Corrections budget hearing spotlights health-care cost increases, mental-health staffing, education and lock upgrades

Department of Corrections contractors and agency operations staff briefed the committee on several interlocking requests: increases to health-care contracts, targeted mental-health investments, capital and lock-control projects, and a plan to operate an accredited high-school diploma program inside state facilities.

Tim Harland, CEO of Centurion (Speaker 14), said health-care inflation and scope increases explain the House request for higher funding on the physical-health, mental-health and dental contracts (items 110.6–110.8). Centurion proposed the House numbers to address wage compression and to begin reducing a staffing gap the company estimates would otherwise require a much larger, multi-year appropriation. Harland described a medically intensive infirmary partnership that could repatriate roughly 18–20 patients from free-world hospitals into a secure, in-prison infirmary.

Committee members pressed on recurring costs versus one-time scope changes, and on how the contracts reconcile with Bureau of Labor Statistics benchmarks that Centurion said it uses to set wage targets.

Separately, GDC operations staff (Speaker 11, Charlie Parrish) reviewed facility projects funded in the amended budget: 31 of 32 projects are active, lock-control projects are staged for Johnson and Calhoun State Prisons with components on order, and a Davisboro modular facility is on schedule. The agency described four "Tiger teams" assigned to lock- and emergency maintenance work; the team expansion reflected an operational pivot to address repeated lock failures and urgent repairs.

On education, GDC staff proposed a $953,000 appropriation to meet accreditation requirements for an internal high-school diploma program. Agency staff said about 30 students are rostered at Foothills Regional High School (with roughly 15 attending class this past week) and estimated nearly 949 inmates aged 17–21 statewide could benefit. The proposal would move teachers to the teacher salary scale and add positions required for accreditation, with classroom hours during the day and remote learning available via issued tablets.

On food and farm operations, agency witnesses said rising commodity and processing costs have strained the food-and-farm program; the House recommended $850,000 for combined farm equipment upgrades to improve efficiencies and reduce recurring operational pressure.

Committee members asked for more precise reconciliations: how much of the Centurion increase is per-diem inflation versus added scope, whether recommended staffing increases could be filled once wages are adjusted, and a line-item breakdown tying each request to operational outcomes. GDC and contractors agreed to provide detailed crosswalks and to work with the committee on implementation timing.

Next steps: agencies and contractors will supply line-item reconciliations, recruitment/retention metrics and timelines for project milestones so appropriators can weigh recurring versus one-time needs in final FY27 decisions.