By KOB.com
State prisons are turning to cheap labor to deal with the most recent round of budget cuts asking volunteers, college interns and even inmates themselves to help cut costs.
This summer the state ordered the Department of Corrections to cut about $8.8 million from their annual budget. Since then, administrators say they have had to get creative when it comes to staffing some programs.
An August report to the Department of Finance and Administration cited that nearly one third of inmates were not receiving mental health care. Now the department plans to offer college credits to interns from social work programs at New Mexico State University and Highlands University. Corrections Secretary Joe Williams says the students will be supervised by prison mental health care professionals.
Also in the report, the department indicated that it would be forced to cut educational programs for 1300 inmates because of a 3.2 percent budget reduction. Now it plans on filling the prison educator ranks with Americorps volunteers which will be funded through a federal grant.
Read more on KOB.com.