Sixth District correctional services experiences year of change

The 6th Judicial District Department of Correctional Services has made significant changes in the past year following a review by the State Auditor's Office.

The Jan. 10 report identified $776,000 in improper disbursements in fiscal 2009 through 2012. More than half came from district managers spending part of their time doing work for a non-profit started by the district's former director.

The report also showed $170,000 in improper vacation payouts to former employees and $40,000 in vacation paid before it was earned.

The auditor's review served as a wake-up call to board members and an opportunity for some of the district's 175 employees to voice frustration with management.

One concern raised was a $28-a-day fee for drunken-driving programming.

District staff studied the programming offered in other districts and evaluated how the local program matched up with past offerings, deciding in August to reduce the price to $24 a day, District Director Bruce Vander Sanden said.

'We felt $24 was a reasonable fee for someone in a residential facility getting treatment,” he said.

After line staff complained, the district equalized vacation time between line staff and managers, Vander Sanden said.

The Community Corrections Improvement Association, started in 1991 by former district director Gary Hinzman, moved out of district offices and no longer uses state cellphones and cars. These were issues addressed in the auditor's review.

Residential center vending machine proceeds, which once went to CCIA, now are used by the district.

The district is hiring new employees to work at the Anchor Center, a halfway house for offenders with mental, behavioral and substance abuse problems. Lawmakers paid to build the 26-bed center in 2008, but not open it. District officials said last spring they needed between $2.1 million and $2.3 million to staff the facility.

So far, the only users have been outpatients, but Vander Sanden said they plan to fill residential beds next spring.

The Jan. 10 report did not indicate criminal conduct in the district, but the Iowa Attorney General's Office has been reviewing it since early 2014. A second phase of the review by the state auditor is expected to be complete in early 2015.