Today, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a pilot project that will provide inmates in the Humboldt County Correctional Facility access to tablets while incarcerated. The focus of this project will be to expand existing educational programs to the entire population and introduce additional educational content in the continued effort to aid with offender’s re-entry into the community and help reduce recidivism.
Jail Education Solutions, Inc., also known as Edovo, will contract with the county to provide the tablet service, beginning with a 90-day pilot project in a section of the facility. The trial will cost about $12,000 for the leasing fees and infrastructure set-up, paid for out of the Sheriff’s Office Inmate Welfare Fund. This fund is generated from phone and commissary commissions and is required to be used for inmate benefit, such as educational programs. No taxpayer dollars will be used for this project.
Edovo is already established in county correctional facilities in Sacramento and Madera. Their vast educational content includes courses in GED/High school equivalency, basic literacy, ESL, employment training and job skill development, health and wellness including substance abuse treatment, anger management, and cognitive behavior therapy. Edovo will also interface with College of the Redwoods to allow access to their curriculum as well, which will supplement the classes already being taught in the facility.
After the initial three months, the Sheriff’s Office will decide whether to return the tablets or enter into an annual contract, at which point the program will expand to the entire facility.