IntroductionIn the midst of tax caps, funding cuts and aged facilities, county, state and federal prisonoperators must continue to secure and provide the correct care to an exploding inmatepopulation. Without the correct funding, this becomes immensely difficult. This eBook willpresent 9 fresh ideas to help operators do more when it seems nothing can be done butbeg.

In the summer of 2009, the state of California, suffering from budget cuts, overcrowdingand prison healthcare concerns, was forced by federal authorities to reduce the prisonpopulation by more than 40,000 inmates over the following two years. Early prisonerrelease ensued-straining public safety.

In the midst of funding cuts, without implementing the ideas in this eBook, local, state andfederal prisons all across the United States will be forced to take the same steps asCalifornia.

So You Don’t Have a Rich Uncle9 Fresh Tactics That Combat Funding Shortages

This eBook will present 9 fresh ideas to help operators do more when it seems nothing can be done but beg.

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1. Utilize the inmate workforce2. Outsource operations to a private operator3. Shop around for the best price4. Avoid lawsuits at all costs5. Weigh the costs of facility updates to new building operations savings6. Build small and plan big7. Improve inmate and staff flow throughout the facility8. Implement green tactics9. Research how other operators save money

So You Don’t Have a Rich Uncle9 Fresh Tactics That Combat Funding Shortages

In this eBook you will learn how these 9tactics can help you do more with less-stayin the black, not the red.

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If, when reading this eBook, you realize Performa hasn'tcovered a proven way to save money, let them know bytaking their one-question survey: How have you helped yourfacility(s) save money?

Performa is dedicated to providing information that showsoperators how to become more efficient. Performa willpublish your ideas on their blog.

So You Don’t Have a Rich Uncle9 Fresh Tactics That Combat Funding Shortages

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Utilize the inmate workforceCut unnecessary staffing needs and help your inmatesburn off energy, that is otherwise spent in moredestructive ways and costs you more money. There aretasks that can be accomplished without hiring additionalstaff. To list a few:

• Laundry• Yard work on the correctional facility or aroundthe city• Painting/renovating the correctional facility ormunicipal building• Cooking

While these tasks can easily be accomplished by yourinmates, it is essential to hire supervisors that can overseeand guide these tasks without problem.

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Outsource operations to a private operatorUtilizing their own financing, without needing the populousvote, private companies can build secure prisons, providehealthcare, operate prisons and provide necessaryservices faster and cheaper than governments. Accordingto a Reuter article, prison operators can save 10 to 20percent on the cost of housing an inmate by outsourcingto private players. Allowing a private operator to run alarger prison and closing down several smaller stateprisons, Florida projected savings of $20 million dollars ayear.

In a 2001 study, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, partof the Justice Department, noted that privately operatedprisons function as well as publicly operated prisons.While it makes sense to outsource to a private operatorfinancially, problems can arise with faulty drafted contractsand lack of oversight by states.

Here are a few pointers when outsourcing operations:

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Outsource operations to a private operator Determine your goals and what you want to get out of

outsourcing to a private operator

Develop public policy on private prison operations

Set up criteria for success in order to measure if theprivate operator delivered required correctionalservices

Devote careful attention to ensure the contractprovides adequate protection of inmate rights andprotects you from liability claims

Use a competitive bidding process when contracting toavoid favoritism and/or impropriety

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Outsource operations to a private operatorMake sure the following items are included in the RFP or contract:

• The responsibilities of each party• Expected levels of performance• Staffing patterns• Inmate activity plans• Treatment plans• Detailed operation plans• Sanctions for not meeting performance

benchmarks or standards• A clear payment structure• Rebid provisions on a relatively short basis• Explicit description of inmate type and level of

offender• Minimum and maximum inmate population levels

Once a private operator is contracted, make sure tomonitor the contract to ensure all provisions andguidelines are followed

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Shop around for the best price

Much like shopping for airfare or a vehicle, shop aroundfor the best prices on everything needed to run theprison or jail. From blankets to body armor and inmateorientation videos, sites such as www.corrections.comand www.correctionsone.com are great resources whenseeking the best priced products. Their product sectionsallow you to compare several viable options side by side.

