Program prepares inmates with job skills for post-incarceration

Wabash Valley Correctional Facility

CARLISLE -  You might not associate a call center with maximum-security prison, but it’s happening at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.  The Prison Enterprises Network ( PEN) in partnership with Safety Services Call Center has been on line since June at WVCF, providing post-incarceration employment skills for nearly 50 WVCF offenders. 
 
The call center was the main topic during this today's gathering of the WVCF Community Advisory Board.  

Offenders go through an application, interview and training process.  Once on the job they enter a 90 - day probationary period.  Pay ranges anywhere from 75 cents to $1.50 per hour.  WVCF Prison Enterprises Network Plant Manager Victor Manzo said employees are also in line for bonuses and other incentives.  Average offender pay rates are in the 17 cent per hour range.   
 
“Call center jobs fine-tune communication skills, team building and productivity in a collaborative work environment,” Manzo said. 
 
A similar operation in the Arizona prison system often hires offender staff upon release.   
 
Safety Services sells products and training kits to corporations that keep them up-to-date on all state and federal labor laws.  Offenders initiate the calls to businesses with civilian supervisors  finalizing sales.