NCJ Number
199922
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Dated: April 2003 Pages: 86-89,95
Date Published
April 2003
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the many collaborations and partnerships formed between community services and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida in order to provide quality programming and treatment to inmates.
Abstract
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has sought creative ways to provide quality programming and treatment services to its inmates despite the constraints of a tight county budget. Partnerships with outside service agencies and schools have enabled the Sheriff’s Office to offer top of the line programming to inmates at minimal cost to the taxpayers. One example is the partnership between the Sheriff’s Office and the Hillsborough County School Board in which academic and vocational services are provided throughout the jail system. Two vocational programs offered are the culinary arts and ornamental horticulture programs that offer on-the-job training while saving the taxpayers money. The culinary arts program utilizes inmates to provide food service to the jail, effectively cutting the cost of contracting for food services while training inmates for jobs that may be found in the community. The ornamental horticulture program trains inmates to grow and propagate a large variety of ornamental flowers, shrubs, and trees. Once a year, they sell their plants to provide the funds for the program. Many other unique and worthwhile programs are discussed in the article, such as the carpentry program and the sewing and alterations program. Substance abuse treatment programs are similarly provided for through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Administration and a contract with the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida. A domestic violence program is provided by collaboration with the Western Judicial Services, in which the court-approved provider of domestic violence counselor conducts an 8-week in-jail program. The Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office has demonstrated that quality programming and treatment can be made available to inmates despite county budget constraints. Creativity, grant programs, and partnerships can effectively meet the needs of inmates and reduce recidivism through treatment and job training programs.