Louisiana Voice

Sixteen separate humanitarian organizations in Louisiana and Mississippi have petitioned federal authorities to intervene in the manner in which nine Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-run detention facilities in the two states allow the gouging of detainees’ families of exorbitant taxi fares in lieu of available free transportation services for detainees upon their release.

The six-page letter by the organizations was addressed to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Katherine Culliton-González, Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, Acting Ombudsman David Gersten, Acting ICE Director Tae Johnson, Haiti Foundation Against Poverty Acting Assistant Director Todd Thurlow, Southern Poverty Law Center Interim Field Office Director Dianne Witte, Housing and Urban Development Deputy Field Office Director Curtis Davis, ICE Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer Quincy Hodges, ICE Assistant Field Office Director John Harnett, and Jena/Lasalle Detention Center Warden Shad Rice.

The text of the letter in its entirety is as follows:

We submit this complaint with grave concerns regarding the blatant violations of the ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011 regarding release protocols in Louisiana and Mississippi, causing serious harm to the well-being and safety of those being released.

The ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) 2011, with which all but one of the facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi are supposed to comply, clearly state the following expectations under the Admission and Release” section:

“The time, point and manner of release from a facility shall be consistent with safety considerations and shall take into account special vulnerabilities. Prior to release, the detainee shall be notified of the upcoming release and provided an opportunity to make a free phone call to facilitate release arrangements.

Facilities that are not within a reasonable walking distance of, or that are more than one mile from, public transportation shall transport detainees to local bus/train/subway stations prior to the time the last bus/train leaves such stations for the day.

If public transportation is within walking distance of the detention facility, detainees shall be provided with an information sheet that gives directions to and describes the types of transportation services available. However, facilities must provide transportation for any
detainee who is not reasonably able to walk to public transportation due to age, disability, illness, mental health or other vulnerability, or as a result of weather or other environmental conditions at the time of release that may endanger the health or safety of the detainee.

Detainees will be provided with a list of legal, medical, and social services that are available in the release community, and a list of shelter services available in the immediate area along with directions to each shelter.

Detainees will be released with one set of non-institutionalized, weather-appropriate clothing.” [emphasis added]

Not a single one of the nine ICE detention centers in Louisiana or in Mississippi are within walking distance of public transportation:

1. Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, Louisiana           
2. Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana

3. Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Jonesboro, Louisiana                    
4. South Louisiana Detention Center in Basile, Louisiana                
5. Richwood Correctional Center in Richwood, Louisiana                           
6. Pine Prairie Correctional Center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana          
7. River Correctional Center in Ferriday, Louisiana                                       
8. Allen Parish Public Safety Complex in Oberlin, Louisiana.

9. Adams County Detention Center in Natchez, Mississippi.

To be in compliance with the ICE PBNDS 2011, all of these detention centers should be providing free and safe transportation to the nearest public transportation center for every individual released from detention, before the last transport from that transportation hub is scheduled for the day.

Furthermore, on March 27, 2020, in response to growing concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Executive Associate Director Enrique Lucero issued a memorandum on a COVID-19 “Action Plan” to all ICE detention wardens and superintendents. According to the memo, facilities are further instructed to:

●“facilitate safe transport, continued shelter, and medical care, as part of release planning,”
●“provide information regarding any potential community resources to promote continuity of care,” and
●“facilitate transportation coordination through a family or friend.”

Despite the clear guidance laid out by the PBNDS 2011 and the 2020 COVID-19 Action Plan, the ICE detention centers in Louisiana and Mississippi have demonstrated a total disregard for standards compliance and basic public health. We have documented undue hardship, anxiety, and
danger for immigrants and their families due to this negligence.

Since March 2021, Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention have documented a substantial increase in the following types of dangerous releases being reported to us:

●Dozens of individuals have reported to us that they have been released from ICE detention without first having an opportunity to contact their families to inform them of their current location, impending release, and to communicate with them about arrangements made for their travel.

●In several instances, individuals have been left waiting for hours or overnight in a detention center lobby or outside the detention center without being able to contact anyone, and were unable to communicate with the detention center staff due to unavailability or language barriers.

For example, ICE release papers (available only in English) at Jackson Parish Correctional Center (as pictured above) blatantly lie to detained individuals and state that the detention center will provide transportation for released individuals to Monroe, when in reality this has not been documented once in the past year. This document also asks obligors to purchase bus tickets from Ruston Greyhound station, which is in fact permanently closed. Individuals being released
from Jackson Parish are in fact told by staff that they must pay for a taxi or have someone drive to pick them up.

