Two CCA Facilities in Florence Introduce Vanpooling Program to Benefit Employees, Environment
FLORENCE, Ariz. – More than 45 employees of the Florence Correctional Center and Central Arizona Detention Center are participating in a new vanpooling program being rolled out at Corrections Corporation of America facilities nationwide.
The Florence facilities are two of four CCA facilities to pilot the CCA Employee Vanpooling Program, and the company plans to implement the service throughout much of its system of 65 correctional centers over the course of the next year.
Not only is vanpooling environmentally conscientious since it saves gasoline and keeps vehicles off the highways, it is an effective employee retention and recruitment tool, says Mike Latko, CCA’s senior director of human resources.
“Many of our facilities – such as FCC and CADC in Florence -- are located outside of major metropolitan areas, and employees can spend hundreds of dollars on gas each month traveling to and from work,” Latko said. “By participating in the CCA EmployeeVanpooling Program, employees can save significant money on gas, reduce wear and tear and insurance costs on their own vehicles, eliminate the stress of driving, and participate in good will for the environment. In a competitive job market, vanpooling is an avenue for CCA to set itself apart as an employer of choice.”
In addition to the Florence facilities, a CCA vanpooling program is in place at Huerfano Correctional Center in Walsenburg, Colo. and is soon to be operational at North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, Okla. These programs are coordinated on a month-to-month basis by national vanpooling provider VPSI Inc.
In most instances, up to 15 employees share a ride to work in a customized van, which picks up and drops off the employees at a central location near their homes. VPSI provides the van, analyzes employee addresses to determine ideal pick-up locations, and provides full liability insurance. CCA provides participating employees with a stipend to cover a portion of the vanpooling cost. Pinal County also provides a monthly stipend of $100 per person to defray gas costs, meaning most employees save more than $150 per month on gasoline alone.
Here in Florence, where many CCA employees come to work from as far as 70 to 80 miles away, two vanpools are operational at both FCC and CADC. Every day, for example, eight employees who live in the towns of San Manuel, Oracle, and Mammoth vanpool to and from their first-shift jobs at FCC.
“In the past, I saw people quit their jobs because of the amount of money they were spending on gasoline and the wear and tear on their cars,” said officer Gary Cruce of FCC, who lives 75 miles away in San Manuel. “Participating in the vanpooling program is saving me close to $200 a month on gas, and I no longer have to change the oil in my car every month like I did before. This is a great benefit.”
About CCA
CCA is the nation’s largest owner and operator of privatized correctional and detention facilities and one of the largest prison operators in the United States, behind only the federal government and three states. The company provides turn-key design, build, finance and operational management services, along with providing a wide range of rehabilitative programming for offenders, including education, vocation, substance abuse treatment, faith initiatives and life skills training. CCA operates 65 facilities, including 41 company-owned facilities, with a total design capacity of approximately 75,000 beds in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Visit www.correctionscorp.com for more information.