SINCE 1996, US AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT GAVE OVER $277 MILLION TO FUND LOCAL JAIL CONSTRUCTION
The United States Department of Agriculture provided over $277 million in funding for county jail construction since 1996, according to documents obtained by Shadowproof.
The funding came in the form of grants and long-term low-interest loans through the Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program run by the USDA’s Rural Development agency.
Small rural communities are supposed to benefit from the CF program, which is designed to assist residents with the purchase, construction, or renovation of essential buildings, such as hospitals, town halls, libraries, and food pantries. It also funds “public safety” facilities for fire, law enforcement, and corrections departments.
CF program loans typically have a thirty to forty-year term with fixed interest rates set by the agency (usually around three-to-four percent). Grants are awarded primarily to small and impoverished counties and can only account for a maximum of 75 percent of the proposed project costs. Some counties received a mix of grants and loans.
North Carolina received the most money from the program over the last 20 years, with counties taking $66.7 million in loans since 2005. Their most recent loan was for nearly $20 million to renovate and expand the Bladen County Jail in August, 2015.
https://shadowproof.com/2018/06/06/277-million-usda-jail-construction-boom/
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