Florida prisons earn reaccreditation

FLORIDA — Eight Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) correctional institutions have earned reaccreditation.

Over the last year, American Correctional Association (ACA) audit teams from across the country visited Apalachee, Baker, Calhoun, Columbia, Hamilton, Holmes, Liberty, and Okeechobee correctional institutions to conduct comprehensive on-site audits of all aspects of prison operations.

According to the FDC, each institution was 100 percent compliant with mandatory standards.

Additionally, FDC’s Office of Community Corrections achieved 100 percent compliance with non-mandatory standards.

The standards created and refined by the ACA represent fundamental practices that ensure staff and inmate safety and security, enhance staff morale, improve record maintenance and data management capabilities, and improve the function of the facility or agency at all levels, said the FDC.

“I am proud to acknowledge our staff’s daily efforts to achieve excellence and maintain our reputation as a national leader in correctional practices,” said Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon.

“Obtaining ACA accreditation is a significant opportunity to showcase our hard work, reinforce our strong foundation, and continue our commitment to public safety. I want to thank our leaders across the state who remain dedicated to our vital mission.”

The ACA accredited the eight FDC prisons during the ACA’s 2024 conference in Washington, DC.

For more than 150 years, the ACA has been a recognized worldwide corrections authority, and its Commission on Accreditation for Corrections certifies correctional facilities.

FDC began the process of seeking nationally recognized accreditation from the ACA in 1968. The ACA accredits all of Florida’s major state institutions.