By Laurence E. Hartman, AIA, NCARB, CCHP
The winter conference of the American Correctional Association (ACA) was held January 20-24, 2017 in sunny San Antonio, Texas. Many AAJ members are active with ACA, principally with committees such as International Corrections, Sustainability, and Facility Planning and Design (of which I have been re-appointed chair for a second two year term).
The Facility Planning and Design Committee meeting includes 25-30 industry members representing the architecture community along with federal, state, and local agencies (of which there has been increasing participation). The committee role within ACA is multi-faceted: seeking conference presentations on planning and design issues, sharing ideas on best practices, sharing information on allied organizations, reviewing and proposing standard revisions. The committee name change was approved by ACA last year to include the word “Planning”. This better represents the interest of the committee beyond pure “design” issues into areas of master planning, operations, renovations, and re-purposing.
For the past couple of years at ACA, the hot topic centered on the use of “restrictive housing”. In January 2016 by the US Department of Justice of “Final Report and Recommendations Concerning the Use of Restrictive Housing”, ACA subsequently re-wrote related sections of their standards to reflect the guiding principals listed in the report aimed at limiting the use of restrictive housing and follow standards of practice if it is used. At the winter conference, a four hour presentation/discussion was held to address the use of restrictive housing for mentally ill inmates.
The following sample list of interesting presentations which I was able to attend and stay informed of the latest trends/issues in the industry:
- How correctional agencies can (and should) perform ACA self-evaluations for compliance with Title II (public entities). (Washington)
- The increasing use of energy performance contracts which allows agencies to achieve energy and water conservation through innovative financing of capital improvements. (Ohio, Florida, and BOP)
- How correctional facilities are dealing with the aging prison population through creation of assisted living housing units, chronic care clinics, and partnerships with health service agencies. (Washington and Wisconsin)
- The use of survey data obtained the Bureau of Justice Statistics to track the evolution in prison health care, the aging population, and deaths in custody.
- How PREA implementation (through training and awareness) is evolving as an issue of sexual safety and security for inmates as well as staff.
- The design of Sonoma County Behavioral Health Unit which provides a 72 bed specialized facility providing a balance of security and treatment. (DLR & Kitchell)
- An international example from Belgium corrections of a secure mental health facility which provides a more home-like environment while maintaining security.
If you are able to attend the ACA summer conference in St. Louis, August 16-22, 2017, feel free to attend the Facility Planning and Design Committee meeting, tentatively scheduled for Sunday afternoon on August 20. For additional information, you can reach me at Larry.Hartman@hdrinc.com
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(Return to the cover of the 2017 AAJ Journal Q1 issue)