●ICE and its contractors have been providing incorrect or misleading information regarding private paid transportation upon release.

○Individuals and their families have been told by the officials arranging their release that they would not be released unless they paid for a taxi, even if detention facility documents state otherwise (see photograph). Eight of the nine ICE detention centers that we monitor in Louisiana and Mississippi currently “require” that detained individuals, their families, or sponsors pay an average of $200-$300 for a taxi to the nearest city with an airport or bus station if they do not have someone who can drive directly to the detention center to pick them up.

There is at least one documented instance in which an individual was forced to pay $600 due to “wait time” caused by the delay in their release.

Individuals being released from the ninth detention center, Richwood Correctional Center, are also forced to pay for taxis.

○Some individuals have been asked by ICE officials arranging their release if they want to take a taxi without being provided information about the cost of a taxi or where it would take them.

○Taxis have been called for individuals who do not have the money to pay for them, without their families first being contacted.

●There are numerous safety and financial concerns relying upon private paid
transportation upon release.

○Taxi drivers have left Individuals stranded at airports that close overnight.

○Sponsors have been required to demonstrate to ICE that they had purchased a plane ticket in order for the individual to be released, but then the individual misses the flight because they are not released on the day that the flight was purchased for.

●Individuals have been released without critical documentation and/or medications, again in blatant violation of the PBNDS 2011:

○Individuals have not been given the necessary paperwork by ICE to be able to pass through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to take a flight home, or the quality of the photographs in their paperwork are considered by TSA to be too low quality for acceptance.

○Individuals have been released without the results of their most recent COVID-19 tests.

○Individuals, including ones with mental health or psychiatric disabilities, have been released without their prescribed daily medication.

○At least four individuals who have either an intellectual disability or a serious mental health condition have been released without the required post release plan for continuity of care. One of those four individuals was dropped off at a bus station without money or a phone, without his friends, family, or our volunteer group being notified.

●In response to these contraventions of ICE detention standards, local community volunteers are driving hours every day, sometimes up to 18 hours a day, to pick up individuals being released from detention. However, despite our greatest efforts, local community volunteers are woefully unable to facilitate safe transportation for every individual who is being released, and in any case, it is ICE’s clear-cut responsibility to do so per the PBNDS 2011.

○There have been several instances when volunteers have arrived at a detention center to learn that individuals who were told they would be released that day are not in fact being released that day.

As a contrast, in several other states, other ICE field offices are closer to compliance with the PBNDS 2011 regarding release protocols, with the result that released individuals are transported either to a public transportation station or to a shelter run by a local nonprofit that provides services:

– In Arizona, individuals released from Eloy Detention Center and La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy and the Florence Service Processing Center and Florence Correctional Center in Florence are transported to the Phoenix bus station or to the International Rescue Committee shelter in Phoenix.

– In Georgia, individuals released from Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin are transported to either Columbus, which has a bus station, or Atlanta, which has a bus station and an airport.

– In Texas, individuals released from South Texas Residential Center in Dilley, Karnes City Residential Center in Karnes City, and South Texas Detention Center in Pearsall are transported to the San Antonio bus station or airport.

– In California, individuals released from Otay Mesa Detention Facility in San Diego are transported to the San Ysidro transit station.

– In Nevada, individuals released from the Nevada Southern Detention Center and the Nye County Jail in Pahrump are transported to Las Vegas.

We demand that the ICE New Orleans Field Office take immediate steps to ensure compliance by all ICE detention centers under its jurisdiction with the post-release transportation responsibilities outlined in the ICE PBNDS 2011 and the 2020 COVID-19 Action Plan. This would entail:

●requiring facility staff to provide humane, ethical and safe transportation to individuals being released, to either a full-service bus station or an airport;

●providing access to interpreters and translated materials to inform them of their post-release transportation options and during the entire release process

●facilitating free communication with families or sponsors about releases prior to their happening.

●There should also be public, accessible materials outlining the post-release transportation options for each of the nine detention facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention volunteers are willing to coordinate with ICE to meet released immigrants at the airports and full-service bus stations to provide post release services and assist individuals in making their travel arrangements, particularly those without funds or those who have special vulnerabilities.

●For the well-being and security of individuals being released, we urge ICE to engage in regular and transparent communications with Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention and other local immigrant rights groups about the timing and volume of releases so that these groups can provide post release support, coordinate with out-of-state families and sponsors, and help facilitate safe transportation.

