Washington Corrections Center for Women
Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) is located three miles north of downtown Gig Harbor. It houses 738 minimum, medium and close custody incarcerated women. CI offers a pre-apprenticeship program referred to as TRAC. Class II operations at WCCW are as follows:
The computer aided design center processes approximately 63 drawings per month which equates to approximately 756 drawings per year. Incarcerated workers are trained in the latest versions of AutoCAD software and create drawings and electronic files for CI Account Executives and their customers. Workers meeting specific criteria can be certified by the Tacoma Community College as a Certified Technical Designer. This service employs one civilian staff overseeing five incarcerated individuals.
The screen printing and embroidery shop processed a total of 1,527 orders for Fiscal Year 2012. Incarcerated workers etch stencils and set up printing machines, operate or tend to sewing machines that decorate, and process orders and perform quality checks. They can earn Certificates of Proficiency as etchers and printing press operators, sewing machine operators and clerks. Screen printing and embroidery services combined employ one civilian staff overseeing nine incarcerated individuals.
Incarcerated transcriptionists produce braille text using computers and create hand-crafted tactile graphics as needed. The Washington State Braille Services Team processes on the average 9,735 braille pages per month which equates to approximately 116,825 pages a year and approximately 2,102 tactile graphics pages per month, which equates to approximately 25,227 tactile pages per year. All transcriptionists are certified by Washington State and the National Library Service (NLS). This service employs one civilian staff overseeing 16 incarcerated individuals.
The Trades Related Apprenticeship Coaching (TRAC) program is designed to provide work training in non-traditional jobs for women. Up to 12 incarcerated students, per 16-week session, receive 460 hours of theoretical and practical instruction aimed at preparing them for competitive eligibility within a variety of union trade apprenticeship programs.
The textile operation manufactures a variety of textiles including shorts, sweats, and gender responsive clothing. Incarcerated workers learn valuable skills as sewers, sewing machine mechanics and quality control specialists, and can earn Certificates of Proficiency in these areas.
Clothing Distribution
The clothing distribution area processes, picks, packages and ships incarcerated clothing orders for both female institutions. Workers can earn Certificates of Proficiency as stock clerks and order fillers. Currently this distribution center employs one civilian staff overseeing one incarcerated individuals.