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- Report
- Introduction
- Accomplishments & Initiatives
- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
- Development of the FY10-14 Capital Investment Plan
- Affordability & Fiscal Responsibility
- Aggregate FY10-14 Capital Investment Plan
- Capital Investments by Investment Category
- Appendix A - Debt Affordability Analysis
- Appendix B - Bond Bills
- Appendix C - Project Listing (xls)
- Appendix D - Project Descriptions (pdf)
- Plan by Investment
- Plan by Capital Agency
- Plan by Beneficiary Agency
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Corrections
The Department of Corrections operates 18 institutions with five security levels ranging from contract pre-release to maximum security. These facilities house over 10,000 criminally sentenced inmates in the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, 650 incarcerated as civil offenders and 575 pre-trial or awaiting trial offenders. The total custody overcrowding rate is approximately 140%. In addition to the correctional facilities managed by the Department of Corrections, the Commonwealth has eighteen jails, houses of correction and related correctional facilities located in fourteen Massachusetts counties and managed by county sheriffs.
The age of the correctional facilities and the changing needs of the prison population create significant systemic and capital facility challenges. To address these issues, the Patrick-Murray Administration initiated a system-wide master planning process which began in late 2007 and, as of the date of this report, is in the final draft stage and expected to be released soon. The master planning process has resulted in a complete assessment of the conditions and needs of the correctional system and makes recommendations with respect to programs and strategic capital investment opportunities for correctional facilities statewide. Although certain facilities have compelling needs when evaluated in isolation, it is critical that our limited capital investment resources be invested in a thoughtful and cost-effective manner to meet the programmatic demands and objectives of the entire correction system.
This master planning process and facility repairs (as opposed to new facility expansions) have been the primary focus since FY08. Funding in FY10 will commence the implementation of the master plan’s recommendations. The following chart shows the planned investments from all sources in correctional facilities from FY10-F14, as compared to projected FY09 spending for correctional facilities.
Highlights of FY10 spending for correctional facility improvements include:
$1.5 million will be invested to begin the implementation of the Corrections Master Plan upon its release, including funding studies and designs for the highest priority projects. As these projects move to the construction phase, funding levels increase over the course of the five-year plan.
Capital investments in FY10 are targeted to urgent repair needs, including $3 million and $6.5 million, respectively, for renovated water treatment plants at correctional facilities at Plymouth and Norfolk, and $1 million for improvements to inmate cells based on the recommendations of the Hayes Report.
$3.5 million in upgrades and renovations to Billerica correctional facilities to accommodate the relocation of the Middlesex County jail from the E.J. Sullivan Courthouse in Cambridge.
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