Louisiana Voice

From April 2017 to January 2021, the Louisiana Department of Corrections (DOC), six state-run prisons and Prison Enterprises shelled out more than $171,000 on accreditation fees and to send DOC headquarters personnel to conferences in Minneapolis, St. Louis, Orlando, Boston, San Diego and New Orleans, according to records obtained from DOC by LouisianaVoice.

Those conferences were hosted by an organization that purports to be, simultaneously, a prison accreditation organization acting in both an oversight capacity and a lobbyist on behalf of the burgeoning prison industry.

The American Correctional Association (ACA) is an organization riddled with conflicts of interest, lacks transparency, and is subject to zero accountability even though millions in taxpayer dollars to flow to the ACA and private prison companies, according to a US SENATE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT spearheaded by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts).

“…[V]irtually all private prison companies that pay the required fees are accredited, no matter how bad conditions may be at a facility,” the report says. “This appears to be because the accreditation tests themselves are designed to make it nearly impossible for facilities to fail.

Ken Pastorick, communications director for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. said DOC does not see the accreditation process as a rubber stamp. “It (accreditation) is a very thorough review of our facilities,” he said. “We look at this as an opportunity to continue to improve all aspects of the Department including our facilities, programming and training.”

“The first step in the accreditation process is for facilities to conduct a ‘self-evaluation report,’ judging themselves on whether their ‘levels of expected compliance are sufficient for accreditation,’ and reporting the results to ACA accreditors. Facilities also self-report ‘significant incidents.’ The contents of these reports are not disclosed to the public or any ‘external parties.’

“Next, a facility must request an audit. When the ACA conducts an audit, it evaluates a facility for compliance with the ACA’s mandatory and non-mandatory standards. But the ACA grants facilities three months advance notice of an audit, allowing facilities to prepare before inspectors arrive. The ACA also provides facilities with ‘technical assistance,’ including ‘standards checklists’ and an ‘audit readiness evaluation’ that help facilities know when to schedule its audit – essentially, providing the answers to the test in advance. And, at a facility’s request, the ACA will conduct a ‘mock audit’ to help the facility prepare for the actual audit. When the audit is complete, inspectors file a report with its findings.

Pastorick defended the mock audits, saying that the ACA, like other professional organizations, “offers ongoing technical assistance which includes preparation in advance of the audit.”

He said Louisiana’s state-run prisons are audited once every three years. “The prisons schedule these audits ahead of time with ACA in order for the Department to have the appropriate staff on site to answer questions as well as pull together the required three years of audit documentation that demonstrates the prison’s compliance with the standards. For example, tool control, we provide auditors policies, daily inventory sheets, check in/out sheets, and lost tool forms. The audit is much more than just a visual inspection of the facility, it involves detailed reviews of years of documentation which show the prison is doing what is required to meet or exceed the national standards. In addition, advance notice allows the ACA to plan travel and schedule independent auditors who are auditing multiple states. The audit ensures compliance with accreditation standards and improved conditions for inmates and for the staff who work in our facilities, which ultimately makes our communities safer. The ACA helps correct any deficiencies and improve corrections programs around the country. Notice of the upcoming audit is posted publicly, allowing Louisiana residents the opportunity to communicate with ACA about the audit and concerns within the institution.”

Even if problems persist despite these ample opportunities to fix – or hide – them, the ACA Commissioners can completely ignore the audit results and allow a facility to receive accreditation even if it fails to meet minimum standards, rendering the standards toothless, the report says.

Finally, a 30-member Commission on Accreditations for Corrections (CAC) makes the final decision on whether or not to accredit a facility. The process for making this decision is secret. Accreditation decisions do not include a public justification, and while inspections result in a report for CAC staff, that report is not made public. The ACA “does not disclose… specific information in the [facility’s] self-evaluation report, visiting committee report…or information discussed in the hearing.” This closed-door process makes it essentially impossible to comprehend the basis of the CAC’s ultimate decision.

Obviously, with such a self-serving system, accreditation does not mean a facility is free of problems. Far from it. At Adams County Correctional Facility near Natchez, Mississippi, a correctional officer was killed and 20 people were injured when 250 incarcerated individuals rioted in 2012 due to the low quality of food and medical care, and poor treatment from prison staff. But Adams received ACA accreditation in January 2011 and re-accreditation in January 2014 and August 2016.

