About Colorado Department of Corrections
The Colorado Department of Corrections is an executive state agency responsible for the supervision of individuals in the custody in the entire Colorado state. It also supervises probationers, parolees, and people who are on mandatory release or work release. Its headquarters are located at the Springs Office Park, in unincorporated El Paso County. Moreover, there are 20 state-run correctional facilities under the Colorado Department of Corrections. Further, the department has affiliations with seven for-profit prisons in Colorado and three for-profit ones.
All male convicts entering the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) system undergo processing at the Denver Reception & Diagnostic Center (DRDC). The processing results determine the inmate's security level. Furthermore, assignments are generally decided by the inmate's security level, and each institution can house convicts of various security levels.
Individuals can follow this link to access information about the various facilities that the department operates, for-profit prisons, and closed prisons.
Colorado Correctional Industries under Colorado DOC
The Colorado Correctional Industries is a division of the Colorado Department of Corrections. The formal creation of the Colorado Correctional Industries happened in 1977. The program seeks to give individuals work skills that will lead them to gainful employment after release. The activities also allow them to make enough money while incarcerated to support their families upon release.
The mission of Colorado Correctional Industries is to promote successful reentry through successful business strategies that employ inmates, produce quality goods and services, contribute to the safety of our communities by reducing crime, lowering recidivism rates & saving taxpayer dollars.
CCI is the most extensive prison industry program in the United States. As such, it employs over 1500 inmates, manufacturing or selling an average of $35 million of goods and services each year. Goods produced by inmates include clothing, license plates, furniture for state offices, signs made of metal and plastic, printing jobs such as producing law books for court use, and specialty license plates.
The Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) benefits significantly from the division's operations. It can obtain supplies at reduced prices and materials to make items that are useful in prison. This is necessary because Colorado prisoners are restricted in what they may own. The program also receives state appropriations, federal grants, contributions by businesses, and surcharges on inmate purchases of some goods.
Many inmates work 40 hours per week, with some working up to 60 hours per week. However, state law prohibits inmates from working in positions that might displace or compete with Colorado workers outside of prison. Colorado Correctional Industries also produces all of the license plates needed for Colorado's cars, trucks, motorcycles, trailers, and boats.
Notably, a GED is a mandatory requirement for an inmate to work in any of the industries.
Healthcare Services
The Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) provides the majority of health care to its more than 20,000 in-custody inmates. It contracts with two statewide managed care organizations (MCOs) to provide inmates with pharmacy, dental, and behavioral health services. The MCOs also offer specialty care referrals to community providers. Further, contracted physicians are responsible for providing all necessary services, performing medical records audits, and issuing sick calls. Most services are accessible at the health care facility in Denver, with specialty clinics located throughout the state.
Medical Eligibility Determination Process
CDOC must assess each new inmate's medical and mental health status within 72 hours of arrival at the facility. The facility refers an inmate with a medical condition to the medical unit for a more detailed assessment. Inmates with no physical or mental health issues during the initial review are free to join the rest of the population. The medical staff retains every inmate's health file regardless of whether they have a condition or not.
Inmate Pre-release Classes
An optional pre-release program is available at certain Colorado facilities. The program aims to prepare individuals for reintroduction into society. Generally, lessons focus on medium to high-risk persons with no more than 12 months to parole eligibility. However, the program requires a few participants per cohort, with each institution having a maximum of 15 program participants. As such, the Colorado DOC grants the facilities the discretion to define their own qualifying requirements.
The basis of the program is on cognitive-behavioral science. It has ten modules covering the following topics:
- Identification, transportation, and housing.
- Family and support, and healthy relationships.
- Parole, money management, and victim awareness.
- Restorative justice, education, and employment.
Moreover, facilities can invite community-based groups, including those affiliated with the WAGEES Program, to join sessions on an as-needed basis to educate the inmates on local resources.
The lessons consist of lectures, group discussions, one-on-one training, and individual work. The average duration for the completion of these classes is 12 weeks. Additionally, the aim of the program is for participants to identify their area of interest among the ten subsections. Then, they must create tailored pre-release transition plans to meet those needs in addition to an updated résumé and cover letter to increase employment chances.
Further, pre-release experts offer open labs once a week. Individuals currently not enrolled in the program may use the computer lab and receive assistance. Such aids include budgeting and finding community resources such as housing.
Take TWO Inmate Reentry Program
This is an inmate transitional work program that focuses on the concepts of normalcy and advancement. Detainees get a chance to work for companies and earn a prevailing or marketable wage with the ultimate objective of living in a non-prison setting upon release.
Reasons by the Colorado Department of Corrections for Establishing Take TWO Program
The Colorado Department of Corrections gives the following talking points on the advantages of the program:
- Inmates have the chance to accumulate some savings, develop their employment skills, and assist in re-establishing social networks within their communities.
- Employers will be able to benefit from this initiative by getting services from skilled labor.
- Help in the reduction of recidivism chances. A variety of reasons contribute to the high recidivism rates in the penitentiary and judicial systems. Among the many contributing causes include a lack of employment opportunities, inadequate (or nonexistent) housing alternatives, and a lack of ties to the local community for parolees.
Take TWO Participant Selection
The CDOC has come up with an in-depth evaluation procedure to identify qualified inmates for participation in the program. Furthermore, individuals who are deemed to be suitable for the program must fulfill the following requirements:
- They must pose a modest danger to the general public's safety. As such, sexual offenders cannot participate in this program.
- The duration of the individual's release date must be 36 months or less.
- The individuals must possess adequate job abilities and a work background.
- They must have shown growth and have a track record of excellent conduct.
The department employs an electronic monitoring process that keeps tabs on the inmate's whereabouts, preventing escape attempts.
CDOC Process of Contacting Inmates and Offender Locator Process
People who want to contact inmates in a Colorado prison may do so by email, telephone, or the United States Postal Service. Colorado Inmate Phone System handles inmate calls, while the JPay system handles emails. Moreover, individuals must have an active Inmate Phone System account to receive collect calls from prisoners. Letters via the United States Postal Service must be in an articulately addressed envelope with the following information:
- Name of the offender.
- Offender identification number.
- Mailing address.
- Return Address.
Online CDOC Inmate Search Process
The Department of Corrections has an online DOC offender locator website that eases the process of inmate search. Those interested in finding out where inmates are may do so by visiting this link. The website requires these persons to fill out some fields to generate results. Following that, searchers will be able to obtain up-to-date information on the individual in question, if available. The required details include the inmate's name, DOC number, and gender.
Using either name of the offender will list down any name matches. Individuals can obtain accurate results by using a combination of first name and last name. The results of the Colorado state prisoner lookup process include:
- Information on offenses.
- Crime details
- Current incarceration facility and release dates.
Other results may indicate the inmate's parole eligibility details, height and weight, and ethnicity.