Secretary's Office

Office of Legislative Planning, Information, and Communications

Kerry Flack
Director
(850) 488-3321
SUNCOM 278-3321

The Office of Legislative Planning, Information and Communications, under Director Kerry Flack, is responsible for supervision of Legislative Services, Information Services, Correspondence Control, and Video Productions.

Units and Their 1996-97 Accomplishments:

Correspondence Control
Contact: Judith C. Belcher, Correspondence Control Administrator, (850) 488-7052, SunCom 278-7052

Correspondence Control researches and responds to letters and telephone calls regarding offenders, inmates and management of the department on behalf of the Governor, the Secretary, the Inspector General, the Assistant Secretaries and Adult Services. It maintains an extensive computer logging and tracking system that captures information to minimize errors and duplication and to generate various management reports. This office also assists the Legal office with public records requests.
• Correspondence Control responded to 8,891 letters; published monthly and semi-annual reports; and are in the process of updating their logging system.

Information Services
Contact: Eugene Morris, Bureau Chief, (850) 488-0420, SunCom 278-0420

The Bureau of Information Services is responsible for public education relating to the department's operations, mission, and goals and responds to requests for information from state and national media, and the general public. This office provides media training for staff and issues news releases, fact sheets, the internal newsletter and information manual. This office also handles inquiries regarding executions, selects media witnesses, and escorts media through the execution process.
• The Bureau of Information Services conducted media training for more than 500 DC staff members, in addition to 300 members of local, state and federal correctional agencies. This bureau also coordinated the delivery of more than 20,000 stuffed animals, wooden toys and games made by inmates and delivered to deserving young people throughout Florida; and coordinated tours and news coverage for all of the new DC institutions.

Legislative Services
Contact: Rhesa Rudolph, Bureau Chief, (850) 488-0987, SunCom 278-0987

The Bureau of Legislative Services acts as a clearinghouse for state and federal legislative issues. The office handles contacts with federal and state legislators and legislative committees regarding inquiries about the department. The annual legislative package is prepared in this office and submitted to the Governor and the Legislature for consideration. This office is responsible for monitoring legislative action and distributing information relating to individual legislative proposals. Once new laws are enacted, this office monitors the implementation and makes periodic reports to the Governor and Legislature.
• The Bureau of Legislative Services coordinated coverage of all committees for a productive legislative session; responded to numerous letters and requests from legislators and their constituents; and educated elected officials and their staffs about the programs and operation of the Department of Corrections.

• Legislative Updates from 1996-97. See also legislative updates from 1995-96.

Video Production
Contact: Lee Berger, Director of Video Production, (850) 410-4251, SunCom 210-4251

Video Productions provides video production services for public information, staff information, inmate information, staff training, and inmate training. Services provided include content development, script writing, video production, videotape editing, video graphics/animation, videotape duplication, and satellite teleconferencing. Facilities include a studio, editing/control room and audio recording booth. Staff consists of a unit director and a staff producer-director.
• Video Productions completed and broadcast a documentary focusing on correctional officers entitled "Keepers of the Gate," which won first place in the 1997 American Correctional Association (ACA) film festival. This bureau also completed a videotape entitled "Civilian Supervision of Community Work Squads"; successfully broadcast, via satellite, the Second Female Focused Symposium from Tampa, and three sessions of the ACA Congress in Orlando focusing on distance learning, ethical issues and prison construction.