IDOC PRISONERS SEEK IDAHO PUBLIC TELEVISION ELECTRONIC CHANNEL GUIDE/SCHEDULES VIA JPAY
Dear Idaho Public Television Administrators:
The Idaho Department of Correction has, over the past couple years, allowed prisoners to utilize a (non-online) system whereby we may send and receive emails from the outside, purchase music, ebooks and other media such as Associated Press news. The company which has been (sub)contracted to provide these services is called JPay out of Miami, Florida.
I would like to see if there is any way that Idaho Public Television could make available to Idaho prisoners the content of the idahoptv.org/channels guide that is available to the public via the internet. Many prisoners, including myself, are big fans of public television, and find much of the programming rehabilitative, educational and positive in a way most television does not seem to care about anymore. As most of these prisoners will someday find themselves released into the community, such quality programming is a tool in the rehabilitative arsenal. Some prisoners have reported that they have actually relied heavily upon Idaho PTV programming in learning to read, and others to speak English due to factors and limitations related to attending formal classes in the prison setting.
Currently, the 2,200 prisoners at the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) in Boise have PBS channels 4.1 through 4.4 available to them. Other facilities have their own lineups, but I suspect they too make these channels available to their prisoner population. (With 4.5 being so new it has not been incorporated into the ISCC institutional lineup.) Unfortunately, only a very few prisoners have the means to make the $40 donation to receive the print version of the CHANNELS guide. Were this electronic version of the guide made available to prisoners via the JPay portal, prisoners would have more options in finding available programming that would be beneficial. Further, the habit of looking to Idaho PTV for progrmming would likely carry over to post-release, and used by former prisoners to educate themselves, their children and grandchildren.
While I do not know all of the matters involved with making the electronic version of the Idaho PTV channel guide available to prisoners using the JPay portal, there is someone who does. Ms. Juliet McKay is a current contract manager for the Idaho Department of Correction with offices in Boise. Ms. McKay deals with issues related to the (sub)contractor JPay on a daily basis, and may have some insight into the issue. Ms. McKay's email address is jmckay@idoc.idaho.gov and her telephone number at the IDOC Central Office is (208) 658-2000.
Any consideration you might give to this issue would be greatly appreciated and any questions you may have of me can be sent to me directly at:
Dale Shackelford
#64613 / ISCC / Unit F
P.O. Box