Landscape Horticulture Extension Programming for Prison Inmates In Florida

Prison inmates are frequently an under-served extension audience.  Inmate populations are often easier to quantify behavior change in because of the intensive monitoring by the state department of corrections.  In Florida, vocational training has been shown to decrease recidivism by 14.6%.  Roughly 1,600 inmates receive vocational training each year.  This offers $3.2 million in cost savings to the state, or about $2,000 per inmate trained.  A training program is being developed by UF/IFAS Extension that will lead to the certification of state inmates as Florida Certified Landscape Technicians.  This certification is one of five offered by the Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association.  Inmates will be trained on 12 topics including: Plant ID, Plan Layout, Tree Planting, Tree Staking & Guying, Palm Banding & Propping, Grading & Drainage, Instrument Use, Irrigation Operation & Repair, Pruning, Job Evaluation, Equipment Operation, and Retaining Wall Construction.  Training modules and curricula are being developed with feedback from the initial training class of female inmates.