News

By George Hook

Congress has legislated that the Bureau of Prisons, under the direction of the Attorney General, provide for the instruction of all persons charged with or convicted of offenses against the United States, to include establishing prerelease planning procedures that help prisoners apply for Federal and State benefits upon release and reentry planning procedures that include providing Federal prisoners with information in health and nutrition, employment, literacy and education, personal finance and consumer skills, community resources, personal growth and development, and release requirements and procedures.

Pursuant to this mandate, the Bureau of Prisons has provided that all its institutions must provide General Educational Development (“GED”), English as a Second Language (“ESL”), adult continuing education (“ACE”), library services, parenting, and recreational programs.  Additionally, all institutions except satellite prison camps, detention centers, and metropolitan correctional centers are mandated to have a Full Educational Program (“FEP”).

A satellite prison camp is a minimum security camp adjacent to, and servicing, a larger federal institution.  It may also provide Inmate workers for other off-site locations.  Currently, satellite camps are adjacent to 63 institutions, being: Aliceville, Ashland, Atlanta, Atwater, Bastrop, Beaumont, Beckley, Bennettsville, Berlin, Big Sandy, Big Spring, Butner, Canaan, Carswell, Coleman Cumberland, Danbury, Devens, Dublin, Edgefield, El Reno, Englewood, Estill, Fairton, Florence, Forrest City, Fort Dix, Gilmer, Greenville, Hazelton, Herlong, Jesup, La Tuna, Leavenworth, Lee, Lewisburg, Lexington, Lompoc, Loretto, Manchester, Marianna, Marion, McCreary, McDowell, McKean, Mendota, Miami, Oakdale, Otisville, Oxford, Pekin, Petersburg, Phoenix, Pollock, Schuylkill, Seagoville, Sheridan, Talladega, Terre Haute, Texarkana, Three Rivers, Tucson, Victorville, Williamsburg, and Yazoo.