A P.I.E. program became operational at the Maryland House of Correction on October 6, 1997. The Reselect Plant performs an inspection of glassware produced by a Baltimore based private sector industry. A second PIE program was established in the Upholstery Shop at the Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown. Additional PIE programs are planned for Eastern Correctional Institution, the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, and the Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance certified State Use Industries for the Prison Industry Enhancement Program on March 2, 1995.
Inmates work for the correctional agency.
Certification Program exempts state and local certified departments of corrections from normal restrictions on the sale of prisoner-made goods in interstate commerce. The P.I.E. Certification Program was created by Congress in 1979 to encourage states and units of local government to establish employment opportunities for prisoners that approximate private sector work opportunities. The program is designed to place inmates in a realistic working environment, pay them the local prevailing wage for similar work, and enable them to acquire marketable skills to increase their potential for successful rehabilitation and meaningful employment upon release. The P.I.E. Certification Program allows private industry to establish joint ventures with state and local correctional agencies to produce goods using prison labor. To provide a means of reducing prison idleness, increasing inmate job skills, and improving the prospects for successful inmate transition to the community upon release.