Overview and Legal Foundation
GDC sanitation and hygiene standards are grounded in Georgia Board of Corrections rules that carry the force of regulation. Board Rule 125-2-3-.01 (SOP 1281) places ultimate responsibility on the Warden/Superintendent, assisted by the institutional physician, for "direction, coordination, and supervision of all activities associated with the maintenance of high standards of sanitation." The rule requires "frequent inspections and prompt corrective actions to reduce or eliminate deficiencies noted" and mandates compliance with all state and local sanitary codes published by the Department of Public Health or the applicable County Board of Health.
SOP 228.01 (Safety – Sanitation Inspections) operationalizes that Board Rule obligation at the facility level and applies to all state facilities and centers housing GDC offenders, as well as State Offices South at Tift College.
Inspection Regime
SOP 228.01 creates a three-tier inspection structure:
1. Correctional officers conduct daily sanitation inspections of every assigned post, including housing units, and must complete a Sanitation Inspection Report (Attachment 1) on each shift, with a corrective action plan for any unacceptable area. Maintenance Request Forms must be submitted where applicable. Completed reports go to the shift supervisor, who forwards them to the Facility Safety and Sanitation Officer.
2. Warden/Superintendent and/or designee must conduct weekly mandatory scheduled safety and sanitation inspections of all living and activity areas, plus periodic unscheduled inspections. Life, health, and occupational safety concerns identified must be addressed immediately.
3. A designated Facility Safety and Sanitation Officer oversees the facility-wide Sanitation and Safety Program and coordinates a Safety Committee that includes department heads.
SOP 409.01.01 (Authority and Responsibility) extends this to Georgia Correctional Industries (GCI) plants: the host institution inspects GCI facilities at regular intervals, and any discrepancies must be reported up the GCI chain of command. The senior GCI employee must file a remedial-action report within seven days.
For inmate construction housing units located outside perimeters, SOP 211.01 requires the Warden or designee to tour and inspect at a minimum weekly for security, sanitation, and safety issues.
Personal Hygiene: Offenders and Detainees
State Prisons — Board Rule Standard
Board Rule 125-2-3-.04 (SOP 1284) sets the baseline for all institutions:
- Inmates must be furnished "basic necessities to maintain a high standard of personal cleanliness," including "soap, razor blades or other shaving devices, toothbrushes, toothpaste or powder, etc." Female inmates must receive additional hygiene items as required.
- Inmates assigned to daily work details must bathe daily.
- Inmates assigned to food service duties must bathe prior to reporting to their shift.
- Freshly laundered work uniforms must be issued "as necessary," with clean uniforms issued at least once a week.
- Bedding must be maintained in a sanitary condition; sheets and pillowcases must be changed at least once a week; mattresses and pillows must be inspected and aired monthly if indicated, with soiled or damaged items cleaned, disinfected, and/or replaced.
- Each inmate must have a foot locker, wall locker, or other appropriate storage space and must maintain personal effects and assigned area "in a neat, orderly and sanitary condition at all times."
SOP 507.04.71 (Environmental Health and Safety) reinforces and supplements these requirements, stating that each offender "will be furnished with a clean mattress, pillow and case, sheets, blanket and a locker or cabinet." It specifies that hot water for showers must be thermostatically controlled between 100 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Transitional Centers
SOP 215.13 (Resident Hygiene, Appearance, and Hair Care) applies to Transitional Centers and mirrors the prison standard: residents are furnished basic necessities—"soap, razor blades or other shaving devices, toothbrushes, toothpaste or powder, deodorant, toilet paper, and special hygiene items for female residents"—if they cannot purchase their own. When residents earn enough to buy their own necessities, GDC stops furnishing them. Residents must bathe daily and maintain clean clothing. Each Transitional Center must either maintain a laundry facility or ensure residents have adequate access to one.
