Members of the Lincoln and Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority discuss a grant application to boost technology and educational offerings at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset during a meeting Wednesday, March 12. The grant, administered by the Maine Connectivity Authority, could allow Two Bridges to lead a statewide initiative to get technology like translation devices and tablets to incarcerated people, said Lincoln County Administrator Carrie Kipfer. (Molly Rains photo)
Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset could be at the helm of an effort to get educational technology into county jails statewide if a grant application led by Lincoln County is successful.
“If it doesn’t happen here, it’s not going to happen at all,” Kipfer said at a meeting of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners the morning of Tuesday, March 18.
The grant, through the Maine Connectivity Authority’s digital opportunity network program, could provide up to $750,000 in funding for a project to bring digital devices, technical support, and internet education to people inside the 15 county jails in Maine – beginning at Two Bridges Regional Jail, Kipfer said.
Incarcerated people are among the groups that the Maine Connectivity Authority has indicated are target populations for the grant funds, according to Kipfer.
The proposal would allow jails to provide technology for inmates to use, such as translation devices to assist inmates who do not speak English in communicating with law enforcement, jail personnel, lawyers, and others; tablets, which inmates could use to access files related to their case and attend hearings remotely; and streamed educational programming, which could be an efficient way for the jail to deliver the adult education classes it is mandated to provide, Kipfer said.
In a phone interview Tuesday, March 18, Two Bridges Regional Jail Correctional Administrator Col. James Bailey said he was optimistic that receipt of the grant would improve operations at the jail, both for inmates and staff alike. He identified communication with jail staff, legal representation, and family and friends as one area that the right technology could improve at Two Bridges.
“I think it’s going to help improve and streamline some processes for the inmate population,” Bailey said.
Access to devices and file transfer software would also allow inmates to access their legal documents in preparation for trial, he said. Currently, inmates must receive such documents from their counsel by mail or through a physical thumb drive.
At a meeting of the Lincoln and Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority, which oversees operations at Two Bridges, on Wednesday, March 12, Bailey and Kipfer discussed the application.
Kipfer said the devices could be set up in such a way to limit their use to approved functions, like viewing certain documents. Digital security and technical support would be one application for the funds, she said.
On March 18, Bailey said he believed the grant would also have benefits for jail staff.
“It would be less intensive to get the inmates what they need and what we’re required to provide them,” he said.
Other county jails across Maine are included in the proposal. As written, the proposal describes rolling out the program first at Two Bridges Regional Jail, then at all 14 other county jails across the state, Kipfer said March 18.
“If you really want to gain influence, you include them all,” Kipfer said.
At the Lincoln and Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority meeting, Kipfer’s presentation about the grant opportunity was met positively.
Bailey said the jail already had four Pocketalk translation devices that were useful in communications with people who arrive at the jail and do not speak English well, Bailey said.
“They’re amazing devices,” he said.
Kipfer said she submitted a letter of interest for the grant to the Maine Connectivity Authority in early March and will follow that with a formal application by the end of April. Grant recipients will be announced in June, and if awarded, the county could begin to draw funds in August, she said.
While she said she was hopeful that the project would be funded, the money was provided to the Maine Connectivity Authority from the federal government, where recent changes have made the availability of different federal funding sources uncertain.
“The wrench that’s getting thrown into all of this is what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Whether or not that money will be available we don’t know,” Kipfer said.
Bailey was hopefully optimistic.
“I think it’s a great thing. I can’t wait to see if we move forward with it,” he said.
The next meeting of the Lincoln County Commissioners is set for 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 1, at the Lincoln County Courthouse.
