Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Lege sends savings from prison closure to private prisons instead of diversion programming

According to Mike Ward at the Statesman, Texas will close just one prison, which as readers know is an historic first but also less than this blogger would prefer. I'm saddened, though, that they're redirecting the savings not to diversion programming or community supervision but to lease private prison beds:
Instead of closing the other two prisons, [State Rep. Jerry] Madden said budget writers agreed to leave them open and to set aside about $15 million for prison officials to lease additional beds if needed over the next two years.

“I don’t think we’ll need the additional beds, but it’s a precaution,” said Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston.

Both Madden and Whitmire said funding for Texas’ prison treatment and rehabilitation programs have been funded at acceptable levels, meaning that additional convicts would be successfully diverted from state lockups onto parole and into community-based rehab programs that are much less expensive than incarceration in a state prison.
Disappointing. Savings from prison closures should go to diversion programming, not private prisons. The goal should be to reduce incarceration levels, not to plan for failure. While Whitmire and Madden say diversion funding was kept at "acceptable levels," in this writer's view even the Senate's more generous diversion budget is too niggardly given LBB's projections. The better strategy, building on what was done in 2007, would have been to double down on community corrections funding (which is a lot cheaper per offender than prisons) and closing more prison units.

But guess what? Since they're underfunding big chunks of the budget, the state will face a similar fiscal crisis or worse in 2013, creating even more pressure to cut incarceration costs after ducking the issue this time around. Indeed, having set the precedent of closing a prison for the first time in Texas history, perhaps by then the political will may exist to follow through on what was started in '07. Either way, the same structural pressures for reform still exist; these issues aren't likely to recede any time soon.

Here's the LBB's line-item comparison (pdf) of Article V (Public Safety) from the House and Senate budgets, and here's a comparison (pdf) of the different riders in the two bills. Since the final version has not been approved, documentation reflecting the changes discussed by Ward have not yet been posted online.

16 comments:

  1. Disappointing indeed.

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  2. While I completely agree that the Diversion Program funding needs to be increased, the problem is that more money is needed just to MAINTAIN the existing beds. Even the $3.6 million extra added in the senate bill could be COMPLETELY consumed to just provide ADEQUATE funding to existing programs. With the ever expanding cost to DP programs for Health Insurance that is pre-emptively removed from the actual grants BEFORE funding is provided means effectively each DP program takes a 2-5 percent CUT every year.

    Secondly, in Community Corrections Programs, bed utilization only averages 90 percent, so currently there are almost 400 empty beds statewide as we speak. Part of the reason for this is an attempt to "make ends meet".

    I speak as one who knows.

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  3. BTW... late word from the Appropriations Conference Committee which met last night to consider Article V funding. Diversion programs are being CUT $2,268,920.00 from the FY 11 Budget.

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  4. Close the prisons and turn them loose.

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  5. 4:08: Just close the pole barns and send those convicted of sea-food felonies home.

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  6. Grtis,

    Off subject. Tried to forward a check to support the blog (as well as having tried to contact you via .rr email address afterwards) but no luck. USPS returned it marked undeliverable. Info in the right margin might need an update or are you simply avoiding the service of a court order? :~)

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  7. Grtis? Dang. Just think of it as Latin for Grits.

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  8. Tailem, nailem, jailem! Man we are some tough sobs on crime in Texas! Rock on Texas, that approach is a failing one for more than a century. But just in case it starts working we will set aside some funding to try it again!

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  9. 11:47 ..."Health Insurance that is pre-emptively removed from actual grants BEFORE funding is provided.." Isn't that State Heatlth Insurance, if so why is State Health Insurance being billed directly to a grant program?

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  10. "send those convicted of sea-food felonies home."

    Absolutely not, Think about the seafood!!!

    We need to get those sorry ass bass fishermen in the system, you know to take a bite outta crime and all that!

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  11. Anonymous said "Health Insurance that is pre-emptively removed from actual grants BEFORE funding is provided.." Isn't that State Heatlth Insurance, if so why is State Health Insurance being billed directly to a grant program?"

    When CSCD's were brought into the State Insurance program, it was set up as a "NO COST" addition. That is to say that no ADDITIONAL cost would be accrued to the state by adding all of these additional employees. Funds to cover insurance would have to be covered with existing and future funding for CJAD. As we know, funding for CJAD OTHER than for new beds has been rather scarce the last 3 cycles, so funds are being slowly consumed by ever increasing insurance costs.

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  12. "“I don’t think we’ll need the additional beds, but it’s a precaution,” said Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston."
    If they've got 'em, they'll use 'em

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  13. My friends, I often paint with broad strokes as opposed to Grits whose infinite wisdom and knowledge of Texas Criminal Justice issues knows no bounds. I see things differently and from a political perspective, whereas, Grits opines frequently about the details contained herein.

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    "Lege sends savings from prison closure to private prisons instead of diversion programming"
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    BECAUSE, as I have said, ad-nauseum, Texas is ABOUT incarceration. Everything we do, everything, from the creation of mindless felonies, to shady convictions to junk science is ABOUT locking people up, getting them IN THE SYSTEM! We ARE a prison state. If you don't believe it you are probably working in the system, are one of the liars who have sold us this TOUGH ON CRIME non-sense that you yourself don't even believe or you are living with your head in the sand.

    We, collectively, have built a monster and it must be fed.

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  14. Hook Em
    You say you often paint with broad strokes, true. With sort of hysterical strokes, right? What happened to your famous potty mouth? Didn't see it today.

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  15. lol good one hook!

    "We, collectively, have built a monster and it must be fed."

    Works for me! let's feed it the crooked politicians and media members and just generic citizens who continue to support it!

    Let them live in it for a few months and then we can ask them again if they REALLY REALLY REALLY want it!

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  16. Anonymous said...

    Hook Em
    You say you often paint with broad strokes, true. With sort of hysterical strokes, right? What happened to your famous potty mouth? Didn't see it today.

    5/19/2011 02:16:00 PM

    I have cleaned up my act since becoming a professional :-) Now I reserve it only for gutter brawls! LOL

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