As mentioned above, when looking for the best deals onoutsourced prison services, perform a competitivebidding process. Choose the private company that bestfits your budget and meets your requirements.

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Avoid lawsuits at all costs

In California, Lawrence Bittaker sued the state becausehis cookie was broken. As one of the 40 lawsuits thedeath row inmate filed, the suit cost the state $4,500dollars before a judge tossed it out two years later. In asimilar situation, Kevin Howard sued the state because hebelieved his thoughts were broadcasted on prisonloudspeakers. His case cost the state $18,500 dollars.

While these frivolous cases are hard to avoid withoutlegislative oversight, reducing overcrowding, which spursconflicts, prevents effective medical care and diminishesthe ability to meet basics, will avoid millions of dollars inlawsuits each year.

During the time of the Chino prison riot in August of2009, the facility was nearly 50 percent over capacity. Aman incarcerated in the Chino Institute of Men, Calif.,wrote an anonymous letter describing his treatment afterthe riot. Identified as inmate 1081, he wrote, "My story isjust as drastic as the others. Three nights in a cage with 10other men. And no water, no restroom facilities. I havekidney problems. It was torture for me."

Prison conditions is another common type of lawsuit thatcan be avoided with proper upkeep of facilities.

So You Don’t Have a Rich Uncle9 Fresh Tactics That Combat Funding Shortages

“Three nights in a cage with 10 other men. And no water, no restroom facilities. I have kidney problems. It was torture for me."

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Weigh the costs of facility updates andnew building operations savingsBuilding a new $169.4 million dollar facility is a scary numberfor operators just trying to survive budget and funding cuts.But when comparing that number to the potentialoperations savings over a period of time, that numberbecomes more feasible.

For instance, Pennsylvania, when faced with the option ofbuilding a new, larger facility or continuing operations at twofacilities, realized where real savings would come from.Feasibility studies showed that over thirty years the single,larger facility could operate at $22 million dollars less thanthe operations cost of two older facilities. The larger facilitywould also be able to house 367 more inmates.

An Oklahoma jail, when forced to either repair facilityinadequacies or have the federal government step in toforce funding for a new facility, compared the price ofbuilding new to the price of updates needed. Oklahomawas shown that the costs of remodeling and building newwere practically identical when considering annualoperating costs for the new facility.

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Build small and plan big

So you have the funding and you are moving ahead withplans to build… As the prison population trends continueto increase at nearly 0.4 percent annually, build fortoday's population and plan to accommodate tomorrow’spopulation. An easily expandable and flexible design willsave upfront costs now and into the future. Whenplanning a new facility, take into account these threeconsiderations:

• A building that is flexible will allow for a prisonto bring on multiple clients as future businessdecisions are made.

• Not planning optimal infrastructure forexpansion projects will drive up future costs.

• The physical layout of the administration andsupport services building impacts the ease offuture expansion and construction withoutdisrupting existing operations.

• Land selection should be conducive to futureexpansion.

So You Don’t Have a Rich Uncle9 Fresh Tactics That Combat Funding Shortages

An easily expandable and flexible design will save upfront costs now and into the future.

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Improve inmate and staff flow throughout the facility

Optimizing inmate and staff movement throughout the entirefacility has proven to increase safety and workforceproductivity. Restricting interaction between visitors andweekend visitors from standard prison population is provento reduce the amount of contraband throughout the prison.Understanding prison flow in the pre-design processeliminates unsupervised, blind areas where problems arelikely to occur.

White County Law Enforcement Center in Arkansas servesas a judicial, enforcement and detention justice facility.Operators needed a building that provided an operationalflow encompassing safety and security along withaccessibility to the public. During the design process:

• Planners established two major interior traffic flows:one for the public and one for justice. The twotraffic flows meet only at the necessary points ofinteraction.

• Directly correlated with this design, levels ofcontraband among inmates has decreasedsignificantly. The design cuts interaction betweenweekend inmates and visitors, who regularly supplycontraband to the rest of the jail population.

