Food Service

1
Chapter 13

• Food Service

2
Objectives

• Explain the training requirements for food
  service departments and outline the process of
  food preparation and storage
• Describe the main security challenges posed by
  food service operations in prisons and jails
• Explore the various methods used to serve meals
  to inmates

3
Introduction

• Poor kitchen management can result in negative
  reactions from the inmate population
• Food service operation is subject to more
  scrutiny than most aspects of the facility
• Food service staff have to ensure that meals
  taste good, meet appropriate nutritional
  requirements, portions are appropriate, and
  sanitary conditions are maintained

4
Extensive Training Requirements

• Both internal and external demands place heavy
  pressure on corrections food departments
• Effective management of this department
  positively influences the overall function of the
  institution
• Potential exists for disruptive action from
  dissatisfied inmates or a calming effect from a
  good food program

5
American Correctional Food Service Association

• Works to enhance, represent, and promote the
  correctional segment of food service industry
• Provides education seminars, tours of food
  service operations, written educational
  materials, and opportunities to discuss issues of
  common interest and establish a network among
  correctional food service professionals
• Certification program to raise professional
  standards among food service personnel

6
Historical Background

• Early prisons in US were private, and inmates had
  to pay for food, bedding, water
• Not until 1970s that the public became concerned
  with the state of correctional facilities
• Courts attempted to define some rights and impose
  standards on a case-by-case basis
• ACA developed standards including food service in
  1977
• Most institutions have a full-time food service
  manager

7
Food Service Facilities and Equipment

• Some institutions have state-of-the-art
  facilities, where others are outdated
• Most common serving method is cafeteria system
• In jails and facilities without a cafeteria,
  meals are preplated in the kitchen and sent to
  the housing unit on trays or carts

8
Menu Preparation

• ACA standard requires advanced menu planning
• Jails have 1 week advanced preparation of meals
  due to limited storage
• Prisons have a 28 day menu rotation
• Menus are planned by food service manager and/or
  dietitian
• Should reflect inmates cultural and ethic
  preferences, as well as medical and religious
  needs

9
Food Supplies and Storage

• Common sources are state purchasing warehouses,
  state contracts, local wholesale food
  distributors, local vendors
• Some systems have farms
• All food should meet or exceed government
  standards
• Temperatures should be checked and recorded as
  required

10
Food Preparation

• Many institutions use Armed Forces Recipe Cards
  as guides for food preparation
• Institution should have daily cleaning and
  inspection system to ensure sanitation
• Also need a hazard analysis critical control
  point system to ensure all procedures are
  followed
• Clean uniforms and aprons should be worn, as well
  as head coverings and beard guards

11
Special Diets

• Medical diets should require medical
  authorization
• Religious diets should be approved by the
  chaplain
• Special diets should be specific and furnished in
  writing to food service manager
• Need system to ensure that only authorized
  inmates receive special meals

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Meal Service

• Dining room creates a potential site for serious
  disturbances
• Should be designed to enhance attractiveness of
  meal time atmosphere
• Food should be served promptly after preparation
  and at appropriate temperature
• Control of eating utensils should be maintained

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Dining Room Routine

• Inmates should be given time to wash before
  eating and should be fully clothed
• Dining room should provide normal group eating
  areas and permit conversation
• Line cutting should be monitored closely by staff

14
Unit Dining

• Primarily used in jails and regional adult
  detention centers
• Meals are preplated and sent to housing area
• Food carts should be searched for contraband
• Inmates should not serve food to other inmates in
  segregation
• Inmates must be required to give back all
  utensils and other items on the tray

15
Commissary Options

• Inmate store is usually available for inmates to
  purchase a wide variety of discretionary food
  items

16
Supervision Issues

• Kitchen area should be out of bounds for non
  kitchen workers
• Institution should have specific system for
  searching vehicles, loads, and drivers
• Trash control is another security issue related
  to escape attempts

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Controlling Kitchen Tools

• Tool control is primarily related to knives
• Should be stored in a locked cabinet in a secured
  area
• Written inventory of all items should be kept and
  checked at each shift change
• Equipment should be constantly checked to make
  sure no parts are missing

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Yeast, Sugar, and Extract Control

• Can be used to make homemade alcohol
• Extract contains alcohol and may simply be drunk
  by inmates
• Inmates with unusual amounts of sugar, fruits, or
  unbaked bread should be viewed with suspicion as
  potential brew makers

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Food as an Incentive

• Staff should never be allowed to use food as
  payment for work or as a special privilege

