Gadsden County inmates get new tech to obtain GED, other educational resources

GADSDEN COUNTY, Fla. (WCTV) - The Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office recently implemented a new program to give inmates access to educational and mental health resources, helping them create a better life when released from jail.

“When an inmate gets in our custody, we want them to leave here in better shape than when they got here,” said Jail Bureau Chief Colonel Robert Barkley. “What we want to do is equip them with the services they need while they’re in jail, like prepping them for their GED.”

The jail has 70 tablets through a program called HomeWAV, and they were funded through the Inmate Welfare Fund; it consists of money inmates spend at the jail’s commissary, combined with state funding.

Colonel Barkley said since implementing the program a week ago, they’ve already seen a decrease in violent behavior among inmates.

Below are a list of educational courses that will be available to inmates:

Job skills/training offerings
Interviewing skills, resume development
GED preparation courses
Workshop Kits (anger management, coping skills, cognitive behavioral therapy concepts)
Khan Academy basic math and science courses
Introduction to computer programming
Conversational English Courses (ESL)
Introduction to personal finance
Various legal topics
Denominational and non-denominational religious offerings
HiSET and TASC Preparedness
The OpenStax Book Depository
Reentry education framework programming