NEWS RELEASE
FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 24, 2016) – Kentucky State Penitentiary (KSP) in Eddyville received a near-perfect audit score on its recent re-accreditation audit with the American Correctional Association (ACA). The prison received a total score of 99.1 percent.
“I am very proud of the Kentucky State Penitentiary staff,” said Corrections Commission Rodney Ballard. “This score speaks volumes about their level of commitment to the job. They are working in a prison that was constructed over 130 years ago and yet, the prison continues to achieve excellent audit scores and praise from the auditors.”
In announcing the score, ACA Audit Chairman Kyle Poppart from Nebraska was very complimentary of the staff at KSP and their job performance. “The Kentucky State Penitentiary stands above most facilities in sanitation and definitely is keeping pace with any correctional institution in the country, if not ahead of most,” said Poppart.
This audit marks the 12th accreditation in the history of the penitentiary, Kentucky’s oldest prison facility. The prison has been accredited since 1983.
“It takes consistent diligence and hard work to meet the very tough standards that are in place for an ACA audit,” said Warden Randy White. “It isn’t something that we rush in to and prepare for just in time for a three-year audit. It is an on-going process that takes the hard work of the entire staff on a daily basis. I’m very proud of the staff at KSP.”
ACA consists of over 500 national standards that cover security, operational and programming aspects of a prison and require constant monitoring and quality control checks. Each prison is audited by ACA every three years and has an inter-departmental audit (Program Security Review) every year. Kentucky has been a member of ACA since the early 1980s.