Life and politics from the Sunshine State's best city

Tag archive

Department of Corrections - page 3

Greg Evers says prisons agency “lied” to him

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

A state senator says the Department of Corrections “lied” to him about the closure of a prisoner re-entry program. But a department spokesman says he may have misunderstood the conversation. Greg Evers, the Baker Republican who heads his chamber’s Criminal Justice Committee, spoke at a Tallahassee news conference on Monday. Evers told reporters he wanted to insert special language into the 2016-17 state budget — but was talked out of it. He said he wanted to ensure the Department of Corrections could not…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

Darren Soto “troubled” by Broward program shutdown

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

State Sen. Darren Soto is adding his name to the growing list of state lawmakers objecting to the closing of a prisoner re-entry program in Broward County. Soto, an Orlando Democrat, wrote Friday to Corrections Secretary Julie Jones to say he was “troubled by this decision” because he is a “strong proponent of these types of facilities and programs.” “I believe that our best chance to reduce recidivism and enhance public safety is to properly rehabilitate and prepare inmates for when they are released…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

Dana Young dubious about prisoner program shutdown

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

A top House Republican now is questioning the shutdown of a South Florida prisoner re-entry program. Dana Young, the leader of the Florida House of Representatives’ controlling Republican caucus, wrote a letter to Corrections Secretary Julie Jones on Wednesday. The letter, released to reporters on Thursday, comes on the tails of the department’s decision to discontinue a Broward County partnership with the Orlando-based Bridges of America nonprofit. The organization provided “transitional counseling” and drug treatment in Lauderdale Lakes to prisoners on work release who needed help…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

State refuses to divulge new plan to help ex-prisoners

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

The state’s Department of Corrections has slapped a ‘top secret’ label on its plan to help ex-cons in Broward County. The department on Monday turned down a request by POLITICO Florida to release a “transition plan,” now that the state has ended its partnership with the Orlando-based Bridges of America nonprofit. Bridges of America had a contract to run a transitional and substance abuse program for former prisoners in Broward County. The arrangement ends May 16, and the department told the organization it’s not renewing the deal.…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

In Florida’s prisons, fear and loathing

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

When a prisoner told former Dade Correctional Facility counsellor Harriet Krzykowski about how the prison guards starved him and his fellow inmates, Krzykowski thought he must be paranoid. But as Eyal Press in the New Yorker writes, that wasn’t the half of it. Krzykowski worked in the facility’s “Transitional Care Unit,” or T.C.U., which, in theory was “designed to provide mentally ill inmates with a safe environment in which they would receive treatment that might allow them to return to the main compound.”…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

Dept. of Corrections shutting down lauded prisoner-assistance program

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

A nonprofit specializing in helping former prisoners re-enter society is slamming the state for shutting it down. Specifically, Bridges of America says the Department of Corrections is pulling the plug on its transitional and substance abuse program in Broward County. The current contract between Bridges and the department ends May 16. The state told the group it won’t renew the deal, according to a letter from the nonprofit’s attorney. The nonprofit says it’s planning a news conference Monday morning in…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

Failure to monitor prison healthcare providers cost Florida $1.2M in undercharges, new audit shows

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

A state auditor general’s report found Florida’s Department of Corrections failed to enforce monitoring provisions outlined in contracts with private health care providers. According to LobbyTools, the supervisory failure resulted in the state incurring more than $1 million in additional costs by undercharging vendors. The DOC “did not timely conduct monitoring of inmate health care service provider compliance,” the report says. In 23 of 120 on-site monitoring visits by the DOC from Dec. 2013 to February 2015, providers failed to…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

1 2 3 4 5 6
Go to Top