Prison Job Training To Be Retooled
UNM Anderson School, State Forming Partnership
A New Mexico Department of Corrections division that offers inmates job training and offers a chance to earn money is getting revamped, officials announced Tuesday.
At a news conference held at the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management, Gov. Susana Martinez said the department and the schools have formed a new partnership aimed at retooling the Corrections Industries Division.
The division allows inmates to participate in public works projects, teaches inmates jobs skills and trains them to make furniture and textiles. But in recent years the program has been training inmates in jobs that are no longer in demand, Martinez said.
“Many are released from prison without a clue,” she said. “They need work skills that are transferable.”
Under the partnership, Anderson students and professors will help corrections officials develop a business model for the division. Teams examining the division will then offer suggestions into what new job skill training the department should adopt.
Among the training the division is considering is xeriscaping — a form of landscaping
and gardening that requires low water use, New Mexico Corrections Secretary Gregg Marcantel said. Xeriscaping would be easy to teach inmates and the ski l ls would help inmates get related “green jobs” that are now in demand, he said.
“This is a good opportunity for our students to see how the state government works and is seen as a win/win for public purpose,” UNM Anderson School of Management Dean Doug Brown said.
The partnership is part of Marcantel’s broad efforts to reform the state’s prison system.
The department is conducting an audit of inmate records after a handful of inmates were mistakenly released early.
Marcantel said he plans on asking state lawmakers for new legislation and more funding to create a centralized database on inmates to prevent more early releases.