Analysis Item 21: Department of Corrections Oregon State Penitentiary Minimum Security Facility

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1 Analysis Item 21: Department of Corrections Oregon State Penitentiary Minimum Security Facility Analyst: Julie Neburka Request: Allocate $3.8 million from the Emergency Fund to re-activate the Oregon State Penitentiary - Minimum as of June 1, 2017, to provide a second women s prison to accommodate the current prison population and the anticipated population growth reflected in the October 2016 Office of Economic Analysis Prison Population forecast. Recommendation: Allocate $2.9 million from the Emergency Fund to re-activate OSPM as of June 1, 2017, and defer consideration of the permanent relocation of the Professional Development Unit, currently occupying OSPM, to the 2017 legislative session. Analysis: The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis provides semi-annual ten-year population forecasts for male and female offenders. The Department of Correction s (DOC) legislatively adopted budget is based on the April forecast for the odd-numbered year. The forecasts are affected by law changes, and are based on past experience with each crime type. The April 2015 forecast provided the basis for the budget; subsequent forecasts have altered the planning horizon for future prison bed needs in an over-full state prison system. As Oregon operates just one women s prison, DOC has comparatively few options when faced with inmate population pressures there. The Coffee Creek Correctional Facility is the state s only prison for women. The threshold number of inmates that can safely be housed there is 1,280. The facility is currently operating with 122 emergency beds and has operated over its population threshold since mid-may The October 2016 forecast projects the average daily women s population to exceed 1,280 immediately, and to exceed 1,300 for the majority of the forecast period (through October 2026). Legislative Fiscal Office 1 Emergency Board December 2016

2 The 2015 Legislature acknowledged the uncomfortably thin margin for forecast error; SB 5504 (2015) included the following budget note: The Department of Corrections, in coordination with the Office of Economic Analysis, shall provide interim reports to the Legislature on the status of the female population and, if deemed necessary, request funding support for the early activation of the Oregon State Penitentiary Minimum Security Facility. These status reports and potential funding requests will be submitted for review and approval at each meeting of the Interim Joint Ways and Means Committee throughout the biennium. In May 2016, the Department requested that the Emergency Board appropriate $10.9 million to immediately activate OSPM. At that time the Emergency Board allocated $1 million to the agency to complete necessary repairs to the facility s plumbing and parking lot to prepare it for use, but did not provide operating funds pending the outcome of Justice Reinvestment efforts just underway. Based on both the October 2016 forecast and the past six months of increase in the women s population at Coffee Creek, the Department is requesting authorization and funding to open 176 beds at OSPM by June 1, DOC s request for $3.8 million would finish equipping the facility, move the Professional Development (training) Unit to a new purpose-built facility, fund 81 positions, and house 176 women offenders at OSPM through the remainder of the biennium. Net operating costs for the biennium are estimated to total $17.5 million General Fund and $240,000 Other Funds. It will take the Department six months to equip and staff the facility before receiving inmates by June 1st. Major repairs funded by the Legislature in May are underway and will be substantially completed prior to opening. Some inmate costs and associated budget will shift from Coffee Creek s budget, such as food, health care, and inmate supplies. The $2.9 million recommended by the Legislative Fiscal Office will be used to purchase remaining medical and security equipment and inmate furnishings and supplies, and to hire staff. Security personnel (58 positions) are typically hired 2 months before the facility s opening to allow time for training, with medical, counseling, and administrative staff (23 positions) hired one month prior to opening. OSPM will share a superintendent with the Santiam Correctional Institution. The Department plans to transfer 176 women from Coffee Creek to OSPM, relieving the excess of temporary beds at that location; the additional 54 beds freed up at Coffee Creek will allow DOC to operate without the need for additional women s beds through October 2026, based on the most-recent forecast. Operating OSPM as a women s prison will displace DOC s Professional Development Unit, which currently trains Willamette Valley-based DOC staff members per week for 49 weeks per year at the OSPM site. The Department s funding plan for opening OSPM includes $930,000 to build a modular building for the Professional Development Unit s operations on property owned by the Department in Salem. This option is preferred by the agency as the least-complicated way to ensure its staff training continues with minimal disruption. Other options include renting space in other state-owned buildings, or from local community colleges or universities, at an estimated biennial cost of about $150,000. The Legislative Fiscal Office recommends allocating $2.9 million from the Emergency Fund to the Department of Corrections to prepare OSPM to house women offenders in the current biennium. Options for locating the Professional Development Unit can be evaluated when planning the Department s budget during the 2017 legislative session. Legislative Fiscal Office 2 Emergency Board December 2016

