Budget Plan
Introduction
As the newly appointed commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, my duty is to ensure that the goal of promoting public safety is effectively met. I have a responsibility to manage the offenders whereby, I should ensure that appropriate care is provided. I have to ensure that effective programs are in place that will prepare the inmates to have a successful reentry into society once they are released. The entire of America has close to 2.3 million people serving terms in correctional centers (Wagner, & Rabuy, 2016). The DOC happens to be the largest agency in the state of Massachusetts. A cut on the budget allocation to manage the agency will require a cut in a lot of many other services provided. It will, therefore, be necessary to come up with a plan that will help the DOC team to effectively carry out the changes while still maintain order and public safety. Changes will have to be made within the staffing department, the security sector, the rehabilitation programs, and also within the reentry services provided. It will, therefore, be necessary to work closely with the financial managers that will help analyze the impact that the decision will cause on the agency. We will be able to identify whether the budget areas under target are suitable or not.
Staffing is a very important element within any correctional facility. It is all-inclusive from probation officers to healthcare providers, to security guards, and every other worker that provides services to the facilities. It is necessary that the correctional facilities have a high number of workers to facilitate the rehabilitation process given the overcrowding associated with most of these facilities. However, it takes a high amount of resources to sustain the workers. Instead of having all the employees that work for the agency, we could bring the number lower by minimizing the healthcare workers. However, it will require that we provide a safe environment for the inmates to prevent the acquisition of diseases and injuries which increases the need for healthcare services. As the commissioner in charge, the agency shall no longer take in an offender with health problems. The state should ensure that the inmate receives healthcare services before being brought into any of our correctional facilities. The move will prevent the spread of the disease to other inmates, in the case, it is communicable hence minimizing the need for unnecessary healthcare staff. Secondly, the facility will not admit any inmate with mental illness as they are a danger to other inmates and may inflict physical harm which will require healthcare services. The condition of the mentally ill patient may also worsen given the violent nature of the correctional centers which will further lead to the demand of more specialized and costly healthcare services. Instead, mentally ill offenders will be redirected to mental health rehabilitation centers.
Opening up doors to more rehabilitation programs will help minimize overcrowding at the correctional facilities. Consequently, the expenditure will go down according and we will be able to provide safe services within the cut budget. Examples of alternative incarceration programs include drug and alcohol abuse rehabilitation facilities, child rehabilitation service, community service programs, and also mental health facilities (Schiraldi, 2018). Having offenders of all nature within one correctional department will require specialized staff and specialized training facilities which will only end up to the high cost of parole. Petty and first-time offenders, as well as child offenders, will be taken to community service instead of being incarcerated. Secondly, children convicted with high order offenses will be taken to juvenile prisons that are well designed to take care of child offender instead of having more inclusive services at our correctional centers that will only consume finances. Drug abusers may fail to cope in an ordinary correctional facility which will require the agency to allocate an extra budget to give them a specialized type of care. Having them sent that caters to their special need will facilitate our effort to cut on expenditure and work with the budget that we now have to ensure public safety. Besides, mentally ill patients and drug addicts are better prepared for reentry into the society at the rehabilitation centers more than they would at the ordinary correctional centers.
Reentry into the community after a period of incarceration is a process and not a one-day event. Many ex-inmates find themselves back into prison within the first few months after they have been released (Berghuis, 2018). It takes the efforts of the correctional facility, the inmates, and the community to facilitate successful reentry. When cases such as recidivism occur, the correctional facilities are forced to expand their budget to take in the offenders. The second offenses may require them to stay incarcerated longer than the previous time which will mean more cost for the correctional agency. The department, therefore, plans to ensure that inmates are well prepared for reentry to society. I will ensure that the inmates are well equipped with adequate knowledge and skills related to their field of interest like sports, masonry, in that once they are back to the community, they will be able to earn a decent living and avoid crime. I will also ensure that the community, and especially employers are well prepared to take the ex-convicts back to society. Media sensitization is my focus as it will reach a vast number of people in a short period. The failure of employers to admit ex-convicts to the workplaces largely contribute to the recidivism. I do believe that having the inmates well received into the community will enable us to minimize the population in our correctional facilities and consequently, the budget will be roughly enough to facilitate our services.
Security is very important within the correctional centers to prevent violence and cases where inmates break out to cause more trouble to the community. Hiring many security officers that will require salaries at the end of the month will only add to the budget that we are trying to minimize. One of the solutions that the department will take is to reduce the number of security officers. That will definitely cut down on the budget. Secondly, the department will install surveillance cameras at the main entrances and within the cells to monitor the movement of the inmates. Only a few security persons will be hired to manage the CCTVs in monitoring the movements and ensuring that the cameras are in place and functional. The installation may be costly at first, but in subsequent times, we will not have to pay as many salaries as we have been doing.
Conclusion
The community feels threatened to know that an offender is at loose and that is why there are correctional facilities. Reducing our staffing population by substituting the inmates to different rehabilitation programs will enable us to provide safety at a minimal budget. We need the community members to be receptive of the ex-inmate to avoid being incarcerated again which will only lead to unnecessary expenditure. As the commissioner, I feel the need to make use of the CCTV technology to enhance security at the correctional center which will cost less than hiring many security officers. The Massachusetts Department of Corrections and parole will ensure that the public is safe despite having to work under a cut budget.
References
Berghuis, M. (2018). Reentry programs for adult male offender recidivism and reintegration: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, 62(14), 4655-4676.
Schiraldi, V. N. (2018). Too big to succeed: The impact of the growth of community corrections and what should be done about it.
Wagner, P., & Rabuy, B. (2016). Mass incarceration: The whole pie 2016. Prison Policy Initiative, 14.
