Largest private prison in state set to open today in Graceville
Source: By Bill Cotterell, Tallahassee Democrat (FL), September 17, 2007
The big business of incarceration comes to the Panhandle town of Graceville this week, as Florida opens what will be its biggest for-profit prison in a competitive system marked by controversy.
........ In addition to the $61 million, three-year contract with GEO Group Inc. for the new prison, this year's Legislature approved an expansion.
Private prisons are required to operate at least 7-percent cheaper than state institutions. Graceville's baseline $42.74 per diem rate is $9.33 per prisoner below the daily average cost provided by the Department of Corrections.
But critics maintain that private prisons do it by scrimping on pay and benefits, or cutting corners on staffing levels, health care and inmate education programs.