Inmate clowns from Soledad entertain youngsters at a local festival. Prison woodworking shops around the state turn out handmade puzzles, jewelry boxes, baseball bats and trucks. These go to organizations caring for underprivileged, abused and neglected kids. Drug Abuse Prevention Preventing drug abuse and diverting young people from crime are high priorities for Corrections. Corrections staff routinely speak to students and community groups about life in prison and the consequences of criminal behavior.
Inmates also speak out against drug use.
In supervised classroom visits, they talk frankly about what happened when they made the wrong decisions in their lives. Many prisons allow supervised interaction between inmates and young people inside the prison. These special inmate groups can be extremely effective in their efforts to encourage a more positive life style and overcome the pressures to use drugs. After clearing a forested area of dead and diseased wood, Corrections is left with a large supply of useable firewood. In many cases, the department makes agreements with local governments to distribute the surplus wood to needy individuals.