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Conclusion

• Food service operations are very important to an
  institutional routine
• Food service staff must observe proper nutrition,
  cost controls, security, and supervision
  practices in the food preparation area
• A well-run food operation will greatly enhance
  the morale, safety, and security of the prison
  setting

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Chapter 14

• Financial Operations

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Objectives

• Describe key concepts applying to the fiscal
  management of penal institutions
• Name at least three approaches to prudence in the
  utilization of public funds
• Explore the issues that can cause balanced budget
  failure

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Understanding Financial Operations

• Budget development formulation of funding
  request
• Budget execution expenditures and distribution
  of funds
• Budget oversight systems and internal controls
  that ensure that funds are used in a manner
  consistent with budgetary goals

24
Understanding Financial Operations (cont.)

• Public administrators need to be cautious about
  the perception of expenditures (ex. excessive
  landscaping)
• Budget-tracking staff ensure that money is spent
  as planned and appropriately conserved
• Common sense and good public stewardship should
  be exercised by all with authority to spend funds

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Political Influence

• Correctional staff should never forget that
  typically public funds are utilized to create,
  operate, and otherwise manage all correctional
  facilities
• Elected representatives provide broad policy
  guidelines within the criminal justice system and
  make sure that an institutions financial
  decisions reflect those policies
• Every aspect of correctional management is
  subject to law, policy, guidelines, rules, and
  other controls

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Budget Development

• Anticipating and planning future requirements is
  critical
• Per capita costs of inmate management must be
  factored into the daily cost of projections along
  with adjustments for anticipated inflation
• Capital outlay must be included
• Poor planning can lead to crisis management

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Budget Development (cont.)

• Budgeting for Human Resources
• Most important and expensive part of institution
  budget
• Senior administrators attempt to do more with
  less, but managers have to use overtime for
  reasonable supervision
• Caution should be exercised when attempting to
  reduce correctional security personnel to save
  money

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Budget Development (cont.)

• Budget and Planning Committees
• Subject matter experts should provide the
  rationale behind the funding requirements needed
  to operate their developmental programs
• Committee should serve in an advisory capacity to
  chief executive officer
• History of past obligations, anticipated new
  costs, and projections of a funding source for
  unanticipated expenses should be
  well-substantiated

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Managing the Institutional Budget

• Ebb and flow of prison and jail management
  requires some flexibility in financial management
• Financial staff should be on the lookout for
  invalid obligations
• Early detection of disparities in the budget is
  critical to an administrators ability to take
  corrective action
• Financial auditing is critical to the integrity
  of the budgeting process

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Managing the Institutional Budget (cont.)

• Internal requirements might include
• System for accountability for purchasing and
  maintaining property and equipment
• Policies limiting or eliminating personal use of
  equipment
• Second level of procurement authority to ensure
  that contracts and small purchases are
  competitively priced
• Documentation to support destruction of property

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Managing the Institutional Budget (cont.)

• Jail and prison staff must be aware of special
  funds for which staff have stewardship
  responsibility
• Inmate canteen committee could allow inmates to
  have a voice in the use of canteen profits
• Public scrutiny must be an important
  consideration in all aspects of institutional
  spending

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Conclusion

• Many benefits to providing basic financial
  knowledge to correctional leadership
• Stewardship of the publics resources requires
  conservative decision making, a well-developed
  sense of integrity, and the ability to apply
  administrative accountability in the overall
  process

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Chapter 15

• Working with the Media

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Objectives

• Explain the positive and negative aspects of
  media access to prisons from the perspective of
  the public and of prison administrators
• Identify the key elements of an effective media
  strategy
• Outline aspects of good media training

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Introduction

• Reporters frequently produce stories about the
  plight of inmates
• Most stories portray prisons negatively and
  rarely provide an accurate description of what
  goes on behind institutional walls and fences
• Written policy on handling media requests is very
  helpful

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Media Access Legal Considerations

• Pell v. Procunier Supreme Court concluded that
  prisoners had adequate means of communicating via
  mail and with family and friends and did not have
  a right to face-to-face interviews with the media
• Saxbe v. Washington Post First Amendment does
  not guarantee the press a right to access
  information that is not available to the public

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Interview Considerations

• Many correctional jurisdictions believe it is
  important to permit representatives of the media
  into institutions to interview specific prisoners
• Questions to consider
• Who is making the request?
• What is the purpose of the intended story?
• What will be the demands on staff?
• What will the effect be on prison operations?

