NEWS

February 16, 2010
Proposed cuts include programs, meds, private prisons

Nearly 3,100 jobs of prison guards, parole officers and other officials would be eliminated, privately run prisons would be closed, highly touted treatment and rehabilitation programs would be cut and medical care would be significantly reduced under a proposed 5-percent budget reduction plan unveiled today.

Brad Livingston, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, warned that the $294.3 million in cuts requested by state leaders “will likely increase recidivism, cause significant growth in the prison population … negatively impact both supervision in the community and security within our institutions.”

In addition, Livingston predicted that the reductions would “remove all flexibility to manage potential fiscal shortfalls and operational challenges” by the agency. Because of those concerns, Livingston requested the prison system be exempted from all but $50.4 million of the cuts.

Highlights, from the budget-reduction plan that was just made public: Some 2,037 jobs for correctional officers would be eliminated to save $84.4 million, even though the report warns that the change would result in “reduced staff levels that would place public safety and security of our institutions at risk.”

To save $41.9 million, prison medical clinics would stop providing over-the-counter medications to convicts, dietary services would be eliminated, an infirmary at UT-Tyler would be closed, convicts leaving prison would be given a prescription form rather than a 10-day supply of medications, most prison clinics would see their already-reduced hours of operation cut even more, dental and mental health services would be reduced, and voluntary and routine HIV and Hepatitis C testing would be suspended.

In addition, the planned opening of a new prison hospital in Marlin would be delayed for a year to save another $10.3 million. Jobs of approximately 195 parole officers would be eliminated, increasing the number of parolees that each officer will have to supervise and likely increasing revocation rates — which will put more people back in prison.

Funding to the state’s 122 county probation departments would be cut by $22 million, forcing the reduction of 162 probation officers. That would mean that the remaining officers will have to supervise more felons on probation, that revocation rates will increase so more people will go to prison and that successful programs that divert people from prison will be thwarted, officials said.

Academic and vocational training programs would be cut by $200,000, leaving 370 offenders without those programs and hindering rehabilitation, officials said. Some 400 beds in halfway houses would be cut to save $1.6 million, leaving more people in prisons, which cost more to operate.

To save $42 million, 465 prison jobs would be eliminated in food service, farming operations and maintenance divisions. An additional 75 administrative support positions would be cut to save $3.9 million, reducing correctional training and investigative initiatives. Another 198 support positions would be eliminated in state prisons that “will negatively impact our ability to manage” day-to-day functions, officials said.

Some $7.8 million would be cut from substance-abuse treatment programs, meaning that 1,346 fewer prisoners would have access to the programs. That would keep more people in prison longer and would likely increase recidivism. Some $10.7 million in funding for 817 beds in privately run prisons would be eliminated, reducing the state’s prison capacity. The savings would be $10.7 million

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