Having said that, it might be interesting to see what eight state-run prisons, the DOC Central Office, the adult Probation and Parole, Prison Enterprises and the Parole Board scored on their most recent accreditations. Each entity is listed for its audit date, final score and next anticipated audit date:

• Allen Correctional Center (Kinder, LA): October 2019 – 99.8 percent/Fall 2022;
• Dixon Correctional Institute (Jackson, LA): May 2017 – 99.3 percent/Spring 2020 TBD*;
• David Wade Correctional Center (Claiborne Parish, LA): April 2019 – 98.8 percent/Spring 2022;
• Elayn Hunt Correctional Center (St. Gabriel, LA): July 2017 – 99.3 percent/Summer 2020 TBD*;
• Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (St. Gabriel): July 2014 – 99.5 percent/TBD (flood);
• Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola, LA): August 2019 – 99.32 percent/Fall 2022;
• Louisiana State Penitentiary Training Academy: August 2019 – 100 percent/Fall 2022;
• Rayburn Correctional Center (Washington Parish, LA): May 2017 – 99.1 percent/Spring 2020 TBD*;
• Raymond Laborde Correctional Center (Avoyelles Parish); October 2019 -99.5 percent/Fall 2022;
• Parole Board (Baton Rouge, LA): August 2018 – 96.6 percent/Summer 2021;
• DOC Central Office (Baton Rouge, LA): October 2019 – 100 percent/Fall 2022;
• Pardons and Parole (Baton Rouge, LA): March 2019 – 100 percent/Spring 2022;
• Prison Enterprises (Baton Rouge, LA): October 2019 – 100 percent/Fall 2022.

*Covid pandemic mandated changes to schedule.

Pastorick was asked if any DOC facility had ever received a failing grade – or even a grade below 98 percent but his answer did not address that specific question, choosing instead to reiterate his earlier contention that other professions, like DOC, pay for accreditations.

The breakdown of accreditation fees and the fiscal years paid for Louisiana facilities, according to figures provided by DOC, is as follows:

• Department of Corrections headquarters: $10,500 (FY 2020-21);
• Elayn Hunt Correctional Center: $12,577 (FY 2017-18);
• Dixon Correctional Center: $3,226 (FY 2020-21);
• Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola: $9,300 (FY 2018-19);
• Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola: $10,875 (FY 2019-20);
• Prison Enterprises: $3,532 (FY 2017-18);
• Rayburn Correctional Center: $1,080 (FY 2020-21);
• Raymond Laborde Correctional Center: $1,600 (FY 2020-21);
• Allen Correctional Center: $878 (FY 2020-21).

Records provided by DOC indicated no fees paid by David Wade Correctional Center or the Parole Board and the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women certification occurred outside the timeframe for which LouisianaVoice requested records and in several instances the years in which fees were paid did not match up with the years of certifications.

The ACA holds annual conferences in major cities throughout the US. In January 2018, for example, it was held in New Orleans.

As a condition for ACA accreditation, a facility must be represented at one of those conferences, the Warren report claims. That is an assertion that Pastorick denies, though Louisiana officials do attend a lot of ACA conferences. That costs money over and above the fees paid by prisons for accreditation. Travel, registration fees, lodging and meals add up quickly. Pastorick denied that attendance at conferences is a condition of accreditation.

That 2018 New Orleans conference was especially costly because rather than the usual half-dozen or so who attended conferences in St. Louis, Minneapolis or Orlando, the Louisiana DOC sent 40 of its headquarters personnel to the Crescent City at a cost of $58,000.

What might raise some eyebrows, beside the inordinate number of representatives attending from Louisiana DOC, was the travel payments to several attendees who also substantial hotel bills.

DOC Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc, for example DOC paid $1,236 for five nights in the New Orleans Marriott hotel and LeBlanc was also reimbursed $453.80 for travel – a round trip of approximately 175-200 miles, according to records provided by DOC.

The CURRENT RATE allowed for lodging in New Orleans in January – rates vary, depending on the time of year – is $157 per night. LeBlanc exceeded that cap by $90 per night.

In addition to LeBlanc, eight employees cost the state between $1,024.81 and $1,236.10. They included Malcolm Myer ($1,024.81), Stacye Falgout ($1,063.92), D’Anna Lawton ($1,066.92), Natalie Laborde ($1,099), Rochelle Ambeau and Rhett Covington ($1,196.82 each), and Brenda Moates and Tanisha Matthews ($1,236.10 each).

Robert Vehock ($2,096.65) and Maghan Gagnard ($2,960) easily had the highest hotel bills of the 40 Louisiana DOCs in attendance, records show. Vehock was also reimbursed $196.17 for travel and Gagnard received $278.46 for travel.

Five other DOC employees who stayed in a hotel during the New Orleans conference also had travel expenses that exceeded $400. Those included Tanisha Matthews ($404.65), Tracy Rathbun ($462.70), Glynn Stassi ($478.70), Derek Ellis ($522), and Sheryl Ranatza ($543.36). Three more had hotel bills and accompanying travel expenses that exceeded $300. They were Theresa Blocker ($338.46), Brenda Moates ($341.46) and Heather Watson ($365.04).

With Baton Rouge and New Orleans only about 80 miles apart, there was no explanation as to why some attendees managed to have high mileage reimbursements while also staying overnight in New Orleans hotels.