BULLETIN: MDOC announces closure of West Shoreline Correctional Facility

MDOC has announced the closure of West Shoreline Correctional Facility, tentatively scheduled for March 24.

MCO leaders were notified this morning. Read MDOC’s announcement here. The MDOC states there was no single reason MTF was chosen for closure.

A closure was long expected, although MCO officials didn’t know when or where. For years, the legislature has pushed for closures to achieve cost savings as the prison population declines. The state’s inmate population is now less than 40,000 – the lowest number in more than 20 years, according to the MDOC announcement.

MDOC Director Heidi Washington has testified before the legislature as saying a closure would be coming when she felt the time was right. Read MCO’s article about comments she gave in Feb. 2017 to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections. Subcommittee Chair John Proos has brought up closures several times over the years.

MCO President Tom Tylutki and MCO staff are heading to West Shoreline now to meet with members. The MCO Executive Board and staff will plan additional meetings with impacted members soon.

Under the terms of the MCO contract, MCO officials will sit down with the Department to discuss the ramifications of this closure and to discuss a bumping area, with the goal of coming to a mutual agreement that will mitigate the impact to members as much as possible. This is a difficult process and will take several weeks. Like MCO has done in the past, we will work to ensure the West Shoreline closure goes as smoothly as it possibly can.

MCO will keep members updated on any developments. Please watch our website, email newsletters, and our members-only Facebook group. You can also sign up for text message alerts by texting MCO to 787753.