GRAY, Ga. — For the past month, inmates at the Jones County jail have been able to take classes to improve themselves. The sheriff's office wanted to do something to help better their experience in the jail.
Before the upgrades, inmates could only call their loved ones and do their assigned jobs in the jail. With help from Pay Tel Communications, Inc., they've installed better internet, video calling services, and tablets in the facility.
The tablets have everything from movies, music, and books, and 10 categories of classes the inmates can take. From GED courses, anger management, parenting, and addiction recovery to mental health, the staff has noticed a difference. Chief Deputy Earl Humphries says there are incentives when the inmates complete a class.
"They also can accumulate credits for other entertainment, phone services where they can call loved ones at no cost to the inmate, they can also listen to music on the tablets," Humphries said.
Dara Johnson is in jail for a probation violation, and she's determined to do what's best for herself inside the jail.
"This program is very beautiful. We love to work on parenting and we're getting to know ourselves again," Johnson said.
Johnson has three kids. She told 13WMAZ she is trying to build a better relationship with them. She suffered from postpartum depression after having her kids back to back. She started taking parenting classes through the Pathways to Achieve program, which allowed her to recognize what she was going through mentally. All of the classes are on the Pay Tel "inteleTABLETS" they have provided. Johnson says she's learning how to talk to her kids on the phone and what to say.
"I was scared to call them until I did this, and once I did this, it gave me the encouragement to call them and talk to them and let them know that everything was going to be OK," Johnson said.
In a 30-day report, there have been 153 active learners and 22,807 courses have been completed by inmates at the Jones County jail. 79 learners have completed one or more GED courses. One learner, Matthew Shields, has completed all 167 GED courses.
Humphries told 13WMAZ the jail staff has noticed a "lower amount of stress" from the inmates. For every two inmates, there is one tablet. They have to do their other duties in order to use the tablet. He says the tablets "cost the county absolutely nothing."
Johnson says she loves the Pathway to Achieve program and will continue to work through the classes to get better.