{"id":460,"date":"2011-03-18T20:06:16","date_gmt":"2011-03-19T01:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=460"},"modified":"2011-03-18T20:06:16","modified_gmt":"2011-03-19T01:06:16","slug":"from-license-plates-to-toilet-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=460","title":{"rendered":"From License Plates To Toilet Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/webeagle2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-156\" title=\"webeagle\" src=\"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/webeagle2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/webeagle2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/iowappa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/webeagle2.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>Ever since I was a young boy I knew that license plates were made in prison.\u00a0 However, as I grew older I wanted to know what happened when there are no license plates to make.\u00a0 I found out about 10 or 15 years ago when I was introduced to the director of Iowa Prison industries (IPI), Roger Baysden.\u00a0 Roger retired a few months ago, but his development of IPI has made a difference in the lives of many.<\/p>\n<p>The business of manufacturing license plates in Iowa is conducted by the Iowa Prison Industries (IPI).\u00a0 But IPI is much more than an occasional license plate maker.\u00a0 IPI is a program within the Iowa Department of Corrections that provides inmates with meaningful jobs \u201cto develop within those inmates willing to accept and persevere in such work;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Positive attitudes which will enable them to eventually function as law-abiding, self-supporting members of the community;<\/li>\n<li>Good work habits that will assist them in eventually securing and holding gainful employment outside the correctional system; and<\/li>\n<li>To the extent feasible, marketable skills that can lead directly to gainful employment upon release from a correctional institution.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I realized this week that IPI is a very misunderstood segment of the Iowa correctional system.\u00a0 My realization stemmed from a very unusual bill that popped up.\u00a0 The bill, House Study Bill 218 by House Committee on Government Oversight, has 4 parts to it.\u00a0 The first section of the bill requires the IPI to file reports.\u00a0 That\u2019s no problem: it\u2019s been filing reports for quite some time now.\u00a0 The second section requires the IPI to receive authorization from the Legislature before spending an amount of over $250,000 for a capital expenditure.\u00a0 That\u2019s not too much of a problem \u2013 it doesn\u2019t happen often\u00a0 Section four of the bill pertains to the effective date \u2013 not a problem at all.\u00a0 But section three of the bill is a bit controversial.<\/p>\n<p>It seems as though a wholesaler within the state may have been upset that sales of toilet paper to state correctional institutions would be drastically reduced, taking a cut from the wholesalers\u2019 profits.\u00a0 An educated guess will tell an experienced lobbyist that this is the impetus for the bill.\u00a0 The bill\u2019s 3<sup>rd<\/sup> section requires the IPI director to prepare and submit a report to the Government Oversight Committee \u201cregarding the merits of the processing of toilet paper by IPI\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>This bill is not going to replace any Iowa jobs.\u00a0 That\u2019s because there is no Iowa manufacturer of toilet paper.\u00a0 According to \u201c<em>Building Bridges To Success<\/em>\u201d, a Five Year Transition &amp; Business Plan (2011-2015) prepared by Roger Baysden for IPI, the Iowa Department of Corrections \u201calone purchases over 1 million rolls of tissue paper a year.\u00a0 Based upon market test (3 years in Missouri prison) IPI can manufacture tissue of the same or better grade of paper for about ten cents less per roll than what DOC is paying for it now.\u00a0 This is a savings of about $100,000 to the state and it will add between 40-50 offender skill training opportunities.\u201d\u00a0 I believe the preparation of the report in section 3 has been completed.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, it was the comments of a business lobbyist that made me realize that there exists a huge misconception that inmates learn a particular skill while incarcerated; a specific skill that can be immediately transformed to an employment opportunity once released.\u00a0 That\u2019s not necessarily so. \u00a0Inmates don\u2019t just get placed into a prison job.\u00a0 They have to apply for it.\u00a0 And that\u2019s where IPI\u2019s hidden secret lies.<\/p>\n<p>Many inmates have never had the opportunity to apply for a decent job.\u00a0 Often, they lack the basic skills necessary to complete an application form.\u00a0 IPI assists these offenders with everything from how to dress for an interview to explaining their criminal record to a potential employer.\u00a0 As they leave an institution, offenders who have participated in the IPI Program are presented with a 44-page handbook that helps them with their transition, especially as it focuses on their employment opportunities.\u00a0 The former inmates leave with 1) marketable skills; 2) the development of a sound work ethic; 3) self confidence and pride of accomplishment; 4) a possible savings and family support; and 5) the handbook that will help them in their search for meaningful employment.<\/p>\n<p>While incarcerated, participants have paid taxes, restitution, Victims\u2019 Compensation, and reimbursed the General Fund of Iowa.\u00a0 \u201cIPI inmates paid more in child support in 2009 than all of the Iowa inmates combined earned in 1997.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here are some key points of IPI that go virtually unnoticed:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIPI employs over six hundred offenders and generates over 25 million dollars in annual sales;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIPI provides over 1.6 million hours of hands-on offender work skill training at <em>no cost<\/em> to the taxpayer;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIPI receives no appropriations from the general fund [of Iowa];<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIPI hires staff and pays their salaries from the profit on sales of goods and services;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIPI has plant operations at eight of the nine Iowa Prisons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stephanie and I toured the woodworking shop of IPI inside the Iowa Penitentiary at Fort Madison.\u00a0 We were in awe.\u00a0 Some of the most beautiful handcrafted wood products are being produced daily.\u00a0 We invite you to check into the IPI further.\u00a0 Products created by IPI inmates are of high quality and virtually flawless.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the products made by IPI inmates include solid hardwood desks, chairs and furniture; dolls; signs; toys; jail cells; and many other items almost too numerous to mention.\u00a0 The IPI has a showroom, built and maintained without tax-payers\u2019 dollars, located at 1445 East Grand Avenue in Des Moines.\u00a0 The building is easily accessible right off I-235 on Grand between 14<sup>th<\/sup> and 15<sup>th<\/sup> Streets.\u00a0 You may also take a quick look at IPI\u2019s success by accessing its website at:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iaprisonind.com\/\">http:\/\/www.iaprisonind.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>House Study Bill 218 is more than a profit loss to a toilet paper wholesaler; it\u2019s an opportunity for education.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a9 Copyright 2011 Fawkes-Lee &amp; Ryan.\u00a0 All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many inmates have never had the opportunity to apply for a decent job.  Often, they lack the basic skills necessary to complete an application form.   <a href=\"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=460\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,17],"tags":[202,103,201,200],"class_list":["post-460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-criminal-justice","category-issues","tag-government-oversight-committee","tag-iowa-department-of-corrections","tag-iowa-prison-industries-ipi","tag-roger-baysden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":468,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions\/468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}