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CH 10 Education

Last modified by Ryan Larkin on 2022/02/16 21:02

Washington County Sheriff's Office

CORRECTIONS DIVISION

Policy Manual

Volume: CH

Services and Programs

Chapter: 10

Education

Replaces and/or Supersedes:

PI 30

Published:

03/05/2012

Review Date:

02/16/2022

Sheriff Nate Brooksby

Chief Deputy Trevor Benson

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CH 10_101  Definitions

CH 10_102  References

CH 10_103  General

CH 10_104  Treatment Programs

CH 10_101  DEFINITIONS

  1. WCSO:  Washington County Sheriff's Office
  2. PCF:  Purgatory Correctional Facility

CH 10_102  REFERENCES

None

CH 10_103  GENERAL

  1. Policy:
    1. To the extent that resources are available:
      1. Educational programs should be offered to inmates; and
      2. Facilities and equipment for educational programs should be provided.
    2. The types of educational programs offered may depend on:
      1. The availability of community educational resources;
      2. The average daily population of the facility; and
      3. A determination of the educational needs of the general inmate population.
    3. Jail staff should contact state and/or local boards of education to seek their assistance in providing education programs.
  2. Rationale:
    1. Many inmates lack the education and/or skills necessary to make them competitive for employment after release.
    2. Education may help improve an inmate's capability to lawfully function in society after release.
    3. A large number of inmates with similar educational deficiencies can be served more cost-effectively.
    4. The boards of education may be able to supply additional resources. The Utah Legislature has created statutory responsibility for the State Board of Education, subject to legislative appropriation, for the education of persons in the custody of the Utah Department of Corrections. PCF typically holds some UDC prisoners.

CH 10_104  TREATMENT PROGRAMS

  1. Policy:
    1. The objectives of the jail’s treatment programs (e.g., Alcohol Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Sex Offender Treatment Program, etc.) will be identified by the specific treatment programs being offered.
    2. The programs which will be offered will be scheduled and managed by the Programming Unit. Current programming schedules will be made available to inmates via the jail electronic kiosk/tablet system.
    3. Treatment programs will be provided by qualified instructors under the direction of the Programming Unit.
    4. WCSO employees and/or public volunteers may be involved in providing treatment programs.
  2. Rationale:
    1. Treatment program objectives and procedures should be identified in order to inform staff and inmates.
    2. Most inmates in jails are in custody for such a short period of time, that such prisoners would receive little if any benefit from treatment programs. While some courts have found a constitutional right for inmates to receive treatment programs, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled:
      1. "We would have to wrench the Eighth Amendment from its language and history to hold that delay of these desirable aids to rehabilitation violates the Constitution."
      2. "An essential tool of prison administration . . . is the authority to offer inmates various incentives to behave. The Constitution accords prison officials' wide latitude to bestow or revoke these perquisites as they see fit. Accordingly, [we have] held that an inmate's transfer to another facility did not in itself implicate a liberty interest, even though that transfer resulted in the loss of "access to vocational, educational, recreational, and rehabilitative programs."
    3. Since there is no constitutional right to rehabilitation or to specific treatment programs, the jail has sole discretion in determining which, if any, programs are authorized.