Education and Job Training

Applied Technology and Distance Education

Les Dumas
Distance Learning Administrator
(904) 488-2288
SUNCOM 278-2288

Applied Technology and Distance Education is responsible for providing vocational training to inmates at 29 male and four female prisons. There are currently 36 different vocational programs available to inmates, ranging from air conditioning and heating repair to water plant operation. Emphasis is placed on the inmate's ability to work as a team member and do critical thinking, along with skill development.

Scott Whitacre of Brevard CI and Kerstine DeVoe of Central Florida Reception Center present "Sex Offender Treatment" training via the Corrections Distance Learning Network.

The Florida Corrections Distance Learning Network (CDLN) consists of 38 sites at 23 correctional institutions, all five regional offices and five probation and parole offices. Using satellite and two-way videoconferencing technologies, CDLN provides educational programs for offenders and staff development and training for employees. In FY 1995-96, the CDLN delivered over 20 training programs including Corrections Quality Managerial Leadership, Interstate Compact, Classification, Personnel, Domestic Violence, Probation and Parole to over 4,000 employees in its first year, in addition to a 42-part GED program to inmates in 20 institutions to be followed by a literacy training program for instructors, volunteers and tutors that will result in a 30-part literacy program. Centralized delivery of educational services and training allows the department to offer high quality and increased quantity of programs at a low cost per student and employee.

Accomplishments in 1995-96:

• L.J. Technical Systems joined OEJT as a business partner, providing a complete 13 station, fully equipped high technology lab for Lancaster CI. This is the first installation of its kind in the nation that integrates high tech knowledge with practical skills (i.e. math and communications skills, interpersonal skills and career exploration) while providing students with actual hands-on experience.
• A Career Assessment, Exploration and Information Center, along with a high tech mini-lab, have been established at Jefferson CI as a prototype for other female institutions.
• Lake City Community College is working with this office to establish a Turf Equipment Maintenance Program at Apalachee CI. The program will combine the skills of three teachers from welding, small engine and auto body repair. Companies like John Deere, Toro, Jacobson, and Gravely have expressed interest in being business partners in this program.
• This office is working with Food Services in training and certifying seven Food Service Directors as vocational teachers. As certified vocational teachers, the Food Service Directors will be able to award Commercial Food and Culinary Arts certificates approved by the Department of Education to approximately 150 inmate students annually.
• Thirty-seven new applied technology/vocational programs have been planned for 20 correctional institutions. All programs being added are ranked in the Department of Labor's top 50 demand occupations. Approximately half of the planned programs are considered "high tech./high skill" jobs.
• Business Administration Operations, Business Software Applications and Automotive Technology are undergoing a curriculum review and revision, designed to keep pace with changing marketplace demands and align themselves with business industry standards.
• Awarded a total of 2,448 vocational certificates for the fiscal year.