Staffers from the Kentucky Department of Corrections and jailers from Boone, Campbell, Grayson, Hardin and Marion counties presented testimony to the legislators.
Randy White, Deputy Commissioner of Adult Institutions for the Department of Corrections, said Kentucky Correctional Industries (KCI) produces high quality office products, textiles, offers printing and engraving services, and operates multiple farms. According to White, KCI currently employs around 375 inmates but has capacity to hire up to 700 offenders.
“They’re introduced to a positive culture. It offers them stability,” White said.
Sen. John Schickel, co-chair of the task force, is a former Boone County jailer. He described that work as the most fulfilling job he’s ever had due to the positive impact that can be made on people’s lives.
“We don’t realize all the good things that are going on in jails and prisons. All we hear is the negative. We don’t hear the good. And there is good,” Schickel said.
Grayson County Jailer Jason Woosley spoke about the many projects and programs supported by inmate labor in his county, including building a community garden, renovating county and city facilities and constructing a pavilion and fishing dock that could be used by nursing homes and others.
“Every year in the summertime, both of our nursing homes would bring their residents out for fishing there at pond that’s located on the jail property,” Woosley said. “And if you can imagine, we were struggling with dealing with wheelchairs at the water’s edge.
“So, we built this pavilion and fishing deck for those residents to enjoy. And then it’s also used for a lot of our employee outings and different things that we do there at the jail, and it’s offered to the public for public use,” Woosley added.
“Wow – totally amazing stuff,” Schickel said.
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