) is 2,000 offenders or 10% additional inmates added to the prison population. If we identified `who we're mad at' in this 10% population, we could send these offenders to centers. Given the number of beds available in a given year in both detention and diversion centers, we could house nearly all of our `10%' population in centers.
Offender assessment is already being done at more than 20 Risk Reduction model demonstration sites in prisons, centers, and probation offices. The purpose of the assessment is to appropriately match offender needs to available evidenced-based programming. Based on such assessments, offenders could also be recommended during the presentencing phase of court for assignment to prison, a diversion or detention center or a day reporting center.

Studies have shown that one of the most reliable predictors of future offender populations is the construction of new prisons cells
15

"We cannot build our way out of a growing
population. We do a good
job keeping, we need to do
a better job changing.
16

Probation Management Act
Five months after Governor Perdue took office, he established a working group to examine probation and parole in the State of Georgia. As a result of this work, The Probation Management Act was written. This piece of legislation, passed in 2004, will pilot a two-year innovative program in four Georgia counties:
Clayton Floyd Bibb Tift
In this program, judges will continue to sentence offenders as they have in the past, except that they will be able to delegate any necessary modification of an offender's sentence due to a technical violation to the local probation chief via an administrative hearing. The chief then can choose any other available alternative sanction up to a predetermined cap. The offender may appeal this placement to the sentencing judge.
If implemented as expected, this program could ensure swift, certain, and proportional usage of sanctions; reduce jail time; reduce court time spent on violation of probation cases (now estimated at 27% of all court time). This program is being supported by the Department of Corrections, the Georgia Sheriffs' Association, State Superior Courts, the State Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Governor's Office.

Beginning in January 2005, the Department will establish day reporting centers in those four counties for the length of the program's two-year pilot phase. These programs will be paid for using unused VOITIS funds.
Day Reporting Centers Day Reporting Centers provide intensive treatment to convicted offenders. These offenders attend classes and counseling sessions, and are tested for drugs and alcohol frequently. Regular probation follows release. DRC programs are a partnership between the Department of Corrections and the State Board of Pardons and Parole.
The cost of operating a prison for one year is $17.5 million.
34 DRCs could be established across the state for the same amount of money.
Assuming a daily census of 100 at each center, 125 offenders per center or 5,000 offenders per year for all centers could be supervised and receive needed services.

There are currently four different DRCs operating in the state:
Atlanta Griffin Savannah Additional DRC's will open in spring 2005 at Clayton,
Rome, Tifton and Macon
The Atlanta Day Reporting Center operates a nine-month program where offenders report seven days a week. Detailed assessments are performed on each offender to determine their specific risk reduction needs, then are matched with researchdriven interventions, typically falling into four areas:
Substance Abuse Treatment Criminal Thinking Employment Skills Education

The first phase of the program involves a 30-day detoxification and intense work on changing their criminal thinking patterns. They are tested for the presence of drugs every other day and are visited by surveillance officers nightly. After a period of positive participation, offenders may obtain day jobs, but must report to the center every evening for drug testing and intervention programs.
Researchers from Georgia State University have been studying the program from its beginning and early results are quite promising. We have completed two of the necessary three years of outcome so far, and results thus far indicate that while 22 percent of a comparison group were reconvicted of a felony, only seven percent (7%) of the Atlanta DRC program graduates have been similarly reconvicted. The Griffin program is structured very similarly to the Atlanta program.
In Savannah, the Savannah Impact Program (SIP) was established as a city/state collaboration. Savannah-Chatham County police officers are partnered with state parole and probation officers in a team concept to co-manage their caseloads. The majority of services provided to parolees and probationers are conducted at the program site. This enables supervising officers to have more interactions with offenders, identify poor attendance and participation, deal with issues and problems quicker, and to recognize those who are doing well. The Savannah based program has also experienced positive results, including lower percentages of offenders testing positively for drug usage.
SIP demonstrates an opportunity for local county governments to play a role in alternative solutions.
Drug Treatment

While 22 percent of a comparison group were reconvicted of a felony, only 7% percent of the Atlanta DRC program graduates have been similarly reconvicted.
17

From 60% to 83% of the
nation's correctional population have used drugs at some point in
their lives.
18