For example, at the Alexandria “bus station”, which is located in a laundromat, immigrants are not able to get the tickets that their families purchased for them printed out. Many of the “bus stations” have very limited hours or do not have onsite staff. In contrast, the Shreveport, Baton Rouge and New Orleans bus stations are considered “full-service.”

We request a response to these demands by July 30, 2021, and expect the ICE New Orleans Field Office to ensure that free, safe and secure transportation is readily available to all individuals being released from detention in Louisiana and Mississippi by August 13, 2021.

Sincerely,

Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention (LA-AID)
A Community Voice – Louisiana Asylum Seekers Sponsorship Project
Casa de Paz
Casa Marianella
Church for the Highlands (Shreveport, Louisiana)
Contigo – Mountain Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Freedom for Immigrants
Haitian Bridge Alliance
Home is Here NOLA
ISLA (Immigration Services & Legacy Advocacy)
Justice and Beyond Coalition
Natchez Network
Northminster Church LA-AID (Monroe, Louisiana)
Southern Poverty Law Center
Transition to Freedom Ministry (Eunice, Louisiana)
Voces Unidas: Louisiana Immigrants’ Rights Coalition

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Co·er·cion

/kōˈərZHən,kōˈərSHən/

noun

1. the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.

Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention (LA-AID) is a volunteer organization that works with eight Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in Louisiana and one in Adams County, Mississippi. Among the services is provides is free transportation to bus stations and airports – and when necessary, housing and food – for detainees upon their release from one of the facilities.

Included in the ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) operations manual of 2011 (and amended several times since then) is a section entitled “Releases or Removals.

Among the procedures outlined in the manual is one that says the detainee “shall be permitted to change into his or her own clothing in a private part of the processing area, within earshot but not eyeshot” where the facility staff “shall instruct the detainee to remove all facility-issued clothing and to dress in his/her personal clothing.”

The manual further stipulates that “Facilities that are not within a reasonable walking distance of, or that are more than one mile from, public transportation shall transport detainees to local bus/train/subway stations prior to the time the last bus/train leaves such stations for the day.”

LA-AID provides free transportation for many of these detainees. Other are not so fortunate.

“Detainees,” the manual goes on to say, “will be provided with a list of legal, medical, and social services that are available in the release community, and a list of shelter services available in the immediate area along with directions to each shelter. Detainees will be released with one set of non-institutionalized, weather-appropriate clothing.”

On many occasions, however, detainees are not given their personal clothing back and are released still wearing institutional clothing. Moreover, they are not always wearing “weather-appropriate” clothing. Some, like those release earlier this year were released in near-freezing temperatures in T-shirts. If they receive “appropriate” clothing, it is often provided by volunteer groups like LA-AID, not ICE or the private prison company that runs the facility.

Detainees are often dropped off at bus stations long after the stations have already closed for the night and the detainees are left to their own devices, often not even knowing what city they are in. Recently, officials at the airport in Alexandria, realizing about 50 detainees would have to otherwise sleep on the sidewalk outside the airport, allowed it to remain open all night so they could sleep inside.

Even more disgraceful, most are told that they must use taxi services or they will not be released, a clear violation of several regulations and a practice that is clearly coercion and intimidation.

Exploitation

ex·​ploi·​ta·​tion | \ ˌek-ˌsplȯi-ˈtā-shən

noun

1. the act of selfishly taking advantage of someone or a group of people in order to profit from them or otherwise benefit oneself.

Taxis, waiting like vultures, literally poach fares from LA-AID. In contrast to the free service provided by LA-AID, taxis charge $200, $300, $400 – whatever they can get out of the unsuspecting and uninformed victims of what has become a practice of mass exploitation.

The way the system works, prison officials will contact a detainee’s family with instructions to deposit the money into the detainee’s commissary account at the detention center. Nor are the taxis from the immediate community. One company in Opelousas, for example, routinely picks up detainees as they are released from Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Jonesboro, 140 miles to the north.

When LouisianaVoice inquired of Vinson Taxi Cabs in Opelousas the cost of transporting a detainee from Jonesboro to the bus station in Shreveport, we were told the cost would be $400 – per person. That would be a round trip of about 430 miles. Land and Drive Transport of Shreveport quoted us a price of $275 for the 150-mile round trip.

When the owner of Land and Drive was asked if he had a contract with the facility or with ICE, he said there was no contract. “It’s just the luck of the draw,” he said. “I guess they have my name on a list and they call me when my name comes up.”