3 21 Oregon Department of Corrections Ball Request: Allocate $3.8 million from the State Emergency Fund and establish 81 new positions (8.55 FTE) for the purpose of re-activating the Oregon State Penitentiary Minimum facility as a second women s prison to accommodate the current population and the anticipated population growth reflected in the October 2016 Office of Economic Analysis Prison Population Forecast. Recommendation: Approve the request. Discussion: The Legislatively Adopted Budget for the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) was based on the April 2015 Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) Oregon Corrections Population Forecast. Based on this forecast, it was assumed that DOC could continue to house its female inmate population in the designated women s facility at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) through the biennium. The threshold to effectively and safely manage inmates at CCCF is 1,280. During the 2015 Session, the legislature acknowledged that the female prison population was uncomfortably close to the point where the activation of OSPM may be needed sooner than anticipated. Based on this concern, the legislature directed DOC to report to each meeting of the Interim Joint Ways and Means Committee through the biennium, and if deemed necessary, request funding for the early activation of OSPM. As of November 1, 2016 the actual female inmate population was 1,301 which is 21 inmates above what the capacity threshold for CCCF and one inmate below the most recent OEA forecast of 1,302. According to the October 2016 forecast, it is anticipated that the female inmate population will remain above 1,300 into the future. Below is the anticipated monthly female inmate population through 2017: October 1, ,307 November 1, ,334 December 1, ,356 January 1, ,354 February 1, ,373 March 1, ,382 April 1, ,380 May 1, ,382 June 1, ,378 July 1, ,373 August 1, ,378 September 1, ,375 October 1, ,371 November 1, ,363 December 1, ,350 DOC reports an immediate and growing need for additional capacity and is requesting $3,824,977 General Fund and 81 additional positions (8.55 FTE) to immediately initiate the process of re-activating OSPM, which has a built capacity of 176 inmates. The agency estimates Department of Administrative Services 21-i December 14, 2016

4 that it will take six months to prepare the institution to receive inmates, which includes getting the physical plant operational, hiring security and support personnel, and relocating its Professional Development Unit. Once the additional capacity is activated, DOC anticipates being able to manage the forecasted female inmate population for several biennia. Legal Reference: Allocation of $2,717,272 from the State Emergency Fund to supplement the appropriation made by chapter 655, section 1(1), Oregon Laws 2015, for the Department of Corrections Operations and Health Services, for the biennium. Allocation of $989,435 from the State Emergency Fund to supplement the appropriation made by chapter 655, section 1(2), Oregon Laws 2015, for the Department of Corrections Administration, General Services and Human Resources, for the biennium. Allocation of $118,270 from the State Emergency Fund to supplement the appropriation made by chapter 655, section 1(3), Oregon Laws 2015, for the Department of Corrections Offender Management and Rehabilitation, for the biennium. Department of Administrative Services 21-ii December 14, 2016