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) estimate that from 60% to 83% of the nation's correctional population have used drugs at some point in their lives; this is twice the estimated drug use of the total U.S. population (40%). Nationally, state corrections officials estimate that between 70% and 85% of inmates need some level of substance abuse treatment.
The goal of treatment for addicted offenders is twofold: to return a productive individual, free of addictions, to society and to reduce the expense of drug-related crime to society. The National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES) from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) reports that the average cost per treatment episode was $2,941 between 1993 and 1995. The average treatment benefit to society was $9,177 per client. This resulted in an average savings of three to one: every $1 spent on treatment saved society $3. The savings resulted from reduced crime-related costs, increased earnings, and reduced health care costs that would otherwise be borne by society.
The Bainbridge Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center (BPSATC) provides intensive substance abuse treatment, counseling, education and drug testing for high-risk probationers with a demonstrated history of drug and/or alcohol abuse. Bainbridge is a residential facility for probationers whose drug abuse is too severe to be treated in the community. The center opened in April 2001.
The center serves 192 male probationers from nine South Georgia circuits and probationers who fail in other programs

such as GRIPP or ADRC. The center offers an intensive ninemonth substance abuse program in a highly regimented and structured environment. Voluntary Alcoholics Anonymous meetings have recently begun, and Narcotics Anonymous meetings are planned in the near future.
An expansion is under way at the present which will double the size of the population. This is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2005.
Mental Health

Since 2000, the Department's mental health population has risen from approximately 12% of the overall population to more than 15% of the overall prison population. The increased MH/MR population in Georgia's prisons comes at a high cost: in FY2003, GDC spent over $25 million on MH/MR care alone. Additionally, Georgia's sheriffs are challenged to manage an increasing number of mentally ill offenders within the county jail system (see chart below).

Year

Male

Female

Total

2000

4309

946

5255

2001

4659

1078

5737

2002

5036

1313

6349

2003

5335

1451

6786

The Governor's Pilot Mental Health Program is a joint project

between Georgia's Public Agencies focused on identifying and providing essential services to probationers and parolees with mental health and developmental disability issues who are at risk for admission to mental health facilities and incarceration within Georgia's jails and prisons. Services will include: assistance in access to mental health treatment, housing, vocational development, medical care, and other services as required.
The goals of the program will be to increase public safety, improve the quality of life of the participants, and decrease admissions to Georgia's public mental health facilities, jails, and prisons. The initial target group will consist of individuals with MH/MR problems in Hall County who are presently on parole, probation or currently incarcerated in the Hall County Jail. A grant has been awarded through the State Criminal Justice Coordinating Council as part of the Edward Byrne Memorial Drug Control and System Improvement Formula Grant Program.
"Choose Freedom"

More than 15% of the overall prison population have mental health problems.
19

The GDC has an obligation to be good partners in all the counties and communities throughout the state of Georgia. One of our initiatives to fulfill this obligation is a four-phase community outreach program. The "Choose Freedom" inter-agency media campaign, originally implemented by New Jersey Corrections Commissioner Devon Brown, is designed to educate youth of "at risk" communities that all actions have consequences. "At risk" communities are those that send a disproportionately large number of people to prison, or where trends suggest there is a significant growth in the number of
people entering prison.
Georgia is tough on crime. Our youth need to understand that if, for example, a fourteen-year-old and his friends rob a convenience store with a weapon they will all go to
adult prison for at least ten years with no possibility of parole. Actions have consequences and the decisions our youth make today can have enormous life-long
consequences.

The "Choose Freedom" media campaign will include print, television, and radio public service announcements, billboards, offender testimonials, and volunteer education initiatives. Our desired outcome is that our youth are more aware of the consequences of criminal behavior, that we see fewer prison inmates coming from "at risk" communities, and that we have safer, healthier, better-educated and growing communities throughout Georgia.

20

Benefits of Alternative Sanctions
Public Safety Protection Alternatives maintain some form of treatment element, such as educational development, alcohol and drug treatment, and job training, which can be rehabilitative and/or preventative in nature. An offender's time is put to good use, working on the factors in his or her life that led them to a brush with the criminal justice system.
Economically Appealing The State has saved the cost of housing an inmate, as well as welfare costs which may have been incurred for the support of an offender's family. Also, offenders placed in some alternative programs are often employed and paying taxes.
Socially Cost-effective The offender is allowed to remain in the community and avoids a break in family and community ties.
Tailored for Specialized

Populations Alternatives provide a continuum of sanctions which allow for an appropriate balance of punishment and rehabilitative services for the individual offender, and which can address the varying degrees of criminal activity.
Flexible Alternatives provide flexibility in criminal sentencing in that they can be used at various stages throughout the criminal justice process.

