The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) supervises over 95,000 inmates in 145 facilities across the state, with the oldest currently operating facility built in 1913. The types of FDC facilities are diverse in terms of size and the types of inmates that can be housed within each facility. FDC facilities range from small facilities that house minimum custody inmates who are assigned to community work squads to large institutions that have many different facility missions within one perimeter, such as housing death row and a faith and character dorm in one compound.
FDC also uses specific facilities to respond to inmate physical and mental health needs. Some inmates require intensive medical treatment while incarcerated and these inmates are housed at one of twenty facilities that can handle their health needs. Other inmates require specialized mental health care and are spread out in a continuum of mental health care placements across the state. In order to accommodate changing inmate populations, the department has closed, re-opened, remodeled, and built new facilities based on its housing needs.
Operating and maintenance costs are reflected in per diems and recent appropriations for repairs and renovations. The cost to operate correctional facilities includes many factors, such as security staffing and infrastructure, facility upkeep, and costs related to programming, such as inmate education.
We provide considerations for consolidating facilities into existing facilities and consolidating into newly constructed facilities, both of which have been used by other states to manage their prison populations. This includes information on projected inmate growth, past FDC facility closures and new construction, and new construction costs. Additionally, we identify examples of facilities that could be consolidated into existing facilities and facilities that have room for expansion through new construction.
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