Below is a press release from the Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER):
The PEER Committee has recently released its issue brief titled Issue Brief: A Review of the Sustainability of the Mississippi Prison Industries Corporation.
Some of the Committee’s major findings include:
Click on Title To Read Document
- MISS. CODE ANN. Section 47-5-533 (1) (1972) states that MPIC’s mission is to provide inmates with useful activities that can lead to meaningful employment after release in order to assist in reducing recidivism (i.e., re-incarceration of inmates). Although state law created an independent nonprofit corporation to administer the state’s prison industries program, MISS. CODE ANN. Section 47-5-535 (1) (1972) assigns responsibility for the program to both MPIC and the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC).
- In February of 2015, MPIC and MDOC created a master plan to assign responsibilities to each entity in order to assist MPIC in achieving its goal of reducing recidivism. While the two entities created the master plan, over the years, MPIC and MDOC did not follow the plan or coordinate in any manner.
- MPIC’s financial operations were relatively stable from FY 2012 through FY 2015. However, significant operating losses of approximately $3.5 million during FY 2016 and FY 2017 affected the Corporation’s financial health. Since FY 2015, MPIC has experienced a deterioration of its financial sustainability. MPIC did not have a positive growth in net position until FY 2020.
- MPIC’s unaudited financial statements for FY 2021 show a further decline in its financial sustainability.
- PEER’s 2018 report (A Review of the Mississippi Prison Industries Corporation) stated the importance of maintaining inmate program and recidivism data to determine the effectiveness of the prison industry program in reducing recidivism. However, MPIC has not maintained its data as required.
- While MPIC may be able to continuously fund inmate programs in the future, the possibility exists that MPIC may suspend funding of inmate programs due to a downturn in MPIC revenues and the resulting lack of available funds for such programs.
The full report can be accessed in the attachment below or with the link here.