21

A Continuum of Sentencing Sanctions for Georgia's Judiciary

Basic Probation
Intensive Probation
Day Reporting
Center
Probation Diversion
Center
Probation Boot Camp
Bainbridge PSATC
Probation Dentention
Center
Prison

Basic Probation
Probationers are assessed for risk of reoffending. The level of supervision is based on the resulting score. The basic probation sentence often includes fines, fees, restitution, etc. Many probationers are also ordered to perform community service. This is unpaid labor done for the benefit of the local area by the offender under the supervision of a community service coordinator or designee. Specialized Probation Supervision, a probation program developed specifically for sex offenders, is a component of basic probation.
Intensive Probation Supervision
The IPS program provides more structured supervision than basic probation supervision for felony offenders who pose a high but manageable risk to the community. Requirements include frequent contacts between the officer and the offender, curfews, frequent drug and alcohol testing, required treatment, and all the other conditions association with basic probation.
Day Reporting Center
To deal with the most severe cases of alcohol and substance abuse among the probation population, DRCs in some of the circuits provide intensive treatment. Offenders attend classes and counseling sessions, and are tested for drugs and alcohol frequently. Probation follows release.
Probation Diversion Center
As a condition of probation, a judge may require that a probationer be assigned to a Diversion Center. The probationer lives at the center, works at a regular job in the community, performs community service, and may participate in a variety of educational and counseling programs. The center takes the probationer's paycheck and deducts room, board, fines, restitution and family support, placing the remainder in a savings account. Probation follows release.
Probation Boot Camp
Probation Boot Camp offers healthy offenders ages 17 to 30 an alternative to long-term incarceration. The program combines military style basic training and programs to address substance abuse and other offender problems. A supervised period of community adjustment on probation follows release. Probation follows release.
Bainbridge Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center
For selected probationers with severe substance abuse problems, the Bainbridge PSATC offers an intensive treatment regimen in a highly structured residential facility. Probation follows release.
Probation Detention Center
Detention Centers are community-based, residential facilities housing probationers in a secure, restrictive environment. Offenders perform unpaid community work details supervised by correctional officers. The probationer must be physically able to comply with program requirements to be eligible for this program. Probations follows release.
Prison
Imprisonment is a last resort--either for a clearly dangerous violent offender who is a great risk to the community, or for an offender who has exhausted all alternative sanctions. The prison system includes inmate boot Camps, county prisons, private prisons, and state prisons. The Georgia Department of Corrections makes the assignment after the judge sentences the offender to prison.

22

Offender Re-entry
The Department of Correction's core mission is protection of the public; our obligation is to make the offender more prosocial--to be a contributor to society, not a drain on its resources. Of the 50,000 inmates currently in prison, 95% will eventually be released. The release of inmates back into society is a matter of public safety. We are committed to working closely with our partners on the Parole Board to safely transition inmates from prison life to life in our communities.
Each year approximately 18,000 inmates leave Georgia prisons and return to communities across Georgia. We can either release them in the middle of the night with $25 and a bus ticket home, or we can carefully and slowly transition them out of prison and back into society.
We have experienced tremendous success with our transitional centers in Georgia; in fact inmates released through transitional centers are nearly one third less likely to be convicted of a new offense than inmates released directly to the community. We need to look for more transitional opportunities for inmates leaving prison each year. There is currently space for only 2,500 offenders in transitional services.
We know so much more than we did just twenty years ago about "what works" in reducing re-offending. We now know that one size does not fit all that we must have a broad continuum of sanctions to match individual offenders to the appropriate level of punishment. Research has taught us that some interventions do work forced treatment of drug abusers works, interventions that target the crime-producing behav-

iors of offenders' work. We have demonstrated in Georgia that transitional centers are effective in significantly reducing re-offending. In fact, we will be expanding the use of transitional centers, beginning with the opening of a new one in Clayton County.
However, not all offenders are eligible for placement in transitional centers, such as those sentenced under "Two Strikes" and "Seven Deadly Sins" laws:
Passed in 1994, imposed longer minimum sentences on felons convicted on one of seven serious violent felonies, andfor a second or subsequent conviction of one of the seven specified felonies, mandated minimum prison terms of life without parole;
Nearly 7,000 offenders fall into this category;
The first group of these offenders will be released in 2005.
We plan to establish `in house' transitional dormitories within existing state prisons for these types of offenders. Within 12 months of their actual maximum release date, they would be isolated from the rest of the prison population and would receive intensive training and work to focus on their re-entry skills. This intervention would include substance abuse treatment, education, and job skills, linking with actual job placement.