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Administrative Concerns

• Foremost responsibility is to maintain safe and
  orderly operation of the prison facility
• Substantial or sustained media coverage of a
  particular inmate has the potential to create
  difficulties for the inmate and administrators
• It makes sense to grant media requests if they
  can be accommodated with minimal disruption and
  little threat to safety

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Media Access Policies

• More restrictive policies run the risk of
  angering the public and media
• Must be accountable for expenditure of public
  funds
• Should be cautious to not routinely grant
  requests to just one source and deny requests
  from another

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Media Access Policies (cont.)

• Written policy should include
• All media requests should be in written form
• Representative should make reasonable attempts to
  verify allegations
• Must make an appointment to visit
• Inmates may not receive compensation
• Request for interview can originate from inmate
  or media
• Administrator should approve or disapprove
  requests in a timely manner

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Media Representatives

• Responsibility of the institutions liaison to
  work with the author to learn about the story and
  minimize distortions of prison
• Effective PIO will provide effective sound bites
  to ensure the most positive portrayal of the
  institution and staff
• Correctional institution will also sometimes
  contact the media for newsworthy events

42
Community Coverage

• Prison or jail administrators will most likely
  have to actively solicit media support for worthy
  programs
• Members of the community can also provide
  positive media coverage

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Conclusion

• Focus of media coverage will vary
• There will be opportunities for positive
  exposure, and therefore, the institution should
  maintain positive relationships with members of
  the media

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Chapter 16

• Community Relations Boards

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Objectives

• Describe the primary purpose of a community
  relations board
• Outline the goals of successful CRBs
• Explain the logistics involved with setting up
  and running CRBs

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Introduction

• Community relations boards can help a community
  and a correctional institution live together as
  neighbors and partners

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Composition of CRBs

• Nominations can be sought from agencies or
  individuals
• Local facilities need to tailor to their needs
• Several groups should be represented
• People affected by physical presence
• Local officials
• Outreach members who provide a link to the
  community

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Objectives of CRBs

• Improved Communication
• CRB members can provide honest and worthwhile
  feedback from the community perspective
• Enable the exchange of accurate information
  between the community and facility
• Facility can remind community representatives
  that staff live in the same neighborhoods they do
  and want the neighborhoods to be safe

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Objectives of CRBs (cont.)

• Ease of Reentry
• Citizens demand good information and reassurance
  with respect to reentry
• Issue of reentry is to end the cycle of
  recidivism
• Accountability and support for inmates returning
  to public life is a vital task
• CRBs can serve as important bridges to the
  community to provide for effective reentry

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Objectives of CRBs (cont.)

• Community Involvement in Institutional
  Programming
• Board meetings can highlight different prison
  programs and introduce staff to the members
• Can help members understand the needs and
  mandates of the facility
• CRB can look for volunteer opportunities within
  the facility
• May help develop programs where the inmates can
  contribute to the community

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Logistics

• Institution staff should inform prospective
  members of scheduled meeting times before they
  are asked to participate
• May be appropriate to set term limits in advance
• Chair facilitates meetings through an agenda
• Bylaws should be structured by superintendent
  with input from board members
• Community needs to be aware of boards existence
  and name of members

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Conclusion

• CRB can contribute greatly to an institution and
  its community
• Capacity of a CRB to react to incidents and
  prevent confusion can be a great service to all
• Members can help develop a partnership between
  the institution and the community

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Chapter 17

• Political Involvement

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Objectives

• Distinguish between a spoils system and career
  service
• Outline the importance of correctional
  administrators working with legislators
• Identify the types of issues posed by
  implementing legislation in the correctional
  environment

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Political Interest in Prison Operations

• Federal and state legislators attempt to
  substantially affect correctional operations
• Legislators forced correctional officials to
  reduce or eliminate many programs and
  recreational opportunities
• Most correctional administrators believe that
  programs and recreation are necessary to provide
  for self improvement and inmate management

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Implementation of Laws

• Administrators should avoid the strife of
  politics
• Legislators establish policy and administrators
  implement their decisions
• Leadership in federal system have always been
  career civil servants
• State systems differ between civil servants and
  political appointees

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Political and Societal Changes Affect Penal
Facilities

• The public expects prison and jail environments
  to be severe and punishing
• It is difficult and dangerous to withdraw
  privileges or programs from prisoners once these
  privileges and programs have been given
• As civil servants, all staff are expected to
  fulfill the requirements of the law regardless of
  personal opinion

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Conclusion

• Politicians are increasingly interested in prison
  operations and demand results
• Senior staff must exert leadership beyond the
  prison fences
• It is not appropriate for civil servants to lobby
  or otherwise directly seek to influence
  representatives