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RESOLUTION NO. 2012-010 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, OPPOSING THE CLOSURE OF THE INDIAN RIVER CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION WHEREAS, the Indian River Correctional Institution is located in Indian River County, Florida; and WHEREAS, the Indian River Correctional Institution houses approximately 360 male youthful offenders (ages 14-18), who benefit from academic, vocational, chaplaincy, and betterment programs provided at the institution; and WHEREAS, the Indian River Correctional Institution is significant in that it is the only correctional institution for male youthful offenders (ages 14-18) operated by the Florida Department of Corrections; and WHEREAS, the Indian River Correctional Institution's impact on our society is substantial, because since 1978 over 2,000 youthful offenders have earned their General Education Degree from Indian River Correctional Institution. Indian River Correctional Institution remains first in the state for General Education Degrees earned by youthful offenders. This is important, because a youthful offender that earns his General Education Degree is 7.9 percent less likely to return to prison in the future. A youthful offender that earns his vocational certificate is 14 percent less likely to recidivate, and a youthful offender that earns both his General Education Degree and a vocational certificate is 18.3 percent less likely to recidivate; and WHEREAS, the Indian River Correctional Institution employs approximately 214 FTE's earning an average of $45,099 in salary and benefits, resulting in a direct economic benefit to Indian River County of nearly $10 million; and WHEREAS, on January 12, 2012, the Florida Department of Corrections announced its intention to close the Indian River Correctional Institution by May 1, 2012; and WHEREAS, the process through which the Florida Department of Corrections selected the Indian River Correctional Institution for closure (evaluation by an "internal workgroup") was neither open nor transparent; nor were members of the public, including the residents of Indian River County and their community, business or elected leaders, afforded an opportunity to comment on the closure prior to announcement of the closure decision; and WHEREAS, according to the Florida Department of Corrections, one of the criteria which resulted in the selection of the Indian River Correctional Institution for closure was "community impact." However, by not soliciting public comment from the residents and leaders of Indian River County, the Florida Department of Corrections was not able properly to assess the impact to the Indian River County community; and WHEREAS, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in Indian River County is 11.4%, which is the ninth worst unemployment rate among Florida's sixty-seven counties, a position which will surely decline further if the Indian River Correctional Institution is closed as scheduled; and 1