In a recent USA Today article, ‘Jobs lost as states close prisons’ (http://tinyurl.com/otd4r2), the conundrum is described as “States trying to fight recession by closing prisons are finding a Catch-22: what saves scarce money costs precious jobs.”

I believe there are other, more significant considerations such as public safety and costs to the community.  “Inmates are getting released that wouldn’t have been released in good budget times,” says Tom Tylutki, president of the corrections officers’ union in Michigan, where eight facilities are scheduled to close. “We believe (public safety) is being compromised.”

 While government is responsible for spending wisely and within means, are all the costs being considered?  What is the cost of a repeat offender who should not have been released, who should have been on probation, who should have received treatment?

Surely these costs to society, increased burdens on law enforcement and the courts, should be part of the calculation.  And more use of scorecards to help maximize return on each dollar spent.

There are government examples on my prior post, plus New Dawn is offering a webinar on performance measurements.  You can register here: http://www.newdawntech.com/webinar/performance_registration.htm