Florida Department of Corrections

Pay hikes, shorter shifts and shuttering facilities are some of the strategies Florida has employed to try to rehabilitate a prison system that leaders have said is in crisis.

As the state struggles with a shortage of correctional officers, a legislative panel this week will consider a plan that would activate Florida National Guard members to help at prisons, according to a document published Friday.

A group that advocates for prisoners and their families have started a social media campaign to draw attention to the importance of weekly visitation as the Florida Department of Corrections considers cutting access in half.

The Department of Corrections says the change will reduce the amount of contraband coming into prisons. Florida prisons are in the process of converting incoming snail mail to a digital-only format.

A top corrections official offered a stark picture of Florida’s prison system Wednesday, warning that lawmakers must boost salaries of corrections workers to avert a looming disaster as the system grapples with high turnover rates, dangerously low staffing levels and fatigued employees.

Officials in rural areas of North Florida where two prisons have been temporarily shuttered are pleading with state leaders to ensure that the closures aren’t permanent, arguing that the institutions are a vital part of the local economy.

Under a new Department of Corrections proposal, inmates wouldn’t be able to hold birthday cards or photos given to them by loved ones. Instead, those documents would be scanned and available for viewing behind a screen. The proposal is meant to crack down on contraband.

Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Mark Inch wants to implement 8-and-a-half-hour shifts at all state correctional institutions. Right now, 12-hour shifts are in place at most facilities. Governor Ron DeSantis has included $31 million in his proposed budget to support the change.

A U.S. Department of Justice study found since 2006 there has been a pattern of sexual abuse at Florida’s all-female prison, Lowell Correctional Institute. Rep. Dianne Hart (D-Tampa) is filing bills aimed at cracking down on sexual abuse in prisons. Allegations from inmates at the all-women's prison in Ocala describe sexual abuse and other illegal treatment that has gone on for more than a decade.

The number of Florida corrections workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 has topped 3,100, according to numbers released Friday by the state Department of Corrections.