Our core mission is protection of the public.
23

Hundreds of inmates leave prison with experience and skills gained through working in GCI.
24

Prison Industry Enhancement We plan to move forward with the concept of Prison Industry Enhancement (PIE) in conjunction with our Georgia Correctional Industries (GCI). Currently, 1400 offenders work in GCI learning new skills and trades manufacturing a variety of products including; office furniture, institutional furniture, road signs, janitorial chemicals and print services.
The PIE Program is a federally certified program created to encourage state and local governments to establish employment opportunities for prisoners that approximate private sector work opportunities. The program is designed to place inmates in a realistic working environment, pay them the prevailing wage for similar work, and enable them to acquire marketable skills to increase their potential for successful rehabilitation and meaningful employment upon release.
The program exempts state and local correctional agencies from normal restrictions on the sale of prisoner-made goods in interstate commerce. The U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance administers the PIE Certification Program through its Corrections Branch. Each certified program must be determined to meet certain statutory and guideline requirements. Forty-one (41) states and jurisdictions have been certified. HB58 has been passed by the Georgia Legislature, which authorizes GDC to seek federal PIE certification.
Hundreds of inmates leave prison with experience and skills gained through working in GCI. Using part of the profits made through GCI, we are contracting with free world job placement

to place these specially trained inmates in industries and companies where there increased skills can be put to good use.
The Federal Government has realized that the very large inmate population that was created by the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Program (VOITIS) will soon begin leaving prison. Therefore, the Feds are now offering technical assistance and grants to states to develop best practice reentry programs. In fact, the President, in his State of the Union address, committed $300 million in assistance to develop `Best Practice' reentry programs.
Georgia has received three such grant awards:

$2 million to develop model reentry practices in Albany, Macon, Savannah and Augusta. These are state and local collaborations. The State provides the guidelines for the program, but communities offer their own unique blend of benefits. Partnerships have been forged with local sheriffs, service providers and housing authorities, among others;
Georgia was awarded federal reentry technical assistance from the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to model the typical prison experience, recognizing that 95% of all offenders will return to the streets. The project will map the correctional process, from diagnostics to assignment to release, in order to design the optimal reentry experience for those inmates who may return to the community within five years; and
The National Governor's Association (NGA) has selected Georgia as one of seven states to develop reentry best practices in conjunction with other reentry initiatives to better

prepare inmates for return to the community.
Faith and Character-Based Initiatives
The Georgia Department of Corrections has established a Faith and Character-Based program that meets the needs of our offenders, their families, and their communities, by involving community stakeholders using a holistic approach to inspire change of offenders. Faith and Character-Based dormitories, a major initiative in the GDC Faith and Character-Based program, will provide environments for change through the promotion of personal responsibility, integrity, accountability, and the building of one's faith. Offenders will experience instruction, individual and group counseling, and mentoring provided by a combination of GDC staff and faith-based and community volunteers who will be specially trained to conduct the program.

The Faith and Character-Based program is expected to provide an environment for change to those offenders who demonstrate the desire to change and the willingness to confront the habits and behaviors of their past. Offenders will be assessed to determine their strengths and weaknesses, then will work to enhance the strengths and diminish the weaknesses through a wide variety of experiences that are designed to help both oneself and others.

