The GEO Group and GEO Care Awarded Joint Contracts for the Construction and Management of a New 2,000-Bed Special Needs Prison in Florida

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) ("GEO”) announced today that it has received a Notice of Intent to Award contracts from the State of Florida, Department of Management Services for the design, construction, and operation of a new 2,000-bed special needs prison to be located in Santa Rosa County, Florida. The new 2,000-bed prison will house medium and close-custody security adult male inmates, the majority of whom will require chronic medical and mental health treatment.

Under the award, GEO will begin the design and construction, through tax-exempt bonds, of a new $120.0 million 2,000-bed prison that will be lease-purchase financed and owned by the State of Florida. GEO will begin management and operation of the prison upon its completion by the end of the second quarter of 2010.

The management and operation of the prison will be jointly provided by GEO and GEO Care, the company’s wholly-owned mental healthcare subsidiary. The management contract will have a minimum occupancy guarantee of 90 percent and an initial term of three years which may be renewed for successive two-year periods. At the 90 percent occupancy level, the management contract is expected to generate approximately $28.0 million in annual operating revenues for GEO, exclusive of debt service payments. Under a subcontract, GEO Care will be responsible for the provision of mental healthcare and residential treatment services for the special-needs inmate population. GEO Care’s subcontract is expected to generate approximately $20.0 million in annual revenues. On a combined basis, the contracts will generate approximately $48.0 million in annualized revenues for GEO.

George C. Zoley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GEO, said, "The development and operation of this important 2,000-bed special needs prison will help meet the on-going need for secure correctional beds in the State of Florida. This type of special-needs facility is needed in many states around the country, and we were fortunate to have been able to team up with GEO Care to provide the important mental health expertise required to manage special-needs inmate populations. We are grateful for the confidence placed in our company by the Florida Department of Management Services, and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with the State of Florida and to working closely with the community of Santa Rosa County, Florida to maximize the local economic development impact of this project.”

The GEO Group, Inc. ("GEO") is a world leader in the delivery of correctional, detention, and residential treatment services to federal, state, and local government agencies around the globe. GEO offers a turnkey approach that includes design, construction, financing, and operations. GEO represents government clients in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. GEO’s worldwide operations include the management and/or ownership of 67 correctional and residential treatment facilities with a total design capacity of approximately 64,000 beds, including projects under development.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and future performance of GEO that involve risks and uncertainties that could materially affect actual results, including statements regarding estimated earnings, revenues and costs and our ability to maintain growth and strengthen contract relationships. Factors that could cause actual results to vary from current expectations and forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to: (1) GEO’s ability to successfully pursue further growth and continue to enhance shareholder value; (2) GEO’s ability to access the capital markets in the future on satisfactory terms or at all; (3) risks associated with GEO’s ability to control operating costs associated with contract start-ups; (4) GEO’s ability to timely open facilities as planned, profitably manage such facilities and successfully integrate such facilities into GEO’s operations without substantial costs; (5) GEO’s ability to win management contracts for which it has submitted proposals and to retain existing management contracts; (6) GEO’s ability to obtain future financing on acceptable terms; (7) GEO’s ability to sustain company-wide occupancy rates at its facilities; and (8) other factors contained in GEO’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports.