Allegheny County Jail Hoping To Expand Tablet Program

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Administrators at the Allegheny County Jail are looking to expand a program which allows inmates to use tablet computers for education.

According to our partners at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, officials have asked the Jail Oversight Board to approve $297,000 in funds, which come from inmate commissary sales.

The tablet program aims to provide learning tools to inmates. The devices have educational programs such as job readiness training, college courses and GED prep courses.

They also "provide a positive option for how inmates spend their time on housing units," Latoya Warren, chief deputy warden, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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Allegheny County Jail began allowing inmates access to the devices in July. Chicago-based Jail Education Solutions donated 80 7-inch tablets in protective cases. The jail oversight board previously approved the purchase of 40 additional devices.

Now, the addition of 120 tablets is on the table. Warren told the Post-Gazette that the main expense is for the programming, not the devices themselves.

Oversight board members will vote on the decision in May.