Evolving Spaces Symposium Explores Low- and No-Cost Solutions in Corrections
Photo: Panelists (from left), Buddy Johns, Fred Moreno, Joann Lynds and Bryan Collier joined moderator John Croce for a conversation on low- and no-cost solutions at the ACA’s 155th Congress of Correction in Denver.
By Lindsey Coulter
The Evolving Spaces Symposium at the American Correctional Association’s 155th Congress of Corrections brought together justice experts and members of the architecture, engineering and construction community to share actionable strategies to improve correctional environments without breaking budgets.
Moderated by John Croce, founder and COO of NVT Phybridge, the panel featured state correctional leaders and industry professionals presenting practical solutions that improve safety, wellness and rehabilitation opportunities.
The event opened with a keynote from Robin Timme, Psy.D., SBPP, CCHP-A, of Falcon Technologies, who stressed the importance of defining and measuring progress in any effort, regardless of the financial investment.
“The only way to know if you’re having an impact is to measure it, but you can’t measure something if you can’t define it,” Timme said. “When you hear words like ‘solitary confinement’ or ‘restricted housing,’ force people to define those things… that’s the only way we can measure, change and hold ourselves accountable to do better.”
Timme highlighted research showing that people who experience incarceration often have elevated medical conditions, complex comorbidities and co-occurring disorders — and are less likely to have accessed care before entering prison. He challenged attendees to consider “the smallest, simplest, lowest-cost intervention that will most improve the human experience of prisons for both individuals and staff.”
Innovation and Adaptation in Texas
Bryan Collier, who recently retired as Executive Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), spearheaded a number of budget-conscious improvements across his tenure and detailed efforts to stretch limited resources across 103 prisons housing approximately 138,000 inmates.
“We rarely get enough funding to do major infrastructure repairs or changes,” Collier said.
That reality sparked creative solutions — including reopening closed facilities and developing new operational strategies with a smaller workforce. An aging population presents additional challenges for the TDCJ
“We have about 23,000 inmates over the age of 55, some in their eighties,” Collier said, noting increased medical needs and costs.
In response, TDCJ converted 400-bed units into infirmary-style sheltered housing for $7.2 million using staff and inmate labor. “Every two years, we need to add at least 100 sheltered housing beds to stay ahead of the issue,” he added.
In 2024, the state also reopened a closed prison near Austin as a 1,100-bed Innovation Unit for $5.1 million. The reentry-focused facility includes a veterans’ program, animal care, dog training and vocational programs. Collier said it also introduced a new culture. Men leaving the unit for community reentry do so in a suit and ring a bell while cheered on by peers.
Other low-cost changes include murals to brighten spaces, incentive housing units with washers, patio furniture, and games, and retrofitting housing units with air conditioning using inmate trainees. Water-conservation measures, like updated valve technology, saved nearly $1 million at one site alone.
Despite these improvements, Collier said staffing remains difficult, even after a 40% correctional officer pay increase, and predicted “the need for new prison construction in a major metropolitan area in the near future.”
Reducing Restrictive Housing in Massachusetts
Joann Lynds, Superintendent of MCI-Shirley in Massachusetts, shared her team’s work to eliminate restrictive housing through a secured adjustment unit that aims to reframe the thoughts and beliefs that contribute to disruptive behavior. The program is grounded in cognitive behavioral program and offers increased structure to support inmates’ individual goals. The ultimate goal, however, is to
The SAUs are separate from general population housing, located in trailers set apart from the facility’s main walkway, complete with a yard, medical space, classrooms, therapy areas and a barber shop. Additionally, showers were renovated to create “a space that the incarcerated individuals felt was developed purposefully for them,” Lynds said.
The effort engaged a multidisciplinary team to provide the incarcerated individuals with access to cognitive behavioral treatment, education, programs, structured recreation, leisure time activities, and mental health services. Each level of SAU provides a distinct program intervention that is used to respond to the individual’s unique needs and level of risk. All SAUs follow a graduated phase system designed to encourage maximum participation and support progress for the individual, coupled with a weekly incentive program to encourage progress toward individualized program plan goals.
Data showed that 77% of participants successfully remained in general population 18 months later, and 64% were engaged in programming — outcomes Lynds called “huge.”
The $2.8 million investment emphasizes recovery, interpersonal skills, emotional regulation and pro-social thinking. Feedback has been positive: “I’ve never got a thank you from an incarcerated individual before, but here we are,” Lynds said.
Progress in Programming
Fred Moreno, Senior Program Manager with APSI Construction Management and former Federal Bureau of Prisons official, discussed the value of vocational training in correctional facilities, highlighting three successful programs.
The first, a welding program at the U.S. Penitentiary in Longboat, Calif., was developed in partnership with a local community college. The college supplied equipment and managed testing and certification, while vacated industrial space was converted into classrooms and training areas.
An HVAC certification program at FCI Flagstaff in Arizona, a collaboration between the education and facilities departments, allowed inmates split time between classroom learning and hands-on work maintaining the institution’s A/C systems. This reduced equipment failures and saved costs while enabling participants to earn EPA certifications.
Finally, a wastewater treatment training program at Arizona’s Yuma complex ensures inmates gain practical experience at the institution’s on-site treatment facility and earn Grade 1 and 2 certifications, qualifying them for jobs statewide and in reciprocal states.
These initiatives demonstrate how certification-based education prepares inmates for meaningful employment, reduces recidivism, and improves community safety. “These individuals will be our neighbors one day,” Moreno emphasized. “Giving them skills makes everyone safer.”
Time Is Money
Buddy Johns, President of ModCorr, joked about being included on a low-cost panel: “Well, I am the cost.”
While his firm manufactures modular and precast detention cells, he said, the real value of the product and the approach is saving time, which can come with its own unexpected costs.
“What we do specifically is reduce the time of construction. Time is what we sell,” Johns said, urging attendees to “focus on your time” and also consider different approaches to problem solving that can help accelerate much-needed projects.
“Every system in the nation’s justice infrastructure has to move faster than it has historically,” he said. “It’s easy to identify the problems, but it’s hard to identify solutions. I challenge you to push your teams and customers to get to those solutions faster.”
Closing Thoughts
Croce closed by reframing the discussion: “When we talk about low-cost and no-cost solutions, it’s not necessarily about cost — it’s about the investment you’re looking to make. Ultimately, you’re looking at ROI, and what’s really important is the impacts being made on both staff as well as inmates.”
He encouraged attendees to “address root challenges, build strong foundations and consider total cost of ownership,” while leveraging tools like AI and automation to improve staffing, detection and safety.