| Govenor's Recommended DOC Budget |
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Oregon Department of Corrections
2575 Center Street
Salem, OR 97301-4667
For Immediate Release: December 1, 2004
Contact: Perrin Damon, 503-945-0925
Governor’s Budget reflects growth in prison population
The 2005-2007 Governor’s Recommended Budget is guided by Governor Kulongoski’s six Oregon Principles, one of which is Public Safety.
The Governor´s Recommended Budget does not reflect any changes to sentencing laws. His budget recognizes that the prison population continues to grow as articulated in the October 1, 2004 prison population forecast (/DAS/OEA/docs/prison/prison1004.pdf) Accordingly, he has recommended continued investment in prison construction to accommodate that growth.
Included in the Governor’s Recommended Budget are operating funds for the opening of Warner Creek Correctional Facility in Lakeview (400-beds) and 100 beds that are being added to Shutter Creek Correctional Institution in North Bend. These are minimum-security beds.
Additionally, the budget includes funding through certificates of participation to build a 324-bed expansion (108 minimum and 216 medium) of Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville and 2,104 beds in Madras. Operating funds for the Coffee Creek expansion and 864 minimum beds in Madras are included in the 2005-2007 recommended budget.
The Governor’s Recommended Budget includes funding for the Department of Corrections’ programs that focus on effective transitioning of inmates back into Oregon’s communities. Approximately 95 percent of state prison inmates will eventually complete their sentences and return home. Mitigating their risk to re-offend is reflected in funding for alcohol and drug treatment, cognitive programs, Alternative Incarceration Programs, and community corrections.
A new method to calculate funding to the counties was employed to build the community corrections budget. This method was recommended to the governor by the Association of Oregon Counties, the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association, and the Oregon Association of Community Corrections Directors. Due to this new formula, $9.7 million of community corrections grants administered by the Department of Corrections have been added to help offset $18 million that is reduced in the Governor’s Recommended Budget.
“The Department of Corrections strongly supports the effective model of community corrections we have developed in Oregon,” explains DOC Director Max Williams. “We need to be flexible, explore various options, and continue to work with our county partners to make the best choices for public safety.”
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Link to the Long-Range Prison Construction Plan
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