The New Year Brings New Negotiations, Downsizing
We are about halfway into January of the new year and there have already been a few significant internal actions taken across the board of prison vendors. I will review these moves, both awards and retractions.
The Bureau of Prisons endorsed CCA to continue operating the Cibola County Corrections Center in Milan, New Mexico. This facility houses 1,204 adult male immigrant offenders. Additionally, CCA's contract to operate the 2,304-bed California City Correctional Center was dropped. These contract moves are in regards to the BOP's "Criminal Alien Requirement 10," which states that both of these facilities shall be operated by private vendors which must meet the BOP standards of detention. CCA president, Damon Hininger, had this to say about the moves: "We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Federal Bureau of Prisons at our Cibola County Corrections Center, and are obviously very disappointed that our California City Correctional Center was not selected for the continued management of BOP inmates. The BOP is a long-standing valued partner of ours and we will work with them to ensure a smooth transition out of our California City facility" (CNN). Hininger then continued to claim that the decision to revoke the California contract was due to "federal wage determination costs," rather than to their performance — the same reason everyone gives when they lose a contract.
The LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, Louisiana has reported that they will cut their staff by 22% from 244 employees to 191. Additionally, this reduction in staff size will reduce the amount of immigrants held in the facility, from 1,160 to 576 (Jena Times). The GEO Group attributed this downsizing to "the economy" and claimed it would be a short-lived problem. There is no word yet as to how this will affect ICE.
Additionally, The BOP has endorsed Cornell Companies to house 2,507 immigrant detainees at their D. Ray James facility in Folkston, GA. The contract is effective October 2010, and prior to this time, Cornell Companies expects to spend up to $10 million to prepare for this influx of inmates (CNN).
Posted by Andrew Strong at 13 January 2010, 9:21 AM 
Categories: The GEO Group,CCA,Louisiana,New Mexico,California,immigrant detention,Georgia,Cornell Companies
Tags: The GEO Group contracts CCA private prison watch Cornell Companies private prisons
Categories: The GEO Group,CCA,Louisiana,New Mexico,California,immigrant detention,Georgia,Cornell Companies
Tags: The GEO Group contracts CCA private prison watch Cornell Companies private prisons
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