Bad Year in Goodyear The foundation of the Arizona Department of Corrections correctional model is the designation of Arizona State Prison Complexes by security level and prison population. The Arizona State Prison Complex at Perryville, located in Goodyear, Arizona, is one of the ten facilities operated by the Arizona Department of Corrections. Once a men's prison, it was converted in the year 2000 to house women offenders. A score classification system is utilized to assess an inmate's custody level within Perryville and also the level of threat that they may pose to the community, with scores ranging from 1 to 5 (5 being the most serious risk). ASPC-Perryville is a minimum, medium, maximum, and close custody institution, with Lumley Unit housing all female Death Row inmates; maximum security inmates; closed custody inmates; the Women's Treatment Unit (referred to as WTU, it is a substance abuse program that is only offered to a few select women who meet the strict criteria); and Reception and Administration. Referred to as R & A, this is the yard where all inmates are initially housed for anywhere from one to ninety days, and are locked down 23 hours a day. They are then assessed by a counselor (called a CO III, or Correctional Officer III) and classified, and given their release date(s), the first being the inmate's TR. Temporary Release can be earned by participating and completing programs such as SB1291, offered only to those convicted of a drug crime. The second release date is the inmate's ERCD, which stands for Earned Release Credit Date, which is essentially "good-time". The last release date is the inmate's maximum sentence date. The inmate cannot be held past this date. Lumley Unit is named after Brent W. Lumley, a correctional officer who was killed in the line of duty by a male inmate when Perryville was still a men's facility.

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WORK PROGRAMS Arizona law requires all able-bodied inmates work, assisting in the day-to-day operations of the facility. On average, the most common jobs such as porters and laundry workers pay anywhere from ten to fifty cents an hour. This money is deposited into the inmate's account, and then can be used to purchase items from the prison store, which is called the commissary. The majority of Perryville's jobs involve the maintenance, cleaning, and general upkeep of the buildings and the grounds of the facility. Inmates are also responsible for the cooking and preparing of the meals for each of their respective yards (two to four yards make up a unit). Inmates are given three state-issued meals a day on the weekdays, and two meals a day on the weekends. The Department of Corrections has limited/specialized contracts with Arizona Correctional Industries, allowing inmates who are sentenced to one year or more at Perryville (and who meet all criteria set forth by their unit) to work at jobs where they can earn more than fifty cents an hour. These inmates must also have a "gate clearance", which allows them to work off the prison grounds at jobs such as Auto Auction, where the inmates detail vehicles to be sold at auction for the Arizona Department of Transportation; the Wildland Fire Crew (inmates must be housed on Santa Rosa Unit in order to be considered eligible for Fire Crew); and Televerde, which is an ACI Telemarketing Business (inmates must be housed on either Santa Cruz Unit, San Pedro Unit, or Piestewa Unit in order to be considered eligible for Televerde). These jobs are called "retention jobs", with a percentage of each paycheck being deposited into a
Bad Year in Goodyear separate account than the one in which an inmate's family and friends may deposit funds, called a non-spendable inmate account. Upon their release from Perryville, an inmate who held a retention job is issued two checks: one for the remaining balance in their spendable inmate account (used for purchasing items from the commissary, fundraisers, etc.), and the other check bearing the balance of all the money saved from working a retention job. EDUCATION Any inmate who was committed to the Arizona Department of Corrections on or before July 1, 1997, must be able to pass and eighth grade equivalency exam in order to be eligible to earn anything more than base pay. If unable to pass the test, the inmate must be enrolled in the Department of Corrections' ABE Literacy Program until they are able to earn a passing grade on the exam. Inmates must either work, or attend school. Any inmate refusing to work or attend class is advised and written a "ticket", which can result in restriction of privileges. These restrictions can range from their telephone and commissary being revoked for seven days, to being taken off of a yard and placed in administrative segregation at the Central Detention Unit (CDU), more commonly known as "the Hole". College-level courses are available to inmates who are eligible. These are offered through Rio Salado Community; the Department of Corrections has a contract with Rio Salado to offer a small selection of mainly computer courses. Approximately one-hundred-sixty volunteers donate their time to assist Perryville's three Chaplains with their numerous spiritual programs. Catholic services and non-denominational
Bad Year in Goodyear services and Bible studies are held throughout the week. TREATMENT PROGRAMS At Perryville, each unit provides basic medical and dental care to all inmates. Upon being admitted, all female inmates are given the option of having a routine check-up and pap smear by the prison's gynecologist. All inmates must have their blood drawn in order to screen for venereal disease (including HIV and Hepatitis C), and other tests are administered to check for diabetes, tuberculosis and the inmates' overall health. Inmates must also submit to a urinalysis, screening for drugs and alcohol. Mental health services are provided, and psychotropic medication is prescribed as needed by the prison psychiatrist. Substance abuse services such as Alcoholics
Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are available, with members coming into the facility at least once a week to hold on-site meetings. The Department of Corrections also contracts with Civigenics Corporation for a Womens' Recovery Academy, which is a nine-month, in-custody treatment program, followed by a term of aftercare in order to help the women reintegrate themselves into society. Also, the Maricopa County Department of Health Services provides Health Education to pre-release inmates. There is also a Sweat Lodge on Santa Maria Unit, available for use only to those of Native American descent. (The majority of Native Americans are housed together on Santa Maria Unit; the Department of Corrections attempts to keep the Natives housed together, as most of their services and organizations are held on Santa Maria.) Bad Year in Goodyear 2012 LEGISLATION
At the conclusion of the Arizona Legislature's 50th Session, these are the bills that may have an impact on the Arizona Department of Corrections:
SB1612: Beginning 01/01/2012, employees will have a more broad set of benefit options, because the budget makes mandatory a more enhanced Medical Savings Account as an alternative (not a replacement) to he standard health services benefits for State employees.
SB1614: Makes various budget changes, including the elimination of all future mandatory furlough days for employees. The bill also makes changes to benefit eligibility for new State employees.
HB2024: Makes a vast number of changes to ASRS in regards to benefit eligibility for new State employees, LTD, distribution of benefits to current State employees, service purchase, and benefit transfers.
SB1539: The Arizona Department of Corrections has positions in both the CORP and the ASRS. This bill now offers a permanent fix, allowing CORP members (who have more than five years in CORP) to accept promotions or transfers to ASRS-designated positions without having to choose between the promotion/transfer and their retirement. Due to the progressively declining state of the economy, the budget process resulted in over one billion dollars in statewide spending reductions. Public safety was recognized as a core function of state government, therefore measures were taken to ensure the least amount of cuts possible. And although the budget did not include the authorization of additional
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Correctional Officer FTE positions, the Arizona Department of Corrections will remain with the officer-observing-officer coverage, and will continue to utilize the 193 overtime positions that will provide the mandatory coverage in units housing inmates with custody levels of three, four, and five. Safety for the staff as well as inmates is a top priority, and a reduction has been seen in the number of assaults against staff and inmates alike with the addition of these positions. HB2154: Privatization of Inmate Health Services On May 27, 2011, the state department of corrections issued a request for information for the privatization of all correctional health services, including all medical and dental services that are provided in a state-owned-and-operated facility.