The participants in this program are expected to present fewer 25

management problems than the general population, evidenced by lower number of disciplinary reports, lower number of grievances filed, and above average performance ratings from their work and program assignments.
Graduates of the program will be better prepared to successfully transition back into the community, whether to the community in the free world or the prison community. These individuals will have grown spiritually and will have demonstrated the ability to set positive goals for themselves, to think and act in a responsible manner, and to possess the coping skills necessary to handle adversity.
Faith and Character based dorms have been opened in the following prisons: Arrendale, Hays, Pulaski, Macon, Calhoun, and Valdosta.
Two types of Advisory Boards have been established for the purpose of recommending support to correctional activities (GDC, Pardons and Parole, and DJJ). They are as follows:
State-wide Advisory Board The Commissioner's Board This Board consists of faith-based community leaders from around the state who are knowledgeable, influential, and resourceful.
Local Advisory Boards These nine (9) Boards operate within designated Support Zones and will be based in cities that are primary offender reentry points. The Boards will support faith-based initiatives operating within their respective zones. 26

Victim Services

V ictims of crime often continue to live the devastating effects of crime and long after their offender has been convicted and sentenced. The Georgia Department of Corrections' Office of Victim Services is here to offer post conviction support and assistance to crime victims. This office serves as a point of contact within Corrections that is sensitive to the needs of crime victims. Through the OVS we have an opportunity to build upon and expand the level of services available to victims of crime through the DOC.
Victim Offender Dialogue Program
Often times crime victims and survivors of homicide victims reach a point in their recovery process where they seek to meet with their offender. Victim Offender Dialogue is a process in which the victim of a violent crime and the offender meet face to face. The focus of the meeting is on the harm done to the victim and the offender's responsibility in the reparation of that harm. This meeting can be helpful in the victim's recovery process and in some cases can provide a certain degree of closure for the victim.
The Victim Offender Dialogue is victim requested, victim sensitive, and victim driven. Dialogue requests are initiated by the victim, offenders cannot initiate a dialogue. Participation in the process is voluntary by both the victim and offender. The

Victim Offender Dialogue is not for everyone, requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The actual dialogue will be conducted by trained facilitators who meet with both the victim and offender individually to prepare for the dialogue. The time period involved in the preparation for a dialogue can be a short period of time to an extended period depending on the case.

Victim Offender Dialogue is a process in which the victim of a violent crime and the offender meet face to face.
27

Victim Wrap Around
In keeping with our mission of public safety and protecting victims of crime, we will be taking a look at a program known as the Victim Wrap Around (VWA). This program is a component of the risk management process involving the reentry of high risk offenders. The VWA program assists communities in safely reintegrating high-risk offenders into society while involving the victim in the corrections phase of the criminal justice process. The program involves a coordinated effort to

bring community resources together to assist the victim in developing a safety plan around the offender's reentry into the community. This effort can include the participation of corrections, probation, parole, local law enforcement, and community based victim service providers all working closely with the victim.

28

Well-Being and Recruitment/Retention Initiative

T oday we are an organization of nearly 15,000 professionals confining and supervising over 170,000 felony offenders. We are 10,000 correctional officers and 1,000 probation officers all holding state peace officer certification. We are food service workers and support staff. We are engineers, construction supervisors and doctors and nurses. We are budget and personnel experts, community service supervisors and victims'` advocates. We're employees with just 50 days of service to 50 years of service.
We are the largest law enforcement agency in the state, with the largest budget, and with often times the least amount of public recognition. We are the often unseen, unheralded members of the law enforcement community. We are correctional officers, probation officers and surveillance officers working the streets of Atlanta at 11:00 at night and in the corridors of prisons in Milledgeville at 3:00 in the morning. We are the Georgia Department of Corrections, pulling together to perform our mission of public safety 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.
We must find creative means in this time of severe budget constraint of recruiting the best people we can and retaining the best people we have.

Education
The Department has a tremendous investment in these employees in terms of their experience and training. We recruit, hire and train 1,800 new officers every year at the cost of $6.6 million due to our 20% turnover rate in that job category. Many times these employees leave for better paying jobs in criminal justice at the county or municipal level.
We have reorganized our Department along functional lines. Public safety is the number one mission of the Department, as well as that of our facilities and probation offices. Therefore it was logical to combine the management of facilities and probation under one division, to maximize resources and coordination and eliminate `silo' thinking.

"...GDC can succeed only with dedicated people."

29

We want every correctional
officer to earn an Associate of Arts
degree within 5 years and a Bachelor of Arts degree within
10 years.

