Otero prison certified to teach inmates

Duane Barbati

Nov. 8, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The Otero County Prison Facility received its certification for an educational program from Management and Training Corp. on Oct. 27, a prison spokeswoman said.

Otero County Prison is located in Chaparral.

Deputy Warden Susan Payne said she is proud of her staff working hard to achieve certification for the Foundation for Life educational program.

"Basically, MTC is big on educating offenders to reduce the recidivism," Payne said. "We're the first MTC prison to receive this very high honor. We're able to help inmates get their GED."

She said illegal aliens from Mexico can achieve their INEA degree, which is Mexico's equivalent to the American GED.

"Some of our inmates come to our facility and can't read or write," Payne said. "Some have left with their INEA. We just started testing for the GED, too. We have had more than 30 people pass the GED. We're really working hard to give inmates some sort of educational foundation to live a productive life."

MTC has a contractual agreement through the U.S. Marshals Service that houses mainly illegal aliens in the facility for an average of 30 days. The facility has an average inmate population of 1,100 per month, but has a capacity of 1,358 inmates.

"The Foundations for Life program is tailored for short-term facilities," Payne said. "Hopefully, we will be able to touch an inmate's life. They hopefully can turn their lives around and become a productive citizen."

The foundation certification was presented to the facility at a community luncheon and open house on Oct. 27.

Contact Duane Barbati at dbarbati@alamogordonews.com.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0474-39535703