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Improve inmate and staff flow throughout the facilityDuring a new facility project, Eagle Pass Border PatrolStation, on the U.S. southern frontier, also incorporatedspecific interior traffic flow to enhance security andoperational efficiency.

The multi-function facility is designed with three distinctcirculation pathways for public, staff administrative andsupport operations, and detention. The zoned areas ofentry and circulation are based on the desired level ofaccess and movement.

• Graduated levels of security, including videosurveillance and card access controls, dictatethe flow of exterior and interior circulation foreach distinct component.

Podular, direct supervision also reduces the number ofstaff required in each housing unit.

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Implement green tactics

The implementation of alternative energies in correctionfacilities helps reduce the amount of tax payer fundingover time and can qualify the system for governmentgreen-initiative grants. Many correctional facilitiesthroughout the U.S. are committed to implementingalternative-energy technologies to fuel their energydemands.

Washington and California state governments are theleaders of LEED implementation. Washington currentlyhas 34 LEED certified correctional facilities. California,with plans to retrofit 16 facilities to become more green,is home to the country's first LEED gold certified jail.

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Implement green tactics

Sustainable design solutions that offer cost savingsthrough efficiency need to be customized for eachindividual project based on the needs of the facility,requirements of the government and opportunities of thelocation.

Sustainable design solutions are derived by:• Listening and fulfilling the operator's goals for

the facility: approaching a project to, first, fulfillthe needs of the facility and improve itsprocesses—so entity itself survives and thrives

• Understanding the location: certain alternativeenergy solutions are proven to be moreeffective in certain geographical regions

• Determining a sustainable strategy with theoperator: not coming on project withpredetermined solutions

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Research how other operators save moneyIn the midst of budget cuts and funding shortages, youare not alone. Prison operators around the U.S. arefeeling the same sting. Building communities dedicated tofinding and sharing solutions that take a dollar farther willbe the life raft for many facilities.

Director Frank Mardavich, of Danville Adult Detention inVirginia, says his staff studies the Compensation Board'sreport to find other jurisdictions that operate with lessmoney and to determine if there is anything he canimplement at his facility.

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Share Your Successes

While this eBook covers a few ways to stretch a dollar,Performa understands this list is not complete. If youhave ideas that have helped you do more with less,please share. Performa is dedicated to helping prisonoperators remain viable despite budget and funding cuts.

Take this survey and Performa will post your ideas ontheir blog throughout the year. Follow Performa’s blog ateither www.performainc.com orwww.corrections.com/performa to get fresh ideas on howto save money and become more efficient.

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Conclusion

In this eBook we covered 9 ways to do more with less.1. Utilize the inmate workforce2. Outsource operations to a private operator3. Shop around for the best price4. Avoid lawsuits at all costs5. Weigh the costs of facility updates and new

building operations savings6. Build small and plan big7. Improve inmate and staff flow throughout the

facility8. Implement green tactics9. Research how other operators save money

In the midst of budget cuts and funding shortages, pleaseuse these ideas.Also add to the list; take our survey and let us know yourthoughts.

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Performa Inc.

Performa, Inc. is a complete planning, design and engineering firm located inDe Pere, Wis. As the premier consultant for the Department of HomelandSecurity (DHS), Performa has established national design standards forservice processing centers located throughout the country and has providedvarious services from strategic planning to design for DHS agencies whichinclude: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and BorderProtection (CBP) and US-VISIT.

So You Don’t Have a Rich Uncle9 Fresh Tactics That Combat Funding Shortages

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David Robillard

David Robillard is the President of Performa’s Justice Program. He hasworked with numerous local, county, state, federal agencies and privatesector clients, providing them with strategic business, land and facilitiesconsulting services.

David’s 25 years of commitment and dedication to justice work has allowedhim to be a strategic resource, helping clients achieve their goals bybringing to them the most recent organizational, operational and functionalstandards/guidelines and industry trends. He is personally involved intechnical studies in the areas of design guidelines, proto-type facilitymodels, site master planning, needs assessment, architectural programmingand design.

So You Don’t Have a Rich Uncle9 Fresh Tactics That Combat Funding Shortages

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