5 Oregon Kate Brown, Governor Oregon Department of Corrections Office of the Director 2575 Center Street NE Salem, OR Voice: Fax: October 31, 2016 The Honorable Peter Courtney, Co-Chair The Honorable Tina Kotek, Co-Chair State Emergency Board 900 Court Street NE H-178 State Capitol Salem, OR Dear Co-Chairpersons, Nature of the Request The Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) requests $3.8 million from the general purpose Emergency Fund for the purposes of re-activating the Oregon State Penitentiary Minimum (OSPM) facility as a second women s prison to accommodate the current population and the anticipated population growth reflected in the October 2016 Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) Prison Population Forecast. Agency Action The DOC Legislatively Adopted Budget caseload is based on the April 2015 OEA Prison Population Forecast. Based on those estimates, the female population forecast indicated that it would not be necessary to open OSPM (in Salem) until March In a Budget Note to SB 5504 (2015), special attention was paid to how close DOC was to exceeding both the permanent and emergency bed capacity for women at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF); the agency was asked to report out on the women s population throughout the biennium. In previous reports, the agency consistently spoke to the need to find additional capacity if the population at CCCF reached 1,280, coupled with a current forecast calling for growth. The October 2016 forecast immediately exceeds the 1,280 threshold and projects the women s population to remain above this level for the remainder of the 10 year forecast, reaching a high of 1,339 in May, In addition, the forecast provided is an average, while the operational needs of the prison system are predicated on peak levels that tax the total capacity of the system. On some occasions, the actual female population exceeded the October 2015 forecast by as many as 50 beds on a given day. Since May 18, 2016, the actual female population has exceeded 1,280 every day, reaching 1,310 on September 23, It is true that the population has also fallen below the forecast, but DOC must manage to actual population peaks.

6 The Honorable Peter Courtney, Co-Chair The Honorable Tina Kotek, Co-Chair State Emergency Board October 31, 2016 Page 2 Understanding the importance of justice reinvestment efforts currently underway at the county level, DOC has consistently attempted to operate without opening additional permanent female beds. However, unlike the male population, the agency has no location in which to flex additional female adults in custody if they arrive at intake. If either the actual population or the forecast population indicated that numbers would remain consistently below 1,280, the agency would refrain from adding female beds, but the October 2016 forecast clearly indicates an immediate and growing need for this capacity. The plan is to immediately initiate the re-activation of OSPM to accommodate the forecast growth in the female population going forward. DOC estimates that it will take six months to prepare the institution to receive inmates, which includes getting the physical plant operational, hiring security and support personnel, and relocating DOC s Professional Development Unit (currently operating on the campus of OSPM) to another location. At the meeting of the 2016 May Emergency Board, DOC was allocated $1 million from the general purpose Emergency Fund and $100,000 Other Funds limitation to begin preparing OSPM to house women in custody in the biennium. With a built capacity of 176 beds, re-activating OSPM accomplishes a number of objectives. First, the agency will remove the 110 emergency beds currently online at CCCF and transfer 110 women to OSPM. This relieves the pressure on the existing physical plant and staff, and regains some flexibility for female intakes. Second, the remaining 66 permanent beds at OSPM will allow DOC to operate without the need for additional female beds in the 10 year forecast (based on the October 2016 forecast). Action Requested The agency is requesting an allocation of $3,824,977 from the general purpose Emergency Fund, and authorization to establish 81 positions/8.55 FTE for the biennium, to be allocated as follows: Increase in Operations and Health Services of $2,717,272 (GF appropriation #83000) o 75 positions, 8.06 FTE Increase in Administrative Services of $989,435 (GF appropriation #84000) o 4 position, 0.33 FTE Increase in Offender Management and Rehabilitation of $118,270 (GF appropriation #85000) o 2 positions, 0.16 FTE Legislation Affected 2015 Oregon Laws, Chapter 655, Section 1, Subsection Oregon Laws, Chapter 655, Section 1, Subsection Oregon Laws, Chapter 655, Section 1, Subsection 3.

7 The Honorable Peter Courtney, Co-Chair The Honorable Tina Kotek, Co-Chair State Emergency Board October 31, 2016 Page 3 Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please let me know if you need any further information. Sincerely, Colette S. Peters Director cc: George Naughton, Acting Chief Operating Officer and DAS Director Dustin Ball, CFO Policy and Budget Analyst Ken Rocco, Legislative Fiscal Officer Julie Neburka, LFO Principal Legislative Analyst Steve Robbins, DOC Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Craig, DOC Communications Administrator