Prison industry programs doing better than ever before

Thursday, Dec. 10, 1998 | 11:41 a.m.

Prison Industries Director Howard Skolnik told the board Wednesday that the program even managed to pay back the $13,000 it owed the state general fund this past fiscal year.

Skolnik said a University of Nevada, Reno study credits prison industries with a total economic impact of $14.3 million in the state last year while providing 406 jobs for inmates.

Prison industries includes a variety of programs ranging from bookbinding to furniture making to data processing.

Three new programs were begun in fiscal 1997-98: the Skidmore-Roth publishing company for medical and health related materials at Southern Nevada Correctional Center, the Jacobs Trading Co. repackaging program at the Southern Nevada Women's prison and the estray horses program at Northern Nevada Correctional Center.

Skolnik said the program increased sales by 4 percent in its enterprises and added 23 percent more inmate workers. Nevada's program led the nation in its average inmate pay of $3.87 an hour.

Projects in the works include a new line of furniture products and competition for contracts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas library.

Other plans include interactive purchasing for customers on the Internet by this spring and expansion of the program's interactive satellite education program.

Skolnik also is planning to expand product lines, including a detergent factory, and is looking for new markets for existing lines, including upholstery, auto restoration and glass operations.