$20.5 million is being earmarked for a project at the local women’s prison, which is estimated to cost $360 million in total. Advocates have spoken out against the new plan.
FRAMINGHAM - Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has unveiled a plan to invest millions of dollars into the renovation of MCI-Framingham.
The plan—which was outlined in a press released published on Monday, June 30—notes that $20.5 million in the state’s capital budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year is earmarked for the project at the all-female prison, which was built in 1877. The project’s total anticipated cost is $360 million, according to the Healey administration.
State officials say the initial $20.5 million is meant to provide a “modern and sustainable” facility.
“This is more than an investment in a 150-year-old building,” Healey said in Monday’s press release.
“It represents an investment in people, a commitment to second chances, and a responsibility to build a safer future for communities statewide.”
Part of the plan includes a proposed downsizing of the MCI-Framingham campus; the project is set to reduce the site from 260,000 to 200,000 square feet. The plan also features a reduction of beds at the medium security prison, which currently holds 218 individuals. The Massachusetts Department of Correction noted that 42% of the population currently at MCI-Framingham are within five years of their release, which was mentioned by Healey as one of the reasons behind the decision to reduce the prison’s footprint.
Healey and her administration emphasized their intention of focusing on rehabilitation for those at MCI-Framingham through this project. Other notable renovations in the plan include a “campus-like setting” that features medical and mental health treatment such as private counseling, along with funding for programs supporting job training, education, and recreation.
“Our investment in MCI-Framingham builds upon Massachusetts’ remarkable progress in providing a rehabilitative experience that not only meets the complex needs of the incarcerated population but supports the successful reintegration of individuals, which directly impacts the overall safety and security of our communities,” Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said in a statement.
Monday’s announcement did receive some criticism, however.
Families for Justice as Healing, a Massachusetts-based organization that is a member of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, released a statement speaking out against the plan. The statement was shared to The Frame by the organization’s Co-Director Mallory Hanora.
“We staunchly oppose this new, more expensive prison construction plan that will cause irreparable harm and trauma to current and future generations of Massachusetts women and families,” the statement from Families for Justice as Healing read.
“We condemn this project as a misuse of taxpayer dollars, especially while our communities need significant capital investment and the state faces budget shortfalls in vital safety net programs.”
The group, which has advocated against the construction of a new women’s prison in the past, claims that the list of concerns from incarcerated women related to conditions at MCI-Framingham—such as mismanagement, sexual misconduct and harassment, as well as a lack of nutritious meals—have not been addressed by the Healey administration. Advocates against a new or renovated women’s prison also contend that incarceration results in further trauma and harm for inmates.
“This governor must recognize the urgent need, as a matter of public safety policy, to release more women—starting with elders in their sixties and seventies, women who are suffering with debilitating illnesses, and survivors of domestic and sexual violence,” the organization’s statement continued.
“Governor Healey should truly invest in building up people, not prisons, and improve safety and well-being for all of us.”
Families for Justice as Healing also pointed out that the new $360 million estimated price to complete the MCI-Framingham plan is about seven times higher than the initial $50 million estimate made in late 2019 to develop a women’s prison complex in Norfolk.
No specific timeline to begin or complete construction on the MCI-Framingham project has been provided by state officials.
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