The Maine Correctional Center in South Windham is among the first prisons in Maine to receive national accreditation and recognition for its high quality of living conditions, standards and policies.
In Nashville, Tenn. last month, senior correctional officers joined Corrections Superintendent Scott Burnheimer to formally receive the Windham’s prison’s accreditation from American Correctional Association. Only 10 percent of the nation’s prisons have received this honor.
Burnheimer is proud of his staff for coming together to achieve this longtime goal.
“We’re all excited here,” he said. “It’s quite an accomplishment. It took everybody working together to get there for sure.”
Last fall, American Correctional auditors toured the prison to survey fire safety issues, sanitation in the dorms and kitchen, security and “best-practice” standards upheld by the correctional center.
First time through, the correctional center met or exceeded 96 percent of the 400-plus standards by which the auditors judge prisons. After the first review, the correctional center had only to revise a few policies to gain full accreditation.
The correctional center also created “action plans” to resolve “minor issues” and deal with the ongoing issue of crowding at the prison.
The auditors gave much praise to the number and variety of rehabilitation programs at the correctional center such as its work-release programs and the new “sexual offender” program said to be cutting edge. The women’s prison at the correctional center was also lauded as a “national model,” Burnheimer said.
While the accreditation process was stressful at times, it helped further bond his correctional staff as team, he said.
In the days before the audit, correctional officers worked 36 hours straight scrubbing floors, cleaning dorms and washing pots in the kitchen to make sure the prison “shined.”
These same employees have since helped other prisons get ready for their audits, including the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.
Three other prisons in Maine underwent the same scrutiny by the auditors. These facilities are now awaiting a final interview and accreditation ceremony. In 2002, the Cumberland County Jail in Portland was the first Maine prison to receive accreditation.
“I’m very proud of all the facilities and very pleased,” said Commissioner Martin Magnusson of the state Department of Corrections. “We’ve really been working toward this for ten years.”
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