LATEST PRISON CHIEF HOPES TO RESTORE PUBLIC FAITH IN TROUBLED SYSTEM

After two months at the helm of South Carolina's embattled prison system,
director Gary D. Maynard is certain of one thing: The recent series of sex
and drug scandals has shattered the credibility of the Department of
Corrections. Restoring public faith in the integrity of its prison system
may be the new director's most daunting task. Maynard took over in May.
Gov. Jim Hodges fired veteran director William "Doug" Catoe after it was
discovered that convicted murderer Susan Smith had sex with two guards and
that inmates on work detail at the governor's mansion were having sex.
Restoring public faith requires a renewed focus on the basics, such as
fiscal responsibility, effectiveness, safety and efficiency, Maynard said.
But the question on a lot of minds is: How do you keep inmates and
corrections officers from having sex? It's a issue of employee training and
oversight, Maynard said. Maynard's job history includes working at
entry-level positions, so he knows the pitfalls.

He has begun talking to every group of newly hired corrections officers at
orientation. "It's a difficult thing.

It's one of our basic human urges.

You just have to make sure people know the traps, know where to draw the
line, and know that it will not be tolerated," he said. At least 16 prison
employees and guards have been charged with drug and sex offenses since
last summer. Last month an HIV-positive inmate was able to stay behind
after an adult-education class and sexually assault a prison librarian.
Maynard immediately called for a review of prison procedures after the
librarian was assaulted, and he met with her personally. Besides attempting
to restore the credibility of the state's 31-prison, 21,000-inmate system,
Maynard has had to deal with a serious budget shortfall. The Department of
Corrections will see a 10 percent cut to its $350 million budget. Two days
after starting the job, Maynard announced his intention to close three
small prison facilities to help deal with the shortfall.

He mentioned as targets the State Park Correctional Facility in Columbia,
the Lower Savannah Pre-Release Facility in Aiken and Givens Youth
Correctional Center in Simpsonville. He said closing the three small
facilities would save the department $12 million to $16 million in payroll,
maintenance and other expenses.

The prisons haven't been shut down yet, but action is expected soon.
Maynard also laid off 91 temporary employees. He said he is still reviewing
his staff and has not decided exactly which employees will be let go. The
director plans to lay off up to 125 employees from central administration
and less than 10 percent of the staff at the prisons. Letting employees who
work directly with prisoners take the budget hit would be devastating, he
said. "Any operation, like a prison, that functions 365 days a year, 24
hours a day, is not usually overstaffed or heavy in line workers." Maynard
believes management and administration costs can be cut by 20 percent,
avoiding a reduction in services. "We're taking the larger cuts at the top.
I really don't want to cut the line staff.

They're the heart of what we do," he said. Maynard thinks he can avoid
additional layoffs with a hiring freeze. "There's a high turnover in this
line of work, and I believe that through attrition, retirement and people
leaving for other jobs, we can manage it," he said. Some department
programs may be on the chopping block if their costs do not balance with
their effectiveness, Maynard said. "In good times, we've developed a lot of
specialized programs, but some of those may have to be combined or trimmed
down," he said. Areas that may face cuts are youthful offender programs and
juvenile boot camp programs, he said. Maynard believes the prisons should
do more to prepare inmates to re-enter society. "About 98 percent of the
people we have in prison will return to the streets.

They will be out among us. The more we can do in training them in how to
live, the better," he said. Only 15 percent of prisoners are released on
parole with supervision. The other 85 percent complete their sentences and
leave prison with no oversight, Maynard said. In addition, 85 percent of
the prisoners who enter the South Carolina system have some type of drug or
alcohol addiction, Maynard said. Only 10 percent or fewer of those people
get any kind of treatment while in prison. In an era of tight budget
constraints, Maynard hopes to foster more volunteer programs to help
inmates prepare to return to society and get alcohol and drug treatment, he
said. Maynard also plans to focus on employee safety concerns and
leadership training. "The Department of Corrections that you see today
won't be the same one that you see next year," he said. Maynard ran the
Oklahoma prison system from 1987 to 1992 and came to South Carolina from
the University of Oklahoma's correction and public safety program.

He has also worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Arkansas
prison system.

Ellen Meacham covers state and federal courts.