The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has received a first-ever award created by a corrections group to recognize departments that strive to meet national standards. The Lucy Webb Hayes Award from the American Correctional Association honors correctional agencies that have met 100 percent compliance with ACA accreditation standards and federal Prison Rape Elimination Act standards. Prisons director Gary Mohr says one of the changes in his department includes it's mission statement.
At 27 percent, Ohio's recidivism rate is about half the national average. But the state's prison population of 50-thousand is near a record, and facilities are 30 percent over capacity. Mohr believes there are too many nonviolent offenders with drug convictions who could be better served in a community setting.
The award is named for the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes, who was elected as the ACA's founding president in 1870. Lucy Webb Hayes was a native of Chillicothe.
