Warren County recognized for keeping county jail inmates off unemployment
The Glens Falls Post-Star is reporting that New York state is recognizing Warren County for having a system to keep county jail inmates from collecting unemployment benefits. The state comptroller’s office found last year that in five counties they studied (including Warren County), inmates received $325,000 in unwarranted unemployment payments.
The county sheriff’s office’s information technology director, Michael Colvin, developed a program that allows the jail’s inmate roster to communicate with the state Department of Labor to let the agency know of any inmates who might be receiving unemployment.
Interestingly, the comptroller’s office study found inmates were continuing to receive unemployment by making phone calls from jails; the office has recommended counties set their jail phone systems to block calls to DOL numbers. It also found that it’s taking the DOL up to four weeks to discontinue unemployment benefits.
Tags: economy, jail, prison, unemployment, warren county
Some may actually be eligible for unemployment while in jail. If, for example, family will only bail them out if they get and keep a job, which is common. The mere fact of jail residency is not a per second bar if they are actually seeking a job which can be done by computer and phone.
Another aspect of this press release for the police, is that Warren County harasses and hounds recipients of WIC and SANP and jails people for minor errors in reporting in order to keep the poor (mostly women and children) from receiving the benefits they deserve. The county also feeds inmates with a nineteenth century ‘loaf’, which is a disgrace.
But, yeah, let’s praise them for keeping inmates from getting unemployment – which is after all INSURANCE THEY PAID INTO. It’s far better for people with problems to be poor, locked-up, and jobless.
NCPR should not be running press releases from the police without doing some actual reporting – the people in Warren County do not need another mouthpiece for the Sheriff’s department.