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This article is a follow-up to a previous Evergreen article about Correctional Industries<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Washington State Correctional Industries offers voluntary employment and compensation for incarcerated prisoners in the state of Washington. While <\/span>WSU has a contract with CI<\/span><\/a>, it has not purchased items from the organization since 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n CI is managed by the Washington State Department of Corrections and is committed to helping prisoners develop a positive work ethic while maintaining and expanding work training programs that help develop job skills for reentry after their time in prison, according to CI\u2019s <\/span>mission statement<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n WSU is able to purchase furniture from CI because of a contract, said Faith Lutze, a professor for the WSU Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. However, so are other public universities and state governments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lutze conducted research at CI as the principal investigator and came to the conclusion that CI \u201creduces recidivism, improves institutional behavior and increases employment after release,\u201d according to a <\/span>research brief<\/span><\/a> published in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI spent two years at Airway Heights Correctional Center, and I had an office located within that facility,\u201d Lutze said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lutze, along with co-principal investigator Laurie Drapela and research associate Roger Schaefer, surveyed and interviewed the incarcerated workers and CI staff members. They also observed how the work was done and examined the environment of the facility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lutze said Airway Heights was not a furniture facility but focused on food production and food services.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Airway Heights also focuses on optical manufacturing, textiles, warehouse services, commissary, laundry services and admin services, according to the CI <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe food factory produces food that is then distributed throughout the prison system, and also outward to the community depending upon what their contracts are,\u201d Lutze said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Among the 13 correctional facilities where CI operates, Stafford Creek Correctional Center, located five miles west of Aberdeen, Washington, has a furniture factory, according to their <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition, incarcerated employees at Cedar Creek Corrections Center install new furniture, according to their <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n At WSU, facilities on campus\u00a0such as the libraries\u00a0used CI\u2019s services for furniture reupholstering, but that was done almost 15 years ago, said Beth Blakesley, associate dean of libraries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe had some furniture reupholstered, and it was either in 2007 or 2008. So yeah, it was the first time that we had done that,\u201d Blakesley said.<\/p>\n At the time, it was explained to her that CI was an employment program for incarcerated prisoners in the state, and it was training them for a career, she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe went with CI because they were low-bid,\u201d she said, \u201cSo with the reduced labor cost, CI would have come in with the lowest bid compared to a private upholsterer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Blakesley said they had lounge chairs and ottomans reupholstered, which are still on campus today in Holland and Terrell Libraries.<\/span><\/p>\n When prisoners join CI voluntarily for work, they get paid and there are many other benefits as well, Lutze said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey are paid more than other jobs in prison,\u201d she said. \u201cOftentimes [the savings] helps them to pay for housing when they get out of prison or transportation or a car. Many times men are sending money home to support families.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n