Virginia has rejected bids by two companies to operate a state facility that detains violent sex offenders for treatment after their sentences are completed.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that state officials who evaluated the proposals thought Florida-based GEO Group focused too much on incarceration and not enough on treatment. Pennsylvania-based Liberty Healthcare Corp. scored better on treatment, but its bid was $2.4 million higher than the state is spending to run the facility itself.
The unsolicited bids to operate the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation in Burkeville were submitted in 2011. Meghan McGuire of the state Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services says a review determined the existing operation is comparable to or better than the proposals, and there was no long-term financial advantage to privatization.