Lawrence Higginbotham of Ruston who volunteers with LA-AID, said he was scheduled to pick up three detainees at the all-female Jackson Parish Correctional Center. “One of the women got into my car and was trying to call out to the others who were getting into a taxi,” he said. “I went over to tell the guy he was picking up my riders but he refused to give them up.”

Higginbotham pointed out another potential major problem. “At Winn Correctional Center (in Winnfield), they only let one car at a time inside the gate and the driver has to know the name of the detainee and his number before they’ll let them pick him up. At Jackson, which is all-female, there is no one to check on the drivers’ credentials and the women are all released at one time to get by the best they can. Some of these women are young and attractive. It’s a recipe for human trafficking,” he said.

Elisabeth Grant-Gibson of Natchez agreed, but added that the threat of human trafficking wasn’t limited to females. “Some of the male detainees are young and attractive, too,” she said. “They’re vulnerable, as well.”

Grant-Gibson related an incident in which one detainee took a taxi thinking he was getting a free ride from a volunteer organization only to be dumped unceremoniously in Alexandria with no money, no phone, no place to stay and unaware of where he was.

Greed

/ɡrēd/

noun

1. intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food.

In another case, a taxi service from Alexandria picked up three detainees from Richwood Correctional Center and delivered them to the Monroe bus station, less then 10 miles away – for $200 per passenger.

Is someone inside these facilities taking a cut from the taxi companies? It’s impossible to say, but it certainly wouldn’t be at all surprising. From all appearances, we have a situation where an opportunity has presented itself to unscrupulous individuals who have no compunctions about taking advantage of helpless people.

When helpless people are coerced into taking a taxi in lieu of the free transportation from volunteers and are charged extortion-like prices, that’s a motivation anchored in pure greed.

It might be appropriate at this point to identify the private prison companies who operate these facilities in conjunction with ICE.

Our old friend, LaSalle Corrections of Ruston runs four of the facilities. Three were named earlier: Jackson (capacity 1,252), Winn (1,576) and Richwood (1,129). The fourth is River Correctional Center in Ferriday (cap. 602).

GEO Group operates Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena (1,000), South Louisiana Detention Center in Basile (1,000), and Pine Prairie Correctional Center in Pine Prairie (1,094).

As far as can be determined, the sheriff of Allen Parish runs the Allen Parish Public Safety Complex in Oberlin (200) and CoreCivic operates Adams County Detention Center in Natchez (2,567).

Altogether, the total capacity of the nine facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi is 10,420. Nationally, ICE maintains about 34,000 beds even though in 2019, ICE’s daily detained population exceeded 52,000. When you multiply that by the fees charged by the taxi services, you’re talking about substantial rip-offs.

Taking that even further, figures released in April indicated that ICE has cumulatively held more than 138,000 DETAINEES, continuing to book an average of about 8,400 per month – even as public health experts have repeatedly called for the release of detainees.

That’s potential for greed and that greed, in turn, encourages coercion and exploitation on a grand scale.

Scam

/skam/

noun

1. a dishonest scheme; a fraud.

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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.

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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).

The Accreditation Con: A Broken Prison and Detention Facility Accreditation System that Puts Profits Over People is a 16-page indictment of ACA, which the report says is little more than a rubber stamp for accreditation that “has two primary and conflicting functions: accreditor and trade association.

“The ACA acts as both a representative of private prisons and a guarantor of their quality, presenting an irreconcilable conflict of interest,” the report says.

Not so, says Ken Pastorick, communications director for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

“There is not a conflict of interest,” he said “The accreditation is based upon reaching an objective set of national standards. The audit is performed by independent corrections experts from other states who are not ACA employees. ACA provides the accreditation service to correctional organizations and appears before congress or state or local legislatures if they are asked on specific subjects that relate to corrections.” 

As an accreditor, the ACA is responsible for providing prisons and detention facilities with a stamp of approval that is often required by their contracts with federal, state, and local governments. At the same time, the association serves as the primary lobbyist for private prisons – acting as the “the voice for corrections” The ACA relies on fees paid by corrections facilities it accredits for a large chunk of its revenue, the report says.

Documents obtained as part of the investigation reveal that, from 2014 to 2018, the ACA received over $48 million in revenue. Almost half of that amount – $21.9 million – came from accreditation fees and payments. The ACA receives millions in accreditation fees from federal, state, and local governments as well as private prisons and detention facilities.

