Jennings jail partners with Rose Acre Farms for employment program

Jennings County is partnering with Rose Acre Farms for a new program to find jobs for inmates.

The sheriff’s department announced this week that representatives from the Jackson County-based Rose Acre Farms will be coming to the Jennings jail and picking up select inmates to work at the farm for a day. While there, they will be paid the same wage as a normal farm employee and will be able to keep 100 percent of what they earn. And the inmates will be considered employees of the farm during their labor.

According to the sheriff’s department, Rose Acre Farms runs a similar program in Iowa and they approached the county in January with the offer.

There are restrictions on which inmates are allowed to participate, such as not being convicted of a violent crime and having had no disciplinary actions against them while in jail. And the inmate must be approved by the judge and prosecutor before they can participate.