Inmates at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution may soon be dealing in the business of Braille.
Prisoners at WMCI may soon begin producing Braille materials for the blind and vision impaired through an industry proposal being considered by the Wyoming Department of Corrections.
WMCI Warden Mike Murphy updated the Prison Community Partnership Committee of the plan at the committee’s quarterly meeting Wednesday evening at the prison.
“We’ve seen some inmates who have learned Braille and gone out and made a decent living writing and producing materials,” Murphy said. “It’s a specialized skill that there is a real world demand for.”
Inmates in the Braille production facility would initially transcribe books, magazines, restaurant menus and other publications into Braille. Once established, the program would also begin producing music and maps for the blind.
The Department of Corrections is in the process of developing a business plan for the Braille transcription program and ordering the necessary equipment, Department of Corrections Prison Industries Manager Lynn McAuley said in an interview Thursday morning. Department officials hope for a July or August start date for Braille production. If implemented, the Braille industry would employee as many as 15 WMCI inmates.
The idea for the Braille translation came from five inmates who worked at an out-of-state prison’s Braille production facility, McAuley said.
“They are already trained and had been doing the work before they got here,” she said. “They approached us with the idea and said it was something they’d been doing and really liked.”
If WMCI follows through with the proposed Braille production industry, Wyoming will become the 21st state to produce Braille materials in the correctional system. Iowa makes about $240,000 a year in revenue from a similar scale Braille facility,” McAuley said.
Another proposal being considered for WMCI is a central business office for the state’s prison industry system. The facility would be in charge of tracking and processing orders and accounting for the state’s prison industries.
Prisoners at WMCI may soon begin producing Braille materials for the blind and vision impaired through an industry proposal being considered by the Wyoming Department of Corrections.
WMCI Warden Mike Murphy updated the Prison Community Partnership Committee of the plan at the committee’s quarterly meeting Wednesday evening at the prison.
“We’ve seen some inmates who have learned Braille and gone out and made a decent living writing and producing materials,” Murphy said. “It’s a specialized skill that there is a real world demand for.”
Inmates in the Braille production facility would initially transcribe books, magazines, restaurant menus and other publications into Braille. Once established, the program would also begin producing music and maps for the blind.
The Department of Corrections is in the process of developing a business plan for the Braille transcription program and ordering the necessary equipment, Department of Corrections Prison Industries Manager Lynn McAuley said in an interview Thursday morning. Department officials hope for a July or August start date for Braille production. If implemented, the Braille industry would employee as many as 15 WMCI inmates.
The idea for the Braille translation came from five inmates who worked at an out-of-state prison’s Braille production facility, McAuley said.
“They are already trained and had been doing the work before they got here,” she said. “They approached us with the idea and said it was something they’d been doing and really liked.”
If WMCI follows through with the proposed Braille production industry, Wyoming will become the 21st state to produce Braille materials in the correctional system. Iowa makes about $240,000 a year in revenue from a similar scale Braille facility,” McAuley said.
Another proposal being considered for WMCI is a central business office for the state’s prison industry system. The facility would be in charge of tracking and processing orders and accounting for the state’s prison industries.
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