Collin County Jail program aims to reduce recidivism

From culinary and barbering classes to getting a GED or college degree, inmates serving time in Collin County Jail can make good use of their time while there, thanks to Sheriff Jim Skinner, who initiated a new life-skills program.

Collin County Jail is the first in Texas to launch IGNITE (Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education), a program facilitated by the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) that provides education and job training classes to inmates.

“Knowing that the majority of our jail population will one day return home, we recognize the importance of teaching inmates’ life skills that will help them to be better husbands, wives, parents, siblings and neighbors. We reduce recidivism and make our communities safer by doing so,” Skinner said.

Some are only in the county jail for a few days, but others are there several months or years, said Cpl. Olivia Penson, inmate programs coordinator.

“Some inmates just need a few more credits,” Penson said.

Penson hopes other districts will partner with the county for ease in using transcripts already in place, so inmates who attended class at those high schools could continue their education at their former school.

A goal for the program is to buy enough tablets so each student will have access to their own and not have to take turns using the device, allowing them to spend as much time as they want achieving their goals.

“That’s what this whole program is for, release them better than the way we receive them, as well as give them something to do while they are there,” she said.

Sheriff Christopher Swanson, who in 2020 started the program in Genesee County, Mich., said not only are re-entry opportunities more successful, the jail sees fewer conflicts.

Swanson and Mecklenburg County, N.C., Sheriff Garry McFadden recently joined Skinner at a formal launch of the IGNITE program, where Skinner praised Swanson’s leadership.

“In seeing his program and talking to his deputies, you realize that Sheriff Swanson cares about people. He wants to improve the chances and lives of folks leaving his jail, while at the same time reducing recidivism. He created IGNITE to make an impact. He’s an excellent leader, and the successes of his program speak for themselves,” Skinner said.

The NSA, a nonprofit association that represents the nation’s 3,086 sheriffs on Capitol Hill and supports them with law enforcement education and training, has helped launch the IGNITE program in North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Skinner said initially, along with classes to help inmates complete their GED or a college course, adult-education classes ranging from literacy skills and American Sign Language to budgeting and money-management skills will be available.

Classes also in the works include food service, commercial driving and barbering skills.

“We’re working to open a licensed barber college, and we will integrate some of our IGNITE job training with our current bee-keeping program that is part of our inmate farming operation,” Skinner said. “Because the average length of a person’s stay in county jail is much shorter than, say, prison, a key challenge is to design meaningful, progressive classes that together can add up to new skills or a new credential.”

Patrick Royal, NSA public information officer, said since the launch of IGNITE, about 2,500 students have enrolled. Other classes offered include financial literacy, healthy eating, virtual welding, domestic violence and mental health education, positive affirmations, parenting skills and substance abuse classes.

“Throughout the course of IGNITE, the overall reading improvement is 2.56 grade levels and the overall math improvement is 3.29 grade levels,” Royal said.