The ACA Board of Governors includes representatives from the private prison industry, the report pointed out. The Executive Committee includes Derrick Schofield, who also serves as an Executive Vice President at GEO, and Gary Mohr, a former consultant and managing director for CoreCivic. The Standards Committee also includes “one [member] each from GEO and CoreCivic,” and the former Chair of the Standards Committee, Harley G. Lappin, is now a member of the Board of Directors at CoreCivic. Moreover, the CAC includes a Managing Director of Operations for CoreCivic and GEO’s Reentry In-Prison Treatment Vice President.

Indeed, one of ACA’s past presidents is RICHARD STALDER who served in that capacity in 1993 while he also was the Louisiana DOC secretary. Simply put, he was president of the organization that was responsible for the accreditation of Louisiana prison facilities his state agency ran.

Pastorick, who noted there is no pay for service on the commission, defended the practice. “ACA members who are corrections professionals are eligible to run for these positions, and they are elected by ACA membership. Elected individuals sign conflict of interest statements. Commission on Accreditation members do not play a role in the accreditation of their own institutions.”

But Stalder once canceled spending on psychiatric counseling for troubled teens so that he could give out $2.7 million in raises to his staff.

Pastorick pointed out that in the early 1990s, federal judge Frank Polozola signed an order removing David Wade Correctional Center from federal oversight following an ACA accreditation. “In the years to follow, as other DOC institutions met the national standards and became ACA accredited, the Federal Judge removed those facilities from Federal oversight,” he said. “So yes, being ACA accredited is a prudent investment for the taxpayers of Louisiana. Using a national set of standards is a way to maintain a prison system in a constitutional manner.”

In 1998, however, the Jena Juvenile Center came under fire for widespread problems, including a near-riot, poor teaching and security and physical abuse and in 1999 the juvenile facility in Tallulah was taken under state control after five years of repeated problems with private ownership despite its having received accreditation and a positive report only six months earlier from ACA and Stalder.

Stalder rejected all the claims, saying that he and his staff deserved “a pat on the back,” but in June of 1995, Federal Judge Frank Polozola criticized Stalder for the way in which he ran the state prison system.

In 1995, the ACA accredited all 12 prisons in Louisiana, passing the last two with scores of 100. That year, more than 125 prisoners sued Stalder for mistreatment within the prisons. Meanwhile, only a month after Angola prison of Louisiana was accredited, it was reported by The Baton Rouge Advocate that around $32 million was needed for repairs so the prison could meet safety requirements.

Today, there are only eight state-run prisons in Louisiana. C. Paul Phelps Correctional Cener, Forcht-Wade Correctional Center and J. Levy Dabadie Correctional Center all closed in 2012 and Steve Hoyle Rehabilitation Center was relocated in the Bossier Parish Correctional Center.

Besides the eight state-run prisons, there are three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers in Louisiana: LaSalle Detention facility in Jena, South Louisiana Correctional Center in Basile and an ICE Processing Center in Pine Prairie. The facilities in Jena and Basile are run by GEO.

ICE has its own detention standards, but the agency incorporates many ACA practices and requirements into its detention standards for single adults, the report says. And while ICE does not require ACA accreditation, it does “encourage” it, which helps to funnel additional money into the ACA coffers through private contract facilities.

Private prison companies rely on accreditation for access to generous government contracts and as a shield against claims that their facilities lack critical safeguards. CoreCivic, GEO, and MTC refer to their facilities’ ACA accreditation scores in response to negative reports.

LaSalle Corrections, a private prison company headquartered in Ruston which has experienced numerous problems with its facilities, operates 20 private prisons in four states, including five in Louisiana.

The accreditation standards are established by the ACA with no oversight by government agencies, and the organization basically sells accreditation by charging fees ranging from $8,100 to $19,500, depending on the number of days and auditors involved and the number of facilities being accredited.

“Every organization that does accreditation charges fees,” Pastorick said. “All Hospitals are accredited by Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation, and they charge for accreditation. Police Departments are accredited by Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, and they charge as well. Colleges and universities and crime labs are also accredited by organizations, and they are charged to be evaluated and accredited. We’re not the only operation that finds value in ongoing peer/commission review.” 

Perhaps it is only coincidence that LeBlanc served as a member of the ACA’s Commission on Accreditation for Corrections in 2016 or that then-Angola Warden Burl Cain is still listed as a member of  ACA’s Executive Committee that same year.

“The ACA’s accreditation process lacks rigor, ignores serious health and safety problems, and acts as a rubber stamp for private prisons and detention facilities,” the report says, and there is little reason to think it’s any different for government-run facilities.

Tomorrow: What to state facilities pay to receive ACA accreditation?

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