Female Facilities

As of November 15, 1999, the Florida Department of Corrections currently operates for female offenders

• six major institutions including a youthful offender facility
  (Gadsden Correctional Institution is contractual)
• seven community correctional centers (two contractual)
• six co-ed Probation and Restitution Centers
• one work camp
• one boot camp

Prior to April 1956, female offenders were located at Florida State Prison (known today as Union Correctional Institution, a male prison), where they were housed individually on unit wings of a cell block. In April 1956, the first female institution designed to house females was opened at Lowell Correctional Institution in Lowell.

LOCATION OF FEMALE FACILITIES IN FLORIDA

 

LOWELL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, WOMEN'S UNIT, a major institution, supervises the operation of Levy Forestry Camp (located 30 miles away) and a boot camp (located separately from the main unit). The Main Unit and CAMP Jones Basic Training Program are located ten miles north of Ocala on SR 25-A. The mailing address is:

Lowell Correctional Institution, Women's Unit
POB 147, Lowell, Florida 32663-0147
Phone: 352-622-5151
SC 653-1420
FAX 352-622-5151

OVERVIEW OF LOWELL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
WOMEN'S UNIT
FY 97-98

	LOWELL WU	LEVY FORESTRY	BOOT CAMP
Date Opened	1956	1988	1997
Population Type	Adult, Youthful, and Pregnant Females	Adult Female	Youthful Female - 28
Population Capacity	793	292	28
Security Level	Close	Min/Med	Min/Med
Facility Type	Open Bay/Rms	Open Bay	Ind. Rooms
PRIDE Industries	Garment
Academic	144 slots Adult Basic Ed GED Prep Literacy	ABE/GED	28 slots Adult Basic Ed GED Prep Literacy
Vocational	120 slots Cosmetology Bus. Admin. Apparel Production Drafting Power Sewing		28 slots Retailing
Drug Treatment	Tier II 40 slots Tier II Alt. 20 slots	Tier II - 20	Tier I - 28 slots
Average Daily OFFENDER Cost	$63.52 Includes all units
Operational Cost Per Day	$44.80 Includes all units
Health Care	$16.63 Includes all units
Educational Services	$2.09 Includes all units

 

JEFFERSON CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION opened in August 1990 was initially occupied by male offenders for the purpose of construction. However, this facility was converted to a female facility in August 1991. This was the result of the overcrowding of Lowell and Broward Correctional Institutions, the loss of our contract of Lantana Correctional Institution, and the myriad of problems of having females on the grounds of a state hospital. In the Fall of 1999, most of the women were transferred to Dade and Hernando Correctional Institutions to better accommodate family visits. Jefferson Correctional Institution was closed for women in December 1999 and became a male facility.

BROWARD CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION opened in 1977 and was originally designed as a 300-bed male institution. Broward became a close custody facility that houses females who need closer supervision and management, including death row offenders.

The institution is located 1¼ miles north of Hollywood/Pines Boulevard, which is west of Ft. Lauderdale on US 27. The mailing address is:

Broward Correctional Institution
P. O. Box 829503
South Florida, Florida 33082
Ph. (954) 252-6500
SC 460-6501
FAX (954) 680-4168

  DADE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION opened in 1976 and was originally designed as a 300-bed male, minimum custody institution. Shortly after its inception, the institution was changed to handle medium and close custody offenders. In 1998, the institution became a male youthful offender facility. On October 1999, the facility was converted to a female institution, housing all levels of custody to include close management offenders. The institution is located approximately thirty (30) miles south of Miami, in the extreme southern part of Florida adjacent to the Everglades National Park.

Dade Correctional Institution
19000 S.W.377 Street
Florida City, Florida 33-34
Ph. (305) 242-1700
SC 778-1700
FAX (305) 242-1881

GADSDEN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, a private facility owned by United States Corrections Corporation, was built to accommodate the need for beds for male offenders, but opened in March 1995 as a female institution. It was refitted to accommodate the needs of female offenders.

The institution is located approximately 3 miles west of Quincy off Highway 90 on County Road 12. The mailing address is:

Gadsden Correctional Institution
P. O. Box 390
Quincy, Florida 32353-0390
Ph. (850) 875-9701
FAX 850 875-9710

HERNANDO CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION opened in 1952 as a road prison for males. In 1992, it expanded and became a drug treatment/work camp. On October 1, 1996, the facility became a major institution and was renamed Hernando Correctional Institution housing 459 male inmates. On August 1, 1999, the facility was converted to a youthful female institution (the first youthful female institution in the state).

The institution is located on the West Coast of Florida, 10 miles south of Brooksville and 40 miles north of Tampa. The mail address is:

Hernando Correctional Institution
16415 Spring Hill Drive
Brooksville, Florida 34609-8167
Phone: (352) 754-6715
SunCom: 663-6715
FAX: (352) 544-2307
SunCom: 663-2307

 

OVERVIEW OF BROWARD, DADE, GADSEN, & HERNANDO
FEMALE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS - 1999

	BROWARD	DADE	GADSDEN	HERNANDO
Date Opened	1977	1999	1995	1999
Population Type	Adult Female	Adult Female	Adult Female	Youthful & Adult Female
Population Capacity	532	553	800	459
Security Level	Min./Medium Close/Maximum	Minimum Medium/Close	Minimum Medium	Minimum Medium
Facility Type	Open Bay Two person cells	Open Bay Two person cells	Open Bay Dorms Double Cells	Open Bay
PRIDE/PIE Industries	Optical		None	None
Academic	72 slots Adult Basic Ed GED Prep Literacy	Mandatory Literacy Adult Basic Ed. General Ed. Dev.	Adult Basic Ed. General Ed. Dev. Mandatory Literacy	Literacy GED Prep 80 slots
Vocational	PC Support Svc. Apparel Design Commercial Arts	Culinary Arts Comp.Electronic Technologys Autotronics JSEP DCT	Carpentry Horticulture Nail Technology Bookkeeping Data Entry	Digital Publishing
Drug Treatment	Tier II 40 slots Tier V 20 slots Co-occurring disorders 49 slots	Tier IV 45 slots	Tier I 40 slots Tier II 42 slots Tier IV 160 slots	Tier III 66 slots
Average Daily Offender Cost	$50.46		$48.38
Operational Cost Per Day	$34.62		Unknown
Health Care	$14.54		Unknown
Educational Services	$1.30		Unknown
Source: Bureau of Research and Data Analysis and facilities