Florida prison’s chief Julie Jones is under the microscope after reaching a shaky truce with a non-profit prison rehabilitation group.
The dustup over closing a Bridge of America facility in Broward County underscores the need to help thousands of inmates transition to society.
Jones had no way to predict the fierce backlash that would follow her decision to close a Broward center that provided 172 male inmates with drug and alcohol counseling, GED classes, job training and life skills.
Within days, a grim-faced Bridge of America president Lori Constantino-Brown was pushing program graduates in front of the camera at a Tallahassee press conference. People with powerful stories like Dana Love, who tearfully credited Bridges with helping her find sobriety and a career after 12 years behind bars.
“I’m overwhelmed, and I appreciate everybody that’s trying to help keep this program open. I think that we’re more than just a number and a bed. I think that we’re humans trying to make the right direction for ourselves.”
Lawmakers wrote angry letters, including House Majority Leader Dana Young of Tampa. Senator Darren Soto, an Orlando Democrat, says he wrote one to make sure Jones knew the opposition was bipartisan.
“As a Senate committee, we stress our support for these programs. They reduce recidivism and also bring people back into the workforce much quicker.”
But a letter wasn’t strong enough for Senate Criminal Justice Chairman Greg Evers. The conservative Republican drove from Baker to give the press conference more political heft.
Evers told reporters he was planning special budget language to keep the program going, but department officials told him it wasn’t necessary.
“I was told there was no need. That they weren’t going to close this program. So I crawled off a tractor today, put on a suit and come to Tallahassee because I was lied to.”
Department spokesman McKinley Lewis says no one from the department discussed closing the facility with Evers. The department objected to Evers’ budget language because it would have changed the way the state calculates prison population, Lewis says.
The department needed the Broward center to free up office space, Lewis says.
“This is not about anything personal between the secretary and Bridges. We have great relationships with Bridges of America at many other facilities around the state. This is simply a unique circumstance in Broward County.”
Jones and Bridges reached an agreement that calls for closing the Broward facility, but continuing Bridge of America programs at another facility. Jones says there will be a 61-bed net loss, but no disruption in services.
Constantino-Brown disagrees, and she’s angry. She says 122 beds will be lost and it will take six months to get a new center up and running.
“Not to mention, 40 of my staff, who did nothing wrong but do their jobs, are going to get laid off because we couldn’t negotiate a better deal.”
A 2013 TaxWatch study shows there’s a lot more at stake than an administrative tug of war. It found that the average recidivism rate in Florida, meaning the number of inmates who return to prison, is 28 percent.
Bridge of America graduates have an average recidivism rate of less than 10 percent, according to the study. Since some 34,000 prisoners get released every year in Florida, cutting the recidivism rate even a few points means significantly reducing the number of new crime victim, Evers says.
That’s why he says he’ll be watching to make sure the Bridge of America deal is working.
“I just hope we’re not putting lipstick on a pig.”
Lewis says the department is dedicated to public safety and it will bring additional beds on line if the need arises.
