GDC's audit schedules: ACA accreditation, PREA and internal audits, fiscal 2022 to 2026

Georgia Department of Corrections Office of Legal Services — Open Records RE: Open Records Request — Annual external audit schedules and annual Executive Reports required by GDC SOP 103.62 Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., GDC Accountability Project, Inc. (Georgia Prisoners' Speak) requests the following existing records. Each of items 1 through 3 is a record that GDC Standard Operating Procedure 103.62, "Audits of Operations and Programs" (effective October 24, 2017), requires the Department to create and to retain for five years. 1. The annual published schedule of audits required by SOP 103.62(IV)(B) for each calendar or fiscal year from 2018 through the present. 2. The annual published schedule of external audits required by SOP 103.62(IV)(E) for each calendar or fiscal year from 2018 through the present. 3. The annual Executive Report required by SOP 103.62(IV)(D)(4), which "shall include audit results for all facilities inspected during the reporting period," for each reporting period from 2018 through the present. 4. A current list of all GDC facilities and offices holding American Correctional Association accreditation, identifying for each: the facility or office name, the date of initial accreditation, the date of each subsequent reaccreditation, the compliance score awarded at each audit, and the date the current accreditation expires. 5. Any record reconciling or explaining the difference between the Department's public statement of December 10, 2024 that 47 state facilities plus the training academy and central office are ACA-accredited, and the figure of 49 accredited facilities reported to the 2024 Georgia Senate Study Committee on the Department of Corrections (SR 570). REQUESTER AND PURPOSE. This request is made by GDC Accountability Project, Inc., a Georgia 501(c)(3) nonprofit investigative newsroom publishing as Georgia Prisoners' Speak, for news-gathering and publication purposes. RESPONSE DEADLINE. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(b)(1)(A) requires production within three business days, or, where records are not available within that period, a written description of the responsive records and a timeline for their production. Please state a date certain. COST ESTIMATE. If the Department anticipates costs exceeding $25.00, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(d) requires written notice of the estimate within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days. A statement that an estimate will be provided at some later date does not satisfy the statute. Any estimate must itemize: (a) the hourly rate charged; (b) the position title of the lowest-paid full-time employee with the necessary skill and training to perform the work, as O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(c) requires; (c) the estimated search, retrieval, and redaction time attributed to each numbered item above; and (d) per-page copying charges, if any. Please note that O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(c) prohibits charging for the first quarter hour of search and retrieval. FORMAT. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(f), please produce electronic records in the electronic format in which they are maintained. Where records exist as spreadsheets, databases, or structured data, please produce them as CSV or in their native format rather than as PDF or printed output. Please deliver electronically. EXEMPTIONS. If any record or portion of a record is withheld, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(d) requires that the Department cite the specific legal authority for the withholding. Please provide a per-record index identifying, for each item withheld or redacted: the record's date, author, recipient, and title; the specific subsection of O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 or other authority relied upon; and the reason it applies. A general citation to a statute, without record-level explanation, does not satisfy this requirement. Where a record contains both exempt and non-exempt material, please redact and produce the remainder. NO RECORDS. If the Department maintains that no record responsive to any of items 1 through 3 exists, please state that determination expressly and in writing as to each numbered item. PRESERVATION. Please treat this request as notice to preserve all records within its scope, including electronic records, backup copies, and records subject to routine deletion schedules, pending completion of this request and any appeal. PARTIAL PRODUCTION. GPS asks that the Department produce responsive records on a rolling basis as they become available rather than withholding all production until the request is complete. GDC Accountability Project, Inc. (Georgia Prisoners' Speak) 285 W Wieuca Rd NE, PMB #4153, Atlanta, GA 30342 accountability@gps.pressPlease be specific with your request to narrow our search and respond to you quickly and efficiently.