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Daggett County discusses inmate education partnerships with state, UBTech and local colleges
Summary
County officials described existing education programs for inmates, saying the state controls who participates and funds faculty while local colleges and nonprofits supply instruction, materials and housing projects; county leaders plan additional outreach to the Department of Corrections’ new director.
Speaker 1, an unidentified county official, told the Daggett County Commission that the Department of Corrections controls which state inmates are sent to the local facility for education and that participation is limited by behavior requirements. "It's limited," Speaker 1 said, adding that "last year, I think we graduated it was close to 40 inmates."
The official described the partnership model used elsewhere: state funds pay faculty, the county or school contributes supplies and a technical college provides loans for participants who later purchase homes built by students. Speaker 1 said UBTech, Snow College, Davis Technical College and Salt Lake Community College each provide services at different facilities and that Daggett’s program is the only one from Snow County operating off the Wasatch Front.
Commissioners and attendees discussed outreach to recently appointed state officials to expand or stabilize the program. Speaker 4, an unidentified attendee, identified the Department of Corrections’ new director as Jared Garcia and participants said the leadership change has temporarily slowed prior momentum. Speaker 2 said the county hopes a larger state-operated facility would be more economically feasible for the state and could bring state wages and jobs to the area.
Speakers also described a related nonprofit partnership. Speaker 1 said the county has begun a project with the nonprofit Other Side Village to have students build mini homes for extremely low-income residents and people experiencing homelessness; the nonprofit funds materials while students gain practical experience.
County officials presented next steps as outreach to the Department of Corrections and to UBTech to coordinate funding, faculty placement and student enrollment. The commission did not take a formal vote on the programs during this session.
