iowa charter agencies
Department of CorrectionsDirector: John R. Baldwin Website: http://www.doc.state.ia.us/ A deer and a Department of Corrections car met on a winding southern Iowa road. Neither survived. Corrections might have waited 15 months for a replacement vehicle through the normal procurement procedure.
Cutting through the red tape is helping Corrections save money and achieve better results. Contracting flexibilities yielded a 40 percent reduction in the cost of generic pharmaceuticals and a 17 percent reduction in non-generic pharmaceuticals. Overall inmate labor experience (in hours) on community service projects was up 7 percent through the first three quarters of FY05. For women inmates during this time, hours jumped 24 percent.
These kinds of achievements were expected. But Corrections and
other Charter Agencies have also seen the unexpected. They report a
liberating and energizing effect beyond specific flexibilities.
Neither of these actions was impossible pre-Charter, but Charter spark and momentum made them happen.
Legislators’ reactions have been positive. When told by Corrections about replacing the car in a week instead of 15 months, one representative’s first question was about the price paid. The price was the same, because either way it was purchased off the same high-volume contract. The legislator’s next comment was, “Maybe all agencies should be purchasing their cars this way.”
For more information:Fred Scaletta 515-242-5707 |
Reclassifying
a Corrections position through the personnel system usually takes a
couple of months. But because Corrections is an Iowa Charter Agency,
it obtained a new car in less than a week and a reclassification in
a few days. 
For
example: