Correctional officers are adept at juggling numerous responsibilities and wearing several different hats. So, to be successful in this position, they must demonstrate leadership, continuous quality improvement, consistency, awareness, and take action when necessary. Yet, one crucial skill is often overlooked in their training: budget management.
Many officers depend on their network of legal, purchasing, and vendor experts to navigate budgeting challenges, until they have the experience and knowledge to do it themselves. Daniel Quam, a seasoned Risk Management Specialist with 21 years in detention operations, reflects on his journey from correctional officer to administrative sergeant. His career has been marked by learning and adapting to various aspects of management, including budgeting. One piece of advice from a former Chief Deputy has particularly resonated with Daniel: “I never went to school to learn about procurement, IT, and budgets, but I will find a way to get the job done.”
In this blog, you’ll discover the top five budgeting strategies to implement in your facility. These insights are designed to help maximize savings and find additional financial resources for your jail or prison facility.
1. Inmate Commissary
Most jails with an average population of around fifty inmates have some type of commissary. While some facilities opt to manage their commissary operations in-house, contracting with specialized vendors is a common and well-known best practice. Choosing a vendor with expertise in the field typically leads to greater efficiency and can contribute additional revenue to the commissary fund.
When negotiating contracts, some vendors allow partnering with other providers for additional services, such as technology purchases. Bidding out your commissary contract every few years is considered a best practice. This helps secure competitive rates and provides opportunities to advance your operations and improve services. Competition in the marketplace often brings the best solutions to any operation.
2. Inmate Communication Services
Providing inmates with the opportunity to stay in touch with their loved ones while behind bars is crucial to their mental health and the overall facility’s safety. Research consistently shows that maintaining communication with family and friends reduces the likelihood of reoffending after release. Most facilities install phones to ensure inmates have the opportunity to connect with their loved ones. However, it comes with a price (literally).
Fortunately, the price per minute for these calls has steadily decreased over the years, benefiting inmates and their families. In many jurisdictions, the positive revenue helps fund programs for inmates and the facility. Finding the balance between call costs and projected additional revenue is crucial for funding educational programs and other services.
While phones have been a positive addition to correctional facilities, inmate communication has continued to evolve including introducing video visitation. Although video visitation has faced its share of criticism, it is becoming increasingly recognized as a superior form of communication, especially in the wake of the pandemic, which has underscored the benefits of video conferencing.
The largest financial advantage of video visitation is the opportunity for facilities to generate revenue by charging inmates for additional visits beyond their minimum allotment. Similarly, messaging options have evolved, with many facilities now offering instant messaging, photo sharing, and email capabilities through tablets and kiosks. These advancements provide a secure and familiar means of communication for inmates, mirroring everyday technology used by the public.
Of course, it’s up to the facility to decide how much they want to charge for these extra services. Exploring these communication methods is a good practice to maintain community ties and facility safety while providing some additional revenue for inmate programs or facility operations.
3. Relationships
The governmental body that controls the budget process is the most traditional manner for receiving funding in detention facilities. Of course, their priorities circulate around the jurisdiction, so most of their focus on correctional facilities is centered on their needs. Thus, developing the best relationship possible with this governing body is essential. When trust and transparency have been established, positive results are likely.
When correctional staff organize their operations in preparation for inspections and transparently share statistics, performance metrics, and future goals with the community, they will likely gain support. By planning and projecting needs several years down the road, the governing body can better understand and prepare for future expenses. Although the adversarial nature of this process can create stress and frustration, it aims to achieve a fair and mutually beneficial outcome.
4. Grant Funding
Grant funding is often a method for specialized projects to help achieve a specific goal. Currently, funds are available to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in detention facilities, which is an excellent funding option to enhance your inmate and staff interactions. When you have digitized all interactions between inmates and staff, you will have a great tool available for contract tracing, special status awareness, quarantine precautions, and providing enhanced medical services with programmed reminders for medications and treatments.
Search for every grant opportunity you can apply for to help enhance your services. Improving mental health, safety, security, and PREA compliance through grants is a beneficial opportunity for facilities available from federal, state, and non-profit organizations.
5. Medical Provider
Medical provider contracts are typically the most expensive contract or expense for a facility but are a critical service. Adding an enhanced documentation service like an electronic medical record or medication management software is an excellent investment to improve the accountability and efficiency of medical services. However, the key in detention lawsuits is usually due to the lack of medical care.
When medical providers are working in a correctional facility, they need to have access to custody and behavior records that are documented by staff. The communication between security and medical needs to be seamless and as detailed as possible. Developing an integration between medical and mental health records with notations and referrals from security operations helps reduce the facility’s liability and enhances the health care provided to inmates. When this approach is taken and added to contracted medical services, your facility will operate as One Team with One Mission.
Securing Funds for Your Corrections Facility
Most states prefer for their Sheriff to control the inmate benefit fund account, as he or she usually knows best what can be spent on programs and services for the benefit of the inmates. These benefits are commonly categorized into programs, safety, and security. Making sure the account and spending practices are done transparently is equally as essential as the ability to solve the problems that occur with these funds. A best practice is to have a standard procedure for approvals to include a review outside of the Sheriff’s office by the auditor or purchasing agent, and of course, keeping a record of all expenses.
Many states prefer that the Sheriff oversees the inmate benefit fund account, as they are typically best positioned to determine how funds should be allocated for inmate programs and services. These benefits generally fall into categories such as programs, safety, and security. It is crucial not only to manage the account and spending practices transparently but also to address any issues that arise with these funds effectively. A recommended practice is to implement a standard approval procedure that includes an external review by an auditor or purchasing agent, alongside meticulous record-keeping of all expenses.
Former Sheriff and current U.S. Congressman Troy Nehls once advised Quam to focus on planning, purchasing, and implementing the highest-quality programs and services possible. Nehls emphasized that investing in high-quality solutions upfront is often more cost-effective than opting for cheaper alternatives that might require additional expenditure to correct mistakes later. By following these guidelines, you can enhance your efforts to fund projects that will improve the lives of both inmates and staff at your facility.
Managing a jail facility's budget presents unique challenges while simultaneously offering several avenues for potential savings and additional funding. From leveraging commissary services and inmate communication technologies to fostering strong relationships with the public and exploring grant opportunities, correctional facilities have multiple available strategies to improve their financial efficiency. By staying proactive and adaptable, facilities can navigate budgetary challenges more effectively and ultimately contribute to a safer, more efficient environment for both staff and inmates. Remember, it's not just about managing costs—it's about investing in the long-term success and sustainability of your facility.