Probation Detention Centers and Boot Camps
SOP 213.08 (Detainee Personal Sanitation and Hygiene) requires detainees to bathe daily after completing work details, with food service detainees required to shower prior to reporting to work. Basic hygiene supplies—soap, razor, toothbrush, and toothpaste—must be provided. Clean clothing, bed linen, and towels are required, exchanged at designated times. All personal and issued property must be stored in assigned space maintained "in a neat and sanitary condition at all times."
Feminine Hygiene Items
SOP 206.04 (Feminine Hygiene Items Issuance) creates a specific issuance system for female offenders. The Administrative Lieutenant ensures the Laundry Officer issues items; the Laundry Officer must maintain detailed logs of every issuance including dates, amounts, and each offender's name.
Weekly issuance (offender must show ID): toothpaste, deodorant, and soap. On an as-needed basis: comb, razor, hairbrush, and toothbrush. Toilet paper, sanitary napkins, and tampons must be "readily available to offenders in the housing units" at all times; the Sanitation Officer must check the hygiene cabinet in each dorm daily to ensure it is stocked. Basic issued items must be replaced when empty or worn from normal use, regardless of frequency. Offenders confined to restrictive housing or medical must have items brought to them.
Gender non-conforming and transgender offenders may request hygiene items appropriate to their needs; such requests go to the Warden for approval or disapproval.
Laundry
Board Rule 125-2-3-.05 (SOP 1285) requires every institution to maintain an adequate laundry facility, participate jointly with another institution, or use commercial laundry service. Special attention must be paid to "clean and sanitary items related to Food Service personnel and activities."
SOP 401.12 (Laundry Procedures) governs day-to-day laundering: linen and towel exchange at least weekly; blanket exchange at least quarterly. Dorm officers collect laundry using a Laundry Count Form and escort it to the laundry area. Laundry personnel count, verify, and document incoming and outgoing items in a logbook. Discrepancies are noted and reported. All laundry forms are retained for six months then destroyed.
SOP 507.04.71 adds infection-control detail: laundry of blood-soaked or parasite-infested material must be handled with gloves and gowns, double-bagged, labeled, and laundered separately. Bleach enhances effectiveness and is activated at 135–145°F.
Water Supply
Board Rule 125-2-3-.02 (SOP 1282) requires institutions to "meet or exceed the water purity requirements dictated by law and regulation" and to maintain an adequate supply for consumption, laundry, bathing, firefighting, and other near-term forecast requirements.
SOP 507.04.71 further specifies that hand-washing sinks, drinking fountains, showers, and toilets must be "present in sufficient numbers, accessible with adequate water pressure, and kept clean and in good repair." Environmental surfaces must be cleaned regularly with a dilute bleach solution (1 tablespoon bleach to 1 gallon water) or another EPA-approved disinfectant. Liquid soap dispensers should be used where feasible.
Sewage and Waste Disposal
Board Rule 125-2-3-.03 (SOP 1283) requires that sewage collection and disposal facilities at each institution "meet all applicable state and local codes and regulations" and be adequate to accommodate the inmate population in accordance with standards set by the Department of Health or County Board of Health.
SOP 409.03.11 (Animal Waste Systems) governs manure and wastewater at GDC farms with confined livestock or poultry operations. Each confined animal feeding operation must maintain waste storage (earthen lagoons and/or slurry tanks), land application systems, a designated land application site, a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP), and flow meters. Waste lagoon liquid levels must be pumped down weekly to maintain a minimum 24-inch freeboard. At least one staff member per contained animal feeding operation must hold Animal Waste System Operators Certification.
Food Service Sanitation
SOP 409.04.10 (Sanitation) is the primary food service sanitation policy, applicable to all GDC facilities operating kitchens. It requires the Food Service Director to instruct and train all personnel on sanitation rules. No person with open lesions, infected wounds, or a transmissible communicable disease may work in food service; the Food Service Director must visually check offenders and staff for obvious signs of disease when they report for work.
