WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — Sheriff Jay Cantrell says he has implemented multiple short and long-term programs in the jail, designed to help inmates learn and explore different career fields.
The most recent plan, utilizing the Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy (WAGE) program, has already seen a few graduated inmates.
Sheriff Cantrell says "It's a proven program. and so there's a couple of levels, there's a level one, which is what we just completed here, and then there's a level two that they can take. We may offer that, it's a 12-week program."
The Sheriff's office reports that every day it costs about $75 to hold a detainee in Jail, this changes based on population and the number of detainees. But, this week the detention center started GED classes... and brought back Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, all at a low cost to the county.
"If we can keep these people get them out, help them find gainful employment, and maybe break some of those old habits and get out of some of those old patterns, then perhaps they won't come back to jail," Cantrell said.
As of Wednesday morning, 730 inmates were at the Washington County jail. Last week there were up to 800. Cantrell says these programs help with overcrowding issues and reduce recidivism. "That's our goal, to get people out and keep them out. Our current population averages 7.3 times they've been in [specifically this] jail,"
The Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition (AJRC) is a local nonprofit that aims to end mass incarceration. Co-founder Beth Coger says she fully supports these jail programs.
"I agree that Sheriff Cantrell is doing what he can on that level from the jail, I'm happy to see that he's using the WAGE program job training. That's a huge step forward. We know that when someone doesn't have a job, or they're under educated under-trained, it is harder to provide for their families, they have a harder time getting by, and that leads sometimes to incarceration," Coger said.
The detention center is already seeing a decrease in inmates in just a week, but Cantrell and Coger both say there's still more work to be done.
"We got a grant for a mental health court, over half a million dollars, to help them try to identify people that are in the criminal justice system that have known mental health issues, and try to process them to separate court system to try to get them the assistance they need to get them plugged into the community treatment program," Cantrell said.
"We have pretrial officers who would connect people to resources, to housing, to food, to jobs and transportation, and help them make their court days, stay connected, and resolve their cases. that would be a huge step forward, " Coger said.
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