The Essex County Correctional Alternative Center (ECCAC), known to inmates and correctional staff as “The Farm,” is a 340 bed facility in Lawrence, Massachusetts. What sets it apart from other correctional institutions in Massachusetts is that there is no barbed wire fence surrounding it. Inmates do not wear uniforms. Guards do not patrol the area, and the view of the outside that an inmates sees is not framed by iron bars.
Inmates accepted into ECCAC are treated differently and, as a result, act differently. The atmosphere at ECCAC is more relaxed. Inmates are expected to act as if they were living in their “grandmother’s house,” according to Superintendent Joe Funari. Respect for themselves, and for others, is demanded. The inmates know that they are fortunate to have been chosen for ECCAC. All of the prisoners were transferred from the Middleton House of Corrections (MHC) , the main jail in Essex County, a typical jail, with bars, uniforms, highly visible guards, and an air of negativity.
When transferred to ECCAC, an inmate usually stays there for approximately eight months. At “The Farm” inmates are connected with community substance abuse programs, where they are expected to commit themselves for at least 60 days upon release. Housing, education and employment opportunities are afforded to ECCAC graduates. Ninety days before release, inmates are allowed to go out of the facility to search for a job, enabling them to save up money for expenses that they will incur during reentry. Having a sense of financial independence, however small, gives a formerly incarcerated person self-esteem.
Sheriff Frank Cousins officiates at both ECCAC and MHC in Essex County. His jails have 100 more people reentering than the whole Massachusetts prison system. Cousins would like to see more, but because of certain drug laws, or being incarcerated for owing child support, that isn’t an option. The system, as it stands, can be frustrating for both inmates and correction officials alike. Graduates of ECCAC programs have a 20 percent lower recidivism rate than those unable to obtain ECCAC reentry programs. Cousins believes that when an alternative jail’s program increases public safety, politicians would do well to change laws that hinder successful reentry. Revising sentencing laws is one way Cousins believes more inmates could take part in the ECCAC, and thus cut the recidivism rate even more.
Source: wbur.org 4/12/11
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