Bradenton Bridge inmate program receives reprieve, will remain open

TALLAHASSEE -- State prison officials announced Wednesday they have reached an agreement to continue privately run inmate transition programs in Broward and Manatee counties for two more years, but the agreement comes at a cost: closing a work-release center for 122 inmates.

The Florida Department of Corrections notified Bridges of America last month it would have to move out of the state-owned building housing the inmate transition program in Broward County by May 15 because the agency needs the Pompano Beach space for its probation offices.

It then told the company it would also cancel the Bradenton Bridge contract in July, forcing 84 transition inmates and 36 work-release inmates to move.

After several state and local officials protested the moves at each facility, FDOC backed down and announced Wednesday it had signed contracts to keep the Bridges of America program in both locations.

"It's unfortunate that it took lawmakers, media pressure and public outrage to defend these programs, but we are glad that the FDOC is finally starting to listen," said Lori Costantino-Brown, president and CEO of Bridge of America. "I'm laying off staff. I lost 122 beds and I took a $500,000 a year per diem cut on Broward and Bradenton."

In Bradenton, where community officials feared the loss of the Bradenton Bridge transition center, the reaction was positive. The FDOC even agreed to continue to contract for Bradenton Bridges at a lower per diem rate.

Manatee County Commissioner Robin DiSabatino, who had advocated to keep the facility open, said she was "ecstatic" when she learned of the decision.

"There are so very few facilities to offer these programs for those who really want to transition back and be removed from the prison system," she said. "We need more such centers."

Elizabeth Ritter, whose 29-year-old daughter, Jessica, has only six more months at Bradenton Bridge before she re-enters the community, said she was grateful the operation will not be closing this summer.

"I don't know what I would have done if they would have closed it," said Ritter said from her North Carolina home. "She would have gone back to prison, and that wouldn't have been fair. I couldn't see her go back to prison over something like that."

Jessica is at the transition and work-release facility after being sentenced to three years in prison for shoplifting.

"I am relieved that she can stay there and finish what she's got to do," Ritter said. "I'm just so thankful that they are not closing the place."

The state will continue to pay Bridges of America for 150 transition beds -- down from 172 -- at the Pompano Beach operation but the inmates must be housed at the Turning Point Community Release Center down the road, said Lori Costantino-Brown, president and CEO of Bridge of America. As a result, she must close the 122-bed community release center and there will be no inmates in the facility for several months as she remodels it, but the state will pay for them, she said.

Both agreements will last two years with three one-year renewal options.

In a statement, FDOC said effective May 12, all inmates previously participating in programming at Broward Bridge will have been placed in the appropriate assignments and treatment beds and all future male inmates that qualify for transition and substance abuse services in Broward County will be served by Bridges at the Turning Point Community Release Center, which will add up to 112 transition and substance abuse beds.

"Throughout this entire process, our focus has been to ensure there was no interruption in services. I am pleased that we were able to reach an agreement that will best serve those re-entering society," said FDOC Secretary Julie Jones in a statement.

Department of Corrections spokesman McKinley Lewis said the new contract includes "additional performance metrics" for Bridges of America and are "just the start of our retooling of this process."

Costantino-Brown, however, said the new metrics added to the contract are lower than the previous ones and "were not important to us because we have exceeded them all in the past."

State Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, who shared his personal story April 29 as a recovering addict with the women at Bradenton Bridge, said he still had some questions after hearing the news from Jones.

"I'm very concerned about the details of the contract," Rouson said Wednesday evening. "I'm very happy that we live to fight further for these ladies and for this valuable and very critical program. ... I'm elated that they have allowed a new contract to be signed and this program will be continue. It is a quality program. It is valuable to the community and these ladies."

DiSabatino thanked Gov. Rick Scott and the Department of Corrections for believing in the program.

"I'm very excited that they have an extension on another two-year contract," she said. "Hopefully the ladies transition back into a nice healthy lifestyle."

-- Claire Aronson of the Bradenton Herald contributed to this report.

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton Bridge inmate program receives reprieve, will remain open."