At a December 8 meeting of Department Heads, the Superintendent of the House of Correction provided an update on its progress for the year. The presentation may be viewed here.
The House of Correction was re-created as a standalone department under the management of the County Executive in mid-2013. Since then the management of the facility has focused on reducing long-term recidivism by implementing additional programming and work-release opportunities to sentenced inmates.
These opportunities include working to clean up parks, highways, and other County facilities; and to develop skills in food preparation, graphics and silk screening, forklift operation, and other areas along with educational improvement and job seeking skills such as interviewing and resume development.
The goal of this programming is to improve the ability of sentenced inmates to seek long-term employment and avoid criminal behavior; with long-term financial benefits to County taxpayers by avoiding incarceration and prosecution costs.
In addition to information about these programs, the presentation provides historical information about the House of Correction, including its former facilities.