Delco Working To Deprivatize George W Hill Correctional Facility

THORNTON, PA — The George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County is managed by a Florida-based private prison company. But Delaware County officials are working to deprivatize the county's prison.

Delaware County Council Wednesday made a decision to bring on a company to oversee the facility's deprivatization.

During its meeting Wednesday, the council unanimously voted to retain CGL Companies to oversee the deprivatization efforts. CGL Companies was selected at the recommendation of the Delaware County Jail Oversight Board following a competitive bidding process.

The facility is managed by the Boca Raton, Florida-based GEO Group, which is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in four continents.

According to a news release from the county, the council seeks to end the profit motive for incarceration by deprivatizing the facility, which is one of the council's core criminal justice reform agenda items.

“It is time we re-think our model for crime and punishment in Delaware County. Jail can be an opportunity for inmates to pay their debt to society but also to start anew and become healthy, contributing members of the community," said Councilman Kevin Madden, who chairs the Jail Oversight Board and has taken the lead on planning the return of the jail to public control. "These inmates are our neighbors and will be returning to our neighborhoods, so we owe it to them and to our entire community to provide support and training so that they can lead productive lives when they are released and return to our community."

Local jails, such as Delaware County's, house people who have been accused of a crime and are
awaiting adjudication or have received a sentence of less than two years. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of inmates currently return to jail, the county said.

"Through our longstanding partnership as a subcontractor with Delaware County, our professional management services at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility has provided the county with a safe and healthy environment for the employees, the individuals in our care, and those returning to the community," GEO Group said in a statement. "Our current term as a county subcontractor expires December 31, 2023, and we will remain focused on providing outstanding services and value to the county until we are formally notified of intent to transition. We also will continue to utilize the additional resources we provide through our vast network that have successfully helped the county in combatting the Covid-19 virus and has supported many health, drug treatment, education, administrative and many other essential services on a daily basis. Through these additional resources, we have been able to provide Delaware County with services that are unmatched to any other county facility in the state."

More than 60 percent of George W. Hill inmates at any time are recidivists, usually for minor, non-violent crimes or parole violations.

The county wants to expand available support and resources to rehabilitate inmates and reduce the chances an inmate returns to jail through the deprivatization process.

With more than 45 years of experience, CGL Companies is the largest criminal justice consulting firm in the world.

As part of its contract, CGL Companies will:

• Complete a cost comparison between private and public operation of existing programs, anticipated costs for additional programs the County would like to implement, estimates of capital improvement needs, and the potential transition costs;
• assist in the hiring of staff, develop policies and procedures for ongoing operations, interface with the current operator and coordinate with State officials on licensing, certification, and grant funding;
• and provide support to the County leadership team after it assumes day-to-day operational responsibility for the facility.

CGL Companies is expected to complete its analysis and recommendations this winter. With the
review and approval of Council, GEO Group would be given the required 180-day notice that the county is ending the contract. It is expected that the county would assume operational control of the prison in the fall of 2021.