Cabinet Making Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

On January 1, 2014, Tehama County established a Cabinet Making Program, designed to provide an alternative to incarceration for low-risk offenders and help eliminate the overcrowding in our County jail. The Cabinet Making Program provides supervised offenders with “hands on” instruction, by a woodworking professional, in cabinetry, painting, millwork, finishing, woodworking, safe practices when using equipment, and recently, the addition of welding equipment. The ultimate goal with this program is best recognized as “restorative justice,” helping to restore the offender and helping the offender offer restoration to the community. Through the Cabinet Making Program we are enabling individuals to learn, develop, and improve their everyday life skills, work ethic, develop their professionalism, reliability, responsibility, and ultimately increase their overall self-esteem by assisting them to obtain a sense of pride for their accomplishments. Simply stated the goal is for the offender to end the program clean and sober and ready to be employed. Every offender that enters this program receives a risk/needs assessment and health services assessment, followed by evidence based services, to further aid in our goal of each offender’s rehabilitation. The impressive woodwork and learned skills by these offenders can be witnessed all around our community as they provide services to public agencies for only the cost of materials and a 10% service fee. This program has had great monetary success as well, helping the jail avoid over 1,660 days of incarceration, totaling an estimated jail cost avoidance of $124,450, and community labor cost avoidance of $118,500, since commencement. This program has proven to be a successfully innovative approach for alternative incarceration and a great addition to our community.