Program Example

Staffed by 70 full-time instructors, Orange County Jail programming includes adult basic education, GED preparation, vocational training, life skills development, psychoeducation groups, and substance abuse education. Courses are carefully tailored to the short periods of time that jail inmates are incarcerated by focusing on core competencies, demanding an intensive schedule, identifying “early exit” points, and providing a self-paced substance education course. Programming typically runs six hours a day, fi ve days a week.

At intake, individuals are assessed for grade level proficiency, vocational skills, and substance abuse. From this assessment, jail staff determine eligibility and placement. Inmates are not eligible for programming if they are classifi ed as a security risk, as having a severe mental illness, or are sentenced for more than 60 days.

Inmates who agree to participate and avoid misconduct are eligible for privileges based on behavior, including sentence reduction; inmates who refuse to participate and those who misbehave remain in the main facility where they are denied certain privileges, such as contact visits, television, and recreation hours. Participants are supervised in facilities architecturally designed to allow maximum contact between staff and inmates without physical barriers.

The jail also has two prerelease job assistance programs. The first, staffed by four full-time corrections employees, helps inmates search for work and monitors the job performance of the 15 percent of former inmates who are place on county probation. The second, staffed by two job developers from Mid- Florida Technical School, helps inmates enrolled in vocational courses find employment and addresses their medical, housing, and transrporation needs. The Corrections Division fi nances this programming from the inmate welfare fund, local and Federal grants, and State education disbursements to the county school board for adult basic education.

Outcomes