$77M more sought for Pennsylvania prisons; mental health training a major focus

Despite the slowest prison population growth in more than three decades, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is seeking a record budget appropriation of just more than $2 billion for 2014-15.

The prison population rose by 191 inmates from January 2011 through December 2013, the department said, the smallest increase since 1971. Corrections is asking for an additional $77 million.

Salaries and benefit increases for more than 15,250 employees would consume most of that increase. But department officials report they haven't been as successful as they'd hoped in curbing the prison population, and nearly one-fourth of inmates need mental health treatment, requiring programs and staff training.

“We are in the midst of making a monumental philosophy shift in our corrections system, from one of simply warehousing inmates to one that focuses on performance outcomes,” Corrections Secretary John E. Wetzel said during House budget hearings in February.

Read more: http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/5773454-74/prison-corrections-health#ixzz2yAt6iXn6