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PRISON INDUSTRY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM
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A Resource For the Private Sector
Authority
Purpose
Program Benefits
Mandatory Criteria
Allowable Wage Deductions
"A Resource for the Private Sector"
Maryland Correctional Enterprises is the prison industry arm of the Division of Correction. While the sale of products and services produced by Maryland Correctional Enterprises are limited to State institutions or agencies, poltical subdivisions of Maryland, and not-for-profit organizations; under the Prison Industry Enhancement (PIE) Program, MCE is permitted to enter into agreements with, and become a sub-contractor to private industry.
Maryland Correctional Enterprises has increased its physical plant capacity, added new products, improved existing product lines, and established quality control procedures. This has allowed more inmates to receive needed work skills and work ethics, which has resulted in recidivism rates for former MCE inmate workers to be 50% lower than the general inmate released population.
Prison Industry Enhancement allows Maryland Correctional Enterprises to enter into partnerships and be a sub-contractor to private industry by producing goods and/or services using inmate labor. While inmates under the PIE program must be paid at least the Federal Minimum Wage, deductions are allowed from the inmates' wages for taxes, room and board, contributions to a victims' compensation program, and family support. Benefits to the private sector include a stable and motivated work force, reduced overhead, production availability,an alternative to "off-shore" operations, and a label affixed to the product which can state "made in the USA."
Although MCE is not allowed to sell products or services to the public, under the Prison Industry Enhancement (P.I.E.) Program Maryland Correctional Enterprises is permitted by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance to enter into partnerships with private industry. A P.I.E. program became operational at the Maryland House of Correction on October 6, 1997. The Reselect Plant performs an inspection of glassware produced by a Baltimore based private sector industry.
A second PIE program was established in the Upholstery Shop at the Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown. Additional PIE programs are planned for Eastern Correctional Institution, the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, and the Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown.
The U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance certified Maryland Correctional Enterprises for the Prison Industry Enhancement Program on March 2, 1995. Maryland Correctional Enterprises utilizes the P.I.E. "Customer Model" which is defined as follows:
A private company purchases much or all of the output of a business which is owned and operated by a correctional agency, but has no other role in the business. Inmates work for the correctional agency.
Authority
The P.I.E. Certification Program originally was authorized under the Justice System Improvement Act of 1979 (P.L. 96-157, Sec.827) and later expanded under the Justice Assistance Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-473, Sec.819). The Crime Control Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-647) authorizes continuation of the program indefinitely.
Purpose
The Prison Industry Enhancement (P.I.E.) Certification Program exempts state and local certified departments of corrections from normal restrictions on the sale of prisoner-made goods in interstate commerce. In addition, the program lifts existing restrictions on these certified corrections departments, permitting them to sell prisoner-made goods to the federal government in amounts exceeding the $10,000 maximum normally imposed on such transactions.
The P.I.E. Certification Program was created by Congress in 1979 to encourage states and units of local government to establish employment opportunities for prisoners that approximate private sector work opportunities. The program is designed to place inmates in a realistic working environment, pay them the local prevailing wage for similar work, and enable them to acquire marketable skills to increase their potential for successful rehabilitation and meaningful employment upon release.
Program Benefits
The P.I.E. Certification Program allows private industry to establish joint ventures with state and local correctional agencies to produce goods using prison labor.
The P.I.E. Certification Program has two primary objectives:
- To generate products and services that enable prisoners to make a contribution to society, help offset the cost of their incarceration, compensate crime victims and provide inmate family support.
- To provide a means of reducing prison idleness, increasing inmate job skills, and improving the prospects for successful inmate transition to the community upon release.
Mandatory Criteria
- Legislative authority to pay wages at a rate not less than that paid for similar work in the same locality's private sector, but not less than the Federal Minimum Wage.
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Written assurances that the P.I.E. Certification Program will not result in the displacement of workers employed before program implementation.
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The authority to provide worker benefits, including Worker's Compensation or its equivalent.
- The authority to involve the private sector in the production and sale of prisoner-made goods.
- Written assurances that inmate participation is voluntary.
- Legislative or administrative authority to collect and provide financial contributions (of not less than 5 percent and not more than 20 percent of gross wages) to crime victim compensation/assistance programs, and legislative or administrative authority for crime victim compensation/assistance programs to accept such financial contributions.
- Written proof of consultation with organized labor and local private industry before P.I.E. Certification Program startup.
Allowable Wage Deductions
Corrections departments may take a series of deductions from wages earned by prisoners. Permissible deductions are limited to room and board, taxes (Federal, State), family support, and crime victim compensation/assistance.
Deductions must not total more than 80 percent of gross wages. (Deductions for crime victim compensation/assistance programs are mandatory under the P.I.E. Certification Program guidelines; deductions for taxes are required under U.S. tax law; and deductions for room and board and family support are permissible at the discretion of the certified jurisdiction).
For further information on P.I.E., please contact:
Rick Rosenblatt
Projects Manager
Maryland Correctional Enterprises (MCE)
7275 Waterloo Road
Jessup, Maryland 20794
410-540-5405 (Office)
410-540-5570 (Fax)
rjrosenblatt@dpscs.state.md.us (E-mail)
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