Washington State Penitentiary
Washington State Penitentiary (WSP) is located on 1,250 acres near the city of Walla Walla. It can house up to 2,439 maximum, close, medium, and minimum custody incarcerated men. Class II operations at WSP are as follows:
CI food service represents one of five food service operations under CI management. CI food services vertically integrates with CI's food factory production by serving CI produced foods accompanied by non-CI produced products. The centralization of purchasing and use of a statewide standard 4-week cycle menu has stabilized facility food service budgets. The 4-week cycle menu provides for nationally recommended allowances for basic nutrition, which are reviewed annually by dietitian, and are aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA’s). While working for CI food services, incarcerated workers receive a full scope of food service skills and can earn ServSafe® food manager certification, a nationally recognized food safety certification. CI food services operates two shifts, seven days per week and can employee up to 110 incarcerated individuals within (2) kitchens.
Laundry
The laundry processes on average 100 thousand pounds of linen and clothing per month, which equates to 1.2 million pounds per year. Incarcerated workers can earn certificates of proficiency in various laundry skills. Individuals meeting specific criteria can attain Association of Linen Management certifications as Washroom Technicians and/or Linen Technicians.
License Plates
Producing its first plates in 1923, the license plate factory produces an average of 7,000 vehicle license plates per day for the Washington State Department of Licensing. In Fiscal Year 2015, CI produced 2,684,762 sets of license plates, which included 47 different specialty plate designs for Colleges/Universities, Military/Veterans, Organizations, Parks/Environment, and Special Interest Groups. Workers learn valuable skills by setting up and operating machines to cut, punch, form, print and laminate metal, and can earn Certificates of Proficiency in these areas. All staff are trained in health and safety programs. This factory employs four civilian staff overseeing 30 incarcerated individuals.
Site Services
The business office provides services that include site accounting, customer service, purchasing, inventory management and site strategic planning for all the local shops. Incarcerated workers perform data entry in financial, customer care, purchasing, accounts payable and receivable, as well as inventory assistance. They can earn certificates of proficiency in office, administration, records keeping along with other various skills.
Transportation
The warehouse and transportation department support shipping and receiving of food products, finished goods, raw materials, and supplies. An average of 43,650 commissary orders are received, unloaded, and delivered to the 14 living units within WSP each year. Incarcerated workers load and unload on average 6-10 trucks per week, equating to approximately 520 per year. They can earn certificates of proficiency in general labor skills, such as moving freight, or can be certified as a forklift operator by State certified instructors after meeting specific criteria.