Local jail launches program to help inmates spark new interests through education
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IDAHO FALLS — A new program at the Bonneville County Jail is aiming to prepare inmates to re-enter society through education.
The I.G.N.I.T.E program, “Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education,” officially began on Wednesday, allowing inmates to enroll in classes to obtain a G.E.D. or even a college degree.
According to Bonneville County Sheriff Samuel Hulse, inmates can complete these courses digitally on jail-provided tablets, essentially enrolling themselves in online education during their sentence.
“I believe it’s 4,000 separate courses, that’re built onto (the tablet) so they can begin their education right away,” says Hulse. “They can develop a pathway to what they want to do and decide what interests them the most, and they can work towards that.”
Founded in 2021 in Genesee County, Michigan, the program allows inmates to learn a skilled trade or take enrichment courses with smaller motivational goals like movie nights or pizza parties, while trying to reach the ultimate goal of a degree.
Bonneville County Jail inmates can now spend two hours a day, five days a week, in classes to help them further their future while they are still incarcerated.
“They can start with a G.E.D and go from there. In conjunction with Frontier Credit Union, we’re providing some financial literacy training into the facility as well,” says Hulse. “Our goal is for the individuals that are willing to participate, to bring them right through to workforce development with the College of Eastern Idaho, so we can connect them to the industry right here where people need workers.”
Bonneville County is only the ninth county to implement this program nationally, and the only one in Idaho, marking another local resource to help inmates succeed in their lives after incarceration in a world where many inmates struggle to find work after release.
“When they leave the facility, they still have access to those training components. So they can continue to work on their program, and hopefully we don’t see them back,” says Hulse. “The goal is to reduce recidivism, and hopefully they don’t ever have to come back.”
According to Hulse, the program was started by Sheriff Chris Swanson with the National Sheriff’s Association and is offered to inmates who are in good standing with the jail and continue to show good behavior throughout their time in incarceration.
“One of the things that I think is powerful about the program, is that you have to be compliant with the rules of the facility, you can’t be causing trouble, you have to be conducting yourself in a way that is acceptable on our policies and procedures with an inmate,” says Hulse. “Then it provides you with an opportunity to have access to those resources. So it’s not just a free gratis, everybody gets it, but we encourage it.”
Although the program has only been available to Bonneville County inmates for less than a week, Hulse says there is already lots of interest within the inmate population to spend time furthering their education and improving their likeliness to succeed.
“We turned the program on inside the facility, and they were telling me that we already have like 48 classes completed, so folks are already using the content, now it’s just about how do we build it from there,” says Hulse. “We’re starting a dorm in the facility that’s our I.G.N.I.T.E dorm, and so individuals will be there that want to come into that program. We’re just kind of walking before we run here, but the content is being very well received by the inmates already.”