Working on databases from prison

Maine's remote work program is an incredibly promising development to prevent recidivism. The amazing thing about it is that it gives real jobs to prisoners that they can seamlessly continue after they get out of prison. Normally when you get out, it's impossible to get a job, and the clock is ticking. This leads to desperation, which leads to bad behavior.

There is a real risk of exploitation, but if it's properly managed, remote work for prisoners is one of the most hopeful things I've heard about the prison system. It gives people purpose while there and an avenue to success once they're out.

Do participants get paid a real wage?

Preston was free to negotiate his pay with us, and we pay him a full salary. Just no health care benefits.

Does he actually get the salary, or does the prison take huge overhead?

they take an (actually very reasonable) cut, but he is free to take his salary.

No cut is reasonable.

They need money to pay for oversight. Any time prisoners talk to someone on the outside, it's a potential conduit for contraband or organized crime.

The exact same is true of people working outside of prison.

Not really, contraband includes many things that are completely legal for non prisoners to have like currency, phones, knives, or alcohol. Sending that stuff to prisoners is illegal https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1791

List of prohibited items: https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840...

You can send phones, knives or alcohol via email or slack?

You can agree to pay for them at a given prices via email or slack. It’s more or less guaranteed that contraband will get into prisons if someone is willing to pay for it. Thus the rules around no cash or phones for prisoners.

Inmates are treated very differently by the legal system than regular people. Thirteenth Amendment: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States”

You can also do that via a butt phone, which are everywhere.