COMPETITIVE PAY - COs & CPOS BASE PAY $41,600

After years of legislative budget requests for competitive pay to help fight attrition, FDC increases CO and CPO base pay rates to $41,600, and hires over 5,500 employees. Effective July 1, 2022, security, and non-security positions receive a 5.38% pay increase. This increase applies to all full-time employees, new minimum salaries and retention bonuses for Correctional Officers, and a new minimum wage for state employees. Also effective July 1, Correctional Officers with two, five or eight or more continuous years of service receive $1,000, $1,500 or $2,500 in retention salary added to their annual salaries, respectively. FDC also adds an additional Lieutenant or Captain, as appropriate, to each Shift Supervisor complement at all of the Department's 49 major CIs.

Noting that this is the largest pay increase in FDC’s history, Secretary Dixon said it is already starting to show results. “This action is starting to alleviate staffing concerns and we are finally hiring more people each month than we are losing.”

NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYED TO PRISONS

FDC Trains 307 members of the Florida National Guard at Camp Blanding, Florida. Upon training completion, guardsman deploy to nine institutions across the state to assist with safety and security risks posed by high staff vacancy rates. They deploy to: Northwest Florida Reception Center, Reception and Medical Center, and Calhoun, Franklin, Hamilton, Jackson, Mayo, Santa Rosa, and Union Correctional Institutions.

CROSSOVER ACADEMY

Community Corrections academy is streamlined by creating a Crossover Academy for recruits who have already obtained a Correctional Officer Certification. The Crossover Academy has reduced the time a recruit spends in the classroom by half.

July 1, 2022, CS/CS/SB 752 —Community Corrections implements an innovative program to encourage offenders on supervision to graduate, find, and keep jobs by reducing their length of supervision for each achievement. For example, offenders in the program can be awarded a 60-day reduction in supervision if they earn a high school diploma, a high school equivalency degree, an academic degree, or a vocational certificate while on supervision. They can earn a 30-day reduction in the term of supervision or if they maintain full-time, paid employment for at least 30 hours a week for a six-month period. This program also saves them cost of supervision fees when their supervision days are reduced. Sex offenders and violent offenders of special concern are not eligible.

As of October 10,  offenders on supervision performed more than 546,966 hours of public service work for the community, which equates to $8.2 million of work performed.

HERE'S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW AN IDEA BECOMES A PROGRAM AT FDC…

Joe Winkler, Deputy Secretary of Community Corrections, had noticed that offenders on supervision seem to fail early in their supervision terms, often for easily avoidable reasons. He wanted some data to prove or disprove his theory, so he asked Jana Friedman in FDC’s Research and Data Analysis Bureau to study the issue. Sure enough, she found that 22% of the individuals on supervision were referred to the sentencing or releasing authority for failing to comply with supervision within three months of being sentenced.  Dept. Secretary Winkler set about to change that by developing FACE IT, a program designed to communicate supervision expectations to offenders and inmates who are about to be released to supervision.

FACE IT, which stands for Family support, Attitude, Communication, Employment, Improvement and Take Responsibility, is a two-hour class that prepares offenders to succeed on supervision. It is open to inmates with 180 days or fewer on their sentences, and offenders and their families if the offenders are within 30 days of sentencing.

Classes are taught by Community Corrections staff and they cover the responsibilities of their probation officer and what to expect; how to comply with conditions of supervision; how and where to access the resources available, and how to FACE IT when dealing with supervision.

Program participation was initially voluntary, but it has become so successful that judges are now court-ordering participation as a condition of supervision within the first 60 days of supervision. It also caught the eye of the American Probation and Parole Association, and Dept. Secretary Winkler gave a presentation of it at their Training Institute in Ottawa, Canada in October 2022.  More than 2,000 offenders have already participated in the program.

ENHANCED SEARCH TRAINING LEADS TO FEWER WEAPONS, DRUGS ON THE STREET

Post COVID, Correctional Probation Officers were getting an increase in the number of anonymous calls and emails suggesting offenders on supervision may be in possession of weapons and/or drugs. Additionally, Community Corrections currently has a number of Correctional Probation Officers with minimal experience in conducting properly planned searches. In response, Community Corrections established Searching Offenders to Ensure Compliance (S.O.T.E.C), a program featuring a rapid response team to immediately assist the supervising officer and their immediate supervisor in conducting and executing a warrantless planned search.   In addition, subject matter experts, experienced officers, supervisors, and law enforcement partners are helping train staff at all levels to conduct proper searches.

Community Corrections also updated guidelines and responsibilities for conducting warrantless planned searches, and deploys its rapid response teams whenever a probation officer requests their assistance in the seven circuits where S.O.T.E.C has been implemented so far.   As a result, Community Corrections has increased the number of successful searches, improved confidence and morale in our staff, strengthened our law enforcement partnerships, and removed more weapons and drugs from the streets.  Plans for the future include establishing S.O.T.E.C units statewide.

HURRICANE IAN

Hurricane Ian makes landfall just south of Punta Gorda on September 28. This Category 4 storm causes catastrophic storm surge on the west coast of Florida and produces over 20 inches of rain, causing major flooding. More than 4,100 inmates have to be evacuated and temporarily relocated as a result. These are the steps FDC takes to prepare for Ian:

• Harden facilities prior to Hurricane Ian's landfall and transport assets north and south of the storm's path;
• Stage mobile generators, mobile light kits, construction supplies and 20 pallets of bottled water at Central Florida Reception Center and Charlotte CI before Hurricane Ian made landfall;
• Secure emergency toilet, shower, and laundry trailers for Charlotte CI, DeSoto CI, and Hardee CI;
• Maintain timely delivery of emergency fuel to run generators at institutions impacted by Hurricane Ian; and
• Provide basic meals to on-duty staff due to lack of availability in the community.

In addition, Community Corrections staff from all over the state donate supplies to areas impacted by Hurricane Ian. Supplies are delivered within days of the storm making landfall.

TOP CHEF

In November, FDC held its own version of “Top Chef” with the Culinary Arts Training Competition held at Lowell CI. Four inmate-participants from separate institutions were selected by their classes to demonstrate the best of their culinary skills and creative abilities, while competing on behalf of their institution’s culinary certification programs. Lowell CI’s culinary team won the competition, barely edging out Quincy Annex, with Madison and Lancaster placing third and fourth. The culinary arts provide inmates with training to help them find jobs upon release. This competition allowed inmates to receive feedback and constructive criticism, engage in a healthy activity, and creatively express themselves.  

The Culinary Arts program at Lowell CI was recognized as an "approved program" by the American Culinary Federation in 2023.