With that same reasoning, we want to establish a new career ladder in the ranks of the officer class: The Multi-functional Officer. Correctional Officers enter into our system in the `facilities silo' and on the other hand, probation officers enter and stay in the `probation silo'. With the goal of developing multifunctional officers and staff, we want to perform assessments of our staff and appropriately assign them to training and experience to build them professionally.
We want every correctional officer to earn an Associate of Arts (AA) degree within 5 years of tenure with the Department and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree within 10 years. And with a combined organizational structure, a correctional officer with an AA could apply for a probation officer I position while he or she worked on obtaining a BA. Some officers may wish to work toward a Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) degree to cross into the health field.

Georgians with a General Educational Development (GED) certificate or high school diploma may apply for a 2-year HOPE grant to work on their AA or LPN through local technical schools. Once the staff person has obtained a LPN certificate, he or she could apply for a nursing position through Georgia Correctional Health Care (GCHC) while going to school for a Registered Nursing (RN) degree.
We must work at bringing education to our staff. In fact at Dooly State Prison, Columbus State University is providing college level courses to staff in their off hours at the facility. We must ensure that college courses taught at the Department of Technical and Adult Education (DTAE) are accepted at all Georgia universities--some currently do not.

30

Housing
In addition to education, we need to look at one of the most basic of our needsaffordable housing. A single employee, much less a married one, earning a little over $24,000 cannot afford an average rent of $700 even if it was available. Many live in substandard homes, some mobile homes and others homes made of cinder block.
The Department of Corrections is working with the private sector in the Peach State Residential Community Initiative (PSRCI) in an effort to make affordable quality housing available to staff.
The private sector developers, using tax free bonds, low interest loans and various grants such as USDA, HUD & DCA to name a few, will develop the land and build the communities. These

communities will be a mix of single family detached homes, attached and detached townhouses and apartments. In some communities, depending on size and numbers of lots, there will be amenities such as swimming pools, playgrounds and tennis courts. In our current infrastructure, we have a heavy concentration in what might be called a "prison belt", stretching south from Macon to Tifton, reaching the breadth of the state. There are in fact some 27 prisons in this area. On Hwy 280, there is a prison located every 50 miles along this highway. Opportunities are virtually endless for the private sector developer in these areas. Homes could be constructed on private land, at no cost to the taxpayer and at the same time provide new growth for the communities. Three programs make this advantageous:
HUD offers "buy down" programs in economically depressed areas to assist potential homeowners;
USDA offers reduced mortgage rates in rural areas;
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs has launched a program (PEN program) where correctional officers and nurses can apply for a $7,500 interest free loan to buy a private residence.
The Peach State Residential Community Initiative (PSRCI) will be a great method to recruit new staff and retain existing staff as well as provide new economic growth for rural communities across the state.
Market studies have been started in the pilot areas to determine demand and provide information necessary to establish product mix and price range. Plans are to have construction begin by first of year 2005.

"As stewards of the public trust, we must demonstrate better business practice."
31

Day Care
Nearly 47% of GDC's staff are female. Nationally, 55% of mothers in the labor force have infant children in 2002. In single parent households, and many two parent households where both parents must work to support the family, day care is a
necessity. Among the 48 percent of working families with children under age 13 that paid for child care, the average monthly expense was $286 per month, or an average of 9 percent of earnings. For families paying
9 percent of their earnings for child care, the expense is probably the second largest in the family's budget, after rent or mortgage.
We are currently working on developing day care opportunities for our staff, using existing buildings on or near the grounds of state prison
facilities. These day care centers would then be operated by reputable free world vendors. Costs could be significantly lowered in that
the building and facility would be provided free by the Department.

Fitness
A staggering $270 billion is spent each year treating preventable conditions related to tobacco, adult-onset diabetes and obesity. Corporations bear the brunt of these costs through escalating health care costs, lost productivity, increased absenteeism and worker's compensation costs. Corporations in the private sector have known for years the benefits of employee health and wellness programs. Decrease employee turnover, increase morale and reduce health care costs simply make good business sense.
We want to install running tracks, weight rooms and health centers for sole use of our employees. We will also institute a Commissioner's Challenge Run/Walk for Life program.
Awards
Our staff is the center of the Department's formation. We need to recognize formally and informally their hard work and well deserved achievements in fulfilling the mission of the Department of Corrections. As a part of the annual Excellence in Corrections conference mentioned above, we want to recognize those individuals who have also excelled.

32

Georgia Department of Corrections
2 Martin Luther King, . Jr. Drive, S.E.
Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-6002