Isaac Brambila — Staff reporter
LAKE COUNTY — Organizations looking to hire inmates as part of the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility inmate worker program will have to pay for an armed guard and transportation costs of if they want to hire inmate workers.
Lake County Sheriff Frank Rivero made changes to the program that will require anyone who hires inmates to pay about $50 for the costs, Rivero said.
Jail personnel allow some inmates to work outside and earn time off their sentence.
The changes come as a response to address two walk-away escapes that happened while inmates were working outside the jail in the past year, Rivero said.
The adjustment, however, may strike reluctance in organizations and businesses that regularly use the program or planned to use it in the future. With minimum wage in California currently at $8 an hour, organizations may opt to hire elsewhere for unskilled work and avoid the similar cost and responsibility of the $50 an hour cost for an armed guard who oversees six inmate workers.
Social Services Director Carol Huchingson, who has used the inmate worker program on and off for approximately 10 years, said the added cost will prompt her to use the program less. As an alternative, Social Services has the option to hire outside of the program.
Social Services has used inmate workers when maintenance personnel had to perform “big jobs” and needed the extra help, Huchingson said. Inmates usually help qualified workers on maintenance projects for Social Services.
Though the spike in costs for inmate workers may dissuade her from using the program in the future, Huchingson said that adding security personnel may be a good idea.
Last month, while about five inmate workers participated in a maintenance project with two Social Services employees, one inmate escaped, Huchingson said. The two Social Services employees had received training from jail personnel on how to oversee inmate workers, but they were unable to prevent the escape.
“It worked well in the past because inmates were not flight risks,” Huchingson said.
Social Services personnel had not experienced an escape or an attempted escape before.
The changes, Rivero said, were made to regain control of the program and have qualified officers who can be held accountable for the walk-away escapes.
“Any walk-away is unacceptable,” Rivero said.
Though Rivero doesn”t expect that much of a change, a lack of demand for worker inmates from outside the jail could hinder the opportunity to earn time off from their sentences from some, Rivero said.
This comes at a time when the county and the state are planning to expand the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility space to address overcrowding issues.
Despite problems changes to the program may face, Rivero focuses on reducing walk-away escapes, he said.
“It”s a public safety issue,” Rivero said.
Isaac Brambila is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 37 or at ibrambila@record-bee.com
