Computer skills, taught at most prisons, help prepare inmates for future jobs. Inmates restored an aging fire engine to mint condition at little cost to local government. The care and patience learned in masonry pays off for many inmates. That means that every eligible inmate is working, studying or in training. The prison benefits.
Inmates manufacture all of the clothing, shoes, jackets and other apparel they wear.
They build the furniture they sit on and the bunks they sleep in. They harvest crops, bake bread, and cook their own food. They keep the prisons clean and maintain the grounds. Other government agencies benefit. Inmates manufacture the desks, tables, filing cabinets, and other office furniture used throughout state government.