Vocational Training Partnerships
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Vocational Training Partnerships
As a part if the design of the Boot Camp Program, inmates are given an opportunity to develop specific vocational skills which can expand the horizons into future educational/employment. The Chicago Botanic Garden and the Boot Camp have partnered into establishing the Boot Camp Urban Farm project. This project has taught individuals how to establish an urban farm and has grown / provided over 3,500 lbs of food for use by the boot camp and for distribution to local food banks, this is a year round project which provides both food and job training at no cost to the Cook County taxpayer. In addition to this the Boot Camp is also a partner with Chicagoland Prison Outreach in a program which trains inmates in carpentry skills in order to follow on to potential employment in the trades. The objective of this program is to actually build a shed structure which can then be donated to a charitable organization for their use, again this program is offered at no cost to the taxpayer. 
Finally the Boot camp participates in the County’s environmental programs by doing the computer recycling for the Sheriff and other county agencies, this program cleans up the county’s e-waste as well as providing a marketable job skill for this developing industry, the county then sells the recycled parts and this provides an actual cost benefit for this service.