February 22, 2006

Dear Editor:

In "County jails cost too much, auditor says: Luallen Suggests State Takeover" (2/22/06), Jack Brammer describes Auditor Crit Luallen's recommendations regarding a unified corrections system and reports various reactions to the idea.

As the legislature and county officials wrestle with this important issue, the Members of the Association of Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations want to call your attention to a new study issued by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy in Pittsburgh, PA. The Institute conducted a detailed study of the first seven years that the Delaware County Jail was run by a private operator. The findings are revealing.

• The county realized $37 million in savings by using private construction for the jail.
• Over the seven years of operation, the county saved an additional $20 million in operating costs.
• Prison assaults dropped dramatically.
• The Pennsylvania DOC rated the jail "excellent."
• Prisoner satisfaction with food quality increased significantly.
• When the private operator took over, all but two of the existing employees were offered positions, and all received a 3% to5% increase in their base salaries.

Public-private correctional partnerships are not a panacea to solve all of Kentucky's corrections problems, but we urge state and county government to consider them as an additional way of reducing costs and making government more efficient and responsive.

Sincerely,
 

 
Michael LoBue, Executive Director
The Association of Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations
www.apcto.org

County jails cost too much, auditor says: LUALLEN SUGGESTS STATE TAKEOVER

By Jack Brammer
Feb 22, 2006

Feb. 22--FRANKFORT -- Kentucky should begin phasing its costly county jails into the state corrections system, Auditor Crit Luallen recommended yesterday.

"Taxpayers are paying too much for county jails," Luallen said at a news conference in which she released what she said is the state's first comprehensive analysis of spending by Kentucky's county jails.

Luallen said a unified corrections system for the state would be more efficient.

Her report showed that county jails in Kentucky cost $244 million in fiscal year 2005. Nearly half of that money came from county fiscal courts and 32 percent from state government. Kentucky has more than 80 county jails that house about 17,000 inmates, including 6,300 state prisoners.

The report uncovered a wide range of costs in operating county jails, from less than $20 per inmate each day to more than $80. It said a dozen counties are spending between 30 percent and 45 percent of their general fund on jails.

It also found large fluctuations in what counties pay to feed inmates, from 65 cents to $4.66 per meal.

"Kentucky must begin the process of establishing a unified corrections system," Luallen said. "To achieve the most efficient and fair administration of the county jail system ultimately will require all state prison and jail facilities under the control and direction of the Kentucky Department of Corrections."

She noted that the budget crisis Kentucky faces would prohibit immediate merger of county jails into the corrections department.

"I recommend we begin planning toward a unified system and develop an phased-in approach. But in the meantime we should take action to get current costs under control," she said.

State Corrections Commissioner John Rees said he is "not sure" he supports a single corrections system.

"It's a complicated situation," he said, calling Luallen's report "a good start" for discussion. He said it supports several management plans he has been implementing and pushing, such as using private vendors for food services and reimbursing counties at different rates for housing inmates.

Marshall Long, executive director of the Kentucky Jailers Association, said his group wants to find financial relief for county government. He said it supports a phased-in Luallan, but added, "a lot of things need to be done before we reach that point."

Long, a former state senator from Shelbyville, noted that jailers are constitutional officers. The legislature and voters would decide whether to amend the constitution to eliminate jailer elections.

Vince Lang, executive director of the Kentucky County Judge Executive Association, said his group supports a unified corrections system.

He said the judges' association is backing a bill in this year's legislative session that would require the state to assume responsibility for all prisoners beginning July 1, 2010. House Bill 274, sponsored by Rep. Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort, was introduced Jan. 10 but no action has been taken on it.

Daniel Phillips III, who teaches corrections at Lindsey Wilson College and Eastern Kentucky University, said six states have consolidated their jail and prison system under one state authority - - Alaska, Hawaii, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Kentucky is the only state that has elected jailers, Phillips said.

Shelby County Jailer Bobby Waits, who is vice president of the jailers association, said recommendation of a state takeover of county jails has "a lot of unanswered questions. "

For example, he said, the state corrections department has hazardous duty retirement for its employees, while only 15 counties in the state have it for their workers. "That's probably a $50 million cost right there," he said. "Will the state pay for that?"

Luallen's two-volume, 504-page report, which was based on surveys and personal interviews with each county jailer and treasurer, offered several specific recommendations on cost savings and improved managements:

• The state Department of Corrections and the Governor's Office for Local Development should develop a recordkeeping system to keep track of all jail expenses on a quarterly basis.
• The state should explore restructuring how much it pays county jails for holding state prisoners. Its revision could include incentive payments for jails that are in full compliance with standards and have adopted efficiency measures.
• New or expanded jails should be built only after review and approval by the Governor's Office for Local Development and the corrections department.
• The corrections department and the Kentucky Jailers Association should review management of jail medical expenses.

Luallen's entire report can be found on the Internet at www.auditor.ky.gov