Alabama corrections officials report hiring gains, detail construction progress and staffing needs for new Kaye Ivey complex

A Department of Corrections representative told the Joint Interim Committees that the department has increased hiring and is using a partnership with the Alabama Community College System to prepare recruits for the academy, while construction on the Governor Kaye Ivey Correctional Complex is more than halfway complete and will require additional staff and transition funding.

The presentation, delivered to the committee during a public session, said the department graduated a class of 96 correctional officer trainees in late 2024 and reported that a January 2025 class initially had 149 reports, with 145 remaining at the time of the hearing. The representative said the department believes that reported January numbers are the largest in the department’s history.

The committee was told the department runs a six-week “Activate” program with Alabama community colleges that gives candidates morning physical training and afternoon academic instruction to improve pass rates on the physical fitness test required for correctional officer trainees. The speaker said 23 people entered a recent Activate cohort, 21 completed it and went on to graduate from the academy; two left because of injuries.

The representative described the Governor Kaye Ivey Correctional Complex in Elmore County as a specialized men’s facility focused on medical and mental-health services. The department said the project is 53% complete, averages about 830 construction workers on site daily and covers roughly 300 acres inside the perimeter fence. The facility’s footprint was described as about 1,400,000 square feet with 17 housing buildings. Officials told the committee the design includes specialized medical and mental health buildings, classrooms, step-down beds and a 256-bed double-cell housing unit in typical wings; intake capacity was listed as 384. The representative said the new complex will receive all male intake currently at Kilby and that other facilities will close when the new complex opens, producing “replacement beds” rather than a net increase in statewide bed capacity.

On project cost, the presentation stated: “The construction is 1,080,000,000.00.” Committee members asked whether that figure matched bond authorizations; the department responded that the state has more money appropriated than the stated construction cost and that an additional roughly $625 million had been allocated at the time toward a second prison. The department described the project as a design-build delivery, and the representative acknowledged changes to plans after the general contractor signed a guaranteed maximum price had driven costs from earlier estimates.

Committee questions focused on schedule, cost overruns, staffing and transition planning. The department said the contractor-set substantial completion date is May 29, 2026, and that the agency has discussed transition plans with other states that recently opened large facilities because moving thousands of inmates requires phased staffing at both old and new facilities. The department said FY 2026 budget requests include transition funding to cover anticipated extra costs during the move.

Officials listed several staffing and operations priorities for FY 2026: hiring more correctional officers to meet federal court orders; creating a constituent services unit required by last year’s legislation to handle family and public inquiries through an online form and database; adding a dedicated lock maintenance team (nine trade/maintenance positions) to address repeated lock damage; and issuing a request for proposals for statewide food services, which the department said would free security staff from kitchen duties where hiring for food-service classifications is difficult.

The representative said inmate health-care, transport and other professional services are substantial budget drivers for a population the department estimated at about 21,000 incarcerated people. On inmate transport, the speaker described routine in-state and out-of-state transfers and recounted a weather-related transport disruption that required temporary arrangements with a county jail.

On work-release earnings, a committee member asked how inmate gross wages are distributed. The representative said the department’s monthly statistical reports list gross inmate earnings and itemize deductions for the department, courts (court costs, fines, child support), amounts sent to families and amounts retained on the inmate’s commissary account. When asked what percentage the department takes from inmate wages, the representative said, “40%.”

Committee members raised questions about the Perry County facility and whether inmates currently in state custody are assigned there for pre-parole preparation. The department said inmates who reside at that facility are on parole; the agency said the facility provides reentry programs and technical education through Ingram State Technical College.

The department also noted ongoing court-related obligations—court-ordered staffing and medical and mental-health requirements—cited systemic lawsuits that have driven some budget needs, and referenced the Duke case regarding camera coverage at St. Clair. The representative said some cameras are old or have blind spots that need replacement.

The presentation closed with committee members thanking the department and asking for copies of reports and task-force results the department had cited.

Ending: The committee did not take formal votes during the presentation. Officials said they would provide requested reports and that transition and staffing needs would be included in the department’s FY 2026 budget submission.