JIVE (Jail Industries, Vocations, and Employment)
New in 2007, the JIVE Program allows prisoners to be gainfully employed in the outside community while still physically incarcerated. The Salt Lake County Metro Jail contracts with outside employers to provide carefully screened, medically cleared, and intensively supervised workers. JIVE Qualifications
JIVE prisoners live together in a single housing unit within the jail. Corrections officers transport the prisoners to job locations each morning and pick them up at the end of day to return to the jail.
Our community partner, Intermountain Staffing Resources (ISR), helps match employers with appropriate prisoners. JIVE workers fill out employment applications with ISR and are considered to be their employees. State and federal taxes, incarceration fees, and Victim’s Restitution Funds are deducted from each paycheck. The remainder is split 50/50 between a savings account, held for the prisoner for use upon completion of his sentence, and the prisoner’s commissary account. Commissary funds can be used to purchase food or personal hygiene items within the jail or for court fees, fines, or other restitution.
Corrections officers check on prisoners periodically throughout the work day.
During 2007, our first year operating this program, 27 prisoners worked almost 9,000 hours, contributing $32,429 toward the cost of incarceration and $2,948 to the Victims Reparation Fund. Through July, 2008, JIVE prisoners have worked over 3,500 hours contributing approximately $58,000 toward the cost of incarceration and over $5,200 to the Victims Repartion Fund.
For further information regarding the JIVE Program, contact:
Sgt. Cathy Romero
(801) 743-5504
cromero@slco.org