A housekeeping schedule must address: clean and well-lighted work and storage areas; covered overhead pipes; sneeze guards on open serving lines; regular cleaning of walls, floors, ceilings, and ventilation hoods; washing, rinsing, and sanitizing of kitchenware and food-contact surfaces after each use.
SOP 507.04.72 (Food Service Workers) from the Health Services Division duplicates and expands on the food service hygiene requirements: workers must bathe daily before each shift, wash hands and exposed arms before starting and as often as necessary during work, keep fingernails clean and trimmed, wear hair restraints, and eat only in designated areas. The Food Service Director must inspect all workers each shift and refer anyone with symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, pustular acne, or infected cuts/boils on the hands, arms, face, or neck to the Responsible Health Authority. Offenders with chronic shigella or salmonella infection or active hepatitis A must be excluded until cleared by a Physician, PA, or NP.
SOP 409.04.18 (Inspection and Storage) requires all storage areas to be "well ventilated, and kept clean and free from dirt, dust, and grease," with all items stored at least 6 inches above the floor, 6 inches from the wall, and 18 inches below the ceiling. Temperatures in nonperishable storerooms must be maintained above 45°F and below 85°F, checked and documented three times daily.
Barber and Cosmetology Shops
SOP 228.02 (Facility/Center Barber/Cosmetology Shops) requires that barber and cosmetology shops be operated "in a safe and sanitary manner" in compliance with Georgia State Board of Barbers (Rule 70-5) and Georgia State Board of Cosmetology (Rule 130-5) sanitation standards. Specific requirements include:
- Barbers must thoroughly wash their hands with soap and water before rendering service to each person.
- Scissors, clippers, combs, and all implements must be "thoroughly cleaned, and disinfected in accordance with labeled directions on the disinfectant after final use on each person."
- Hair and nail clippings must be swept between cuttings and deposited in an approved waste container.
- Floors must be cleaned daily with a disinfectant-based solution.
- Implements with broken guards or sharp edges that could contact skin must not be used.
- All tools must be inventoried at the close of business each day; nail clippers must be numbered, shadow-boarded, tethered, and chained.
Infection Control and Environmental Health
SOP 507.04.71 (Environmental Health and Safety) establishes a comprehensive eight-component environmental health program—offender housing, laundry services, food services, general sanitation, climate control, infection control, fire safety, and equipment/utility inspections—developed by the Facilities Division in consultation with the Office of Health Services and monitored by the Warden in conjunction with the responsible health authority.
SOP 507.04.70 (Infection Control Program) requires each facility to implement a surveillance system to identify and report notifiable diseases and clusters of infection, maintain an Infection Control Committee, and follow CDC, OSHA, and APIC guidelines. The Infection Control Coordinator monitors trends and reports to the Statewide Medical Director, the Office of Health Services, the CQI Committee, and the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Clothing and Bedding Issuance
SOP 401.01 (Offender Clothing Management and Standard Issue) requires GDC to provide all offenders with state-issued clothing, bedding, linens, and personal hygiene items "in suitable condition." Bedding is defined as at minimum one mattress and one pillow; linens include at minimum two sheets, one pillowcase, and sufficient blankets. Inventory is tracked in the SCRIBE Care and Custody Module. Unserviceable items must be documented at time of destruction and cut or shredded.
SOP 507.04.71 independently confirms that each offender will be furnished "a clean mattress, pillow and case, sheets, blanket and a locker or cabinet for the safe and orderly storage of personal property," and that each offender will receive "at least three (3) clean changes of clothing and one (1) clean change of bed linen and personal towels per week."
For inmates transferring to Transitional Centers, SOP 215.16 requires the sending facility to provide a minimum package of civilian clothing and personal hygiene items (including towels, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb/brush, razor, shaving cream, and deodorant; for females, at least 12 sanitary napkins/tampons) if the inmate does not already possess them.