Oversight & Audits
DOAA State Auditor audits of GDC, 2004–2025 (from the 2026-09-02 Georgia Archives / audits.ga.gov pull)
This GPS compilation catalogs Department of Audits and Accounts (DOAA) performance audits touching the Georgia Department of Corrections from 1971–2025, drawing on 82 online PDFs and Georgia Archives box-only records. Key findings include severe gaps in inmate death review (only 30 of 233 non-execution deaths in 2005–06 had evidence of mortality review), high correctional officer turnover (29% in FY2013), and projected prison bed utilization exceeding 97.5% of standard capacity by FY2023. The document also flags a critical methodological caution: the 2018 Bed Demand report's Appendix C inventories operational beds, not original design capacity, and should not be used as a design-capacity source.
Key Findings
The most impactful data from this research collection.
30
Only 30 of 233 Deaths Reviewed
Statistic86
86 Deaths Missing Medical Files
Statistic$278M
$278M Health Cost Projection
Statistic29%
29% Officer Turnover Rate
StatisticAll Data Points
49 verified data points extracted from primary sources.
Only 30 of 233 inmate deaths had mortality review evidence (2005-06) Statistic
Only 30 of 233 inmate deaths in 2005–06 (excluding executions) had evidence of a mortality review; OHS could not locate medical files for 86 of the 203 unreviewed deaths.
30 deaths with mortality review evidence vs. total inmate deaths excluding executions
Medical files missing for 86 unreviewed deaths Statistic
OHS could not locate medical files for 86 of the 203 unreviewed deaths in 2005–06.
86 missing medical files vs. unreviewed deaths
Mortality reviews stopped late 2005 citing 9th Circuit case Finding
Reviews stopped late 2005 citing a 9th Circuit case; a committee was re-established May 2006.
Executive mortality reviews deteriorated considerably Finding
Clinical audits, executive mortality reviews and expert recommendations 'deteriorated considerably' after central OHS staff cuts.
Health costs projected to reach $278M by FY2011 Statistic
Health costs projected $278M by FY2011 vs $179M in FY2006, driven by catastrophic cases.
$278M vs. FY2006 health costs in millions
Population growth outpaced direct-care staff Finding
Population growth outpaced direct-care staff in inmate health care.
OHS had extensive management control system for 54,000+ inmates Finding
OHS had 'an extensive management control system' for 54,000+ inmates, but 'quality … is threatened by decreasing staffing levels that are a result of budget constraints.'
FY2013 correctional officer turnover rate 29% Statistic
GDC CO turnover 29% in FY2013 = ~2,109 new hires, ~$19.3M in hiring/certification cost; entry salary $24,322.
29%
FY2013 correctional officer new hires approximately 2,109 Statistic
GDC CO turnover in FY2013 resulted in approximately 2,109 new hires.
2,109 new hires
FY2013 correctional officer hiring/certification cost $19.3M Statistic
GDC spent approximately $19.3M in hiring/certification cost for correctional officers in FY2013.
$19.3M
FY2013 correctional officer entry salary $24,322 Statistic
Entry salary for GDC correctional officers was $24,322 in FY2013.
$24,322
FY2018 average daily population 50,012 Statistic
FY2018 ADP 50,012 (75% state prisons / 15.6% private / 9.4% CCIs).
50,012 inmates
FY2018 state prison share of ADP 75% Statistic
75% of FY2018 ADP was in state prisons.
75%
FY2018 private prison share of ADP 15.6% Statistic
15.6% of FY2018 ADP was in private prisons.
15.6%
FY2018 county correctional institution share of ADP 9.4% Statistic
9.4% of FY2018 ADP was in county correctional institutions (CCIs).
9.4%
Projected 5-year ADP growth of 1,277 inmates (2.5%) Statistic
Projected +1,277 (2.5%) in 5 years → >97.5% of standard beds filled, some sub-populations ≥100%.
1,277 inmates vs. percent growth
Projected bed utilization exceeds 97.5% of standard beds Finding
Projected bed utilization would exceed 97.5% of standard beds filled, with some sub-populations at or above 100%.
Six-facility expansion plan cost $1.0–15.0M each Policy
Six-facility expansion plan ($1.0–15.0M each).
Appendix C inventories operational beds not design capacity Methodology note
Appendix C of the 2018 Bed Demand report inventories OPERATIONAL beds by type, not original design capacity; it must not be read as a design-capacity source.
FY2005 approximately 19,000 state inmates in county jails Statistic
~19,000 state inmates held in 149 county jails in FY2005; $20/day per diem from day 16.
19,000 inmates
FY2005 county jail per diem $20/day from day 16 Statistic
County jails received $20/day per diem for state inmates from day 16 of confinement.
$20.00
FY2008 inmate health contract deficit $15M Statistic
FY2008 deficit $15M for the GRU/Georgia Correctional HealthCare contract.
$15M
Inmate health contract set from prior-year spend Finding
GRU/Georgia Correctional HealthCare contract since 1997; contract set from prior-year spend, no projection formula.
Health contract expenses 35% higher in June, 25% lower in July Finding
Expenses 35% higher in June, 25% lower in July under the inmate health contract.
Staffing, direct care, pharmaceuticals = 96% of health spend Statistic
Staffing + direct care + pharmaceuticals = 96% of spend under the inmate health contract.
96%
No parts inventories at any of 6 prisons visited Finding
No parts inventories at any of 6 prisons visited; deferred-maintenance cost unknown.
Unreliable maintenance data in state prisons Data gap
Unreliable maintenance data; deferred-maintenance cost unknown.
Maintenance cost/activity tracking still weak in 2014 follow-up Finding
Follow-up 2014: cost/activity tracking still weak for state prison maintenance.
Virtual offices produced no net savings for probation Finding
GDC's use of virtual offices produced no net savings for probation.
Georgia Correctional Industries hit by external factors Finding
External factors hit GCI profitability and cash reserves.
Probation risk assessment standards revised by 2012 Finding
Probation operations risk assessment/supervision standards were revised by 2012 follow-up.
Misdemeanor probation private providers partially addressed Finding
Misdemeanor probation operations involving private providers and courts; follow-up 2016 found recommendations partially addressed.
No DOAA financial single audit of GDC found online Data gap
No DOAA financial (single) audit of GDC surfaced in the online search; agency financial audits live in Archives series 019-01-002 (Annual Audit Reports 1924–2008) and 019-02 (Financial Audits Division).
Box-only DOAA audits span 1972–2001 Finding
Box-only DOAA performance audits at Georgia Archives span 1972–2001, including 1984 Health Care Services Program, 1994 Inmate Physical Health Care Program, 1995 Telephone Commissions, and 1998 Mental Health Services Contract.
1984 Health Care Services Program audit box-only Data gap
1984 Health Care Services Program audit exists only in box form at Georgia Archives.
1994 Inmate Physical Health Care Program audit box-only Data gap
1994 Inmate Physical Health Care Program audit exists only in box form at Georgia Archives.
1995 Telephone Commissions audit box-only Data gap
1995 Telephone Commissions audit exists only in box form at Georgia Archives.
1998 Mental Health Services Contract audit box-only Data gap
1998 Selection Process & Effect of the Mental Health Services Contract audit exists only in box form at Georgia Archives.
DJJ health care audits 2005 and 2007 Finding
DJJ health care audits exist from 2005 and 2007.
DJJ security staffing audits 2014 and 2016 Finding
DJJ security staffing audits exist from 2014 and 2016.
DJJ incident response audit 2023 Finding
DJJ incident response audit exists from 2023.
Opioid MAT access audit 2017 Finding
Opioid MAT (medication-assisted treatment) access audit exists from 2017.
Adult-Felony Drug Courts audit 2010 Finding
Adult-Felony Drug Courts audit exists from 2010.
Sexual Offender Registry audits 2010 and 2012 Finding
Sexual Offender Registry audits exist from 2010 and 2012.
Work Release Program follow-up 2004 Finding
Work Release Program review from July 2001 had a follow-up in 2004.
Victim notification forms audit 2005 Finding
Notification Request Forms audit involving Pardons & Paroles and GDC covered victim-notification forms.
County jail subsidy critique of jailer counts vs GDC backlog Finding
County Jail Subsidy Program audit critiqued jailers' counts vs GDC's backlog.
10-year reconciliation of health appropriations vs expenditures Methodology note
Information on Inmate Health Care Cost Projections included 10-year reconciliation of appropriations vs expenditures and GDC's projection method vs other states.
FY2016 follow-up: raises funded but turnover still high Finding
Follow-up 2016 (16-03): raises funded, turnover still high for state corrections and community officers.
Sources
16 cited sources backing this research.
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Official report
Georgia Archives Finding Aid Series 019-01-025
Secondary
Gps original
GPS DOAA Compilation (2026-09-02)
Key Entities
Organizations, people, facilities, and other named entities referenced in this research.
Central Correctional Institution
[facility]
Department of Audits and Accounts
[organization]
Department of Offender Rehabilitation
[organization]
Georgia Archives
[organization]
Georgia Correctional HealthCare
[organization]
Georgia Correctional Industries
[organization]
Georgia Department of Corrections
[organization]
Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice
[organization]
Lowndes County Correctional Institution
[facility]
Office of Health Services
[organization]
Putnam County Correctional Institution
[facility]
State Board of Pardons and Paroles
[organization]
Stone Mountain Correctional Institution
[facility]
Wayne County Correctional Institution
[facility]
Related Topics
Research topics that draw on data from this collection.
Budget & Spending
Georgia's prison system has crossed the $1.8 billion annual threshold and absorbed the largest corrections funding increase in state history, yet core safety and care indicators have worsened. GPS's synthesis of 53 research collections shows food, health, and staff line items decoupled from population needs while vendor commissions, surveillance contracts, and extraction systems absorb large fixed flows. The result is a fiscal structure in which new money has not purchased safer, healthier, or more accountable prisons.
6,250 data points
Facility Conditions & Infrastructure
Georgia operates the fourth-largest state prison system in the United States, holding approximately 50,000 people across 85 correctional facilities that are failing faster than they can be repaired. Only three of 35 state prisons are fully air-conditioned, Autry State Prison is operating at more than double its design capacity, and nearly half of corrections officer positions sit vacant. The result is a system of buildings that injure, sicken, and kill the people inside them—even as a $634 million emergency spending package lacks the accountability measures to guarantee it addresses documented life-safety failures.
6,231 data points
Healthcare & Medical Neglect
Georgia runs a $1.8 billion prison system in which more than half of the custody population has no hepatitis C test result, food is funded at about $1.69 per person per day, and solitary confinement accounts for half of all prison suicides while housing only 6–8 percent of the population. GPS collections show how chronic undernutrition, untreated infection, an aging population, and an elected-coroner death certification system combine to deepen medical neglect and defeat accountability.
2,523 data points
Mortality & Deaths in Custody
Georgia's state prisons are in their deadliest period on record: Georgia Prisoners' Speak identified 330 total deaths in GDC custody in 2024, while official homicide counts captured only a fraction of the lethal violence. Independent reporting, DOJ findings, and coroner-system gaps expose layered undercounts across homicide, overdose, suicide, and slow-mortality deaths. Historic new corrections spending has not reversed the trend, and the state still lacks any independent mechanism to reconcile competing mortality counts.
3,383 data points
Oversight & Accountability
Georgia runs one of the largest prison systems in the country without an external independent oversight body. Federal investigators documented 142 homicides and systemic Eighth Amendment failures, while GDC self-reports near-perfect accreditation and substantiates only about 3.5 percent of PREA allegations. The state's main response has been historic funding rather than enforceable accountability mechanisms.
10,513 data points
Staffing Crisis
The Georgia Department of Corrections' correctional officer corps has collapsed: nearly half of all budgeted officer positions are vacant, and the armed workforce has shrunk by 56 percent since 2014 while the prison population stayed flat. Understaffing tracks with a documented surge in violence, homicide, overdose deaths, and staff criminality. The state has answered with historic spending increases, but without tying funds to verified staffing recovery, the crisis remains unresolved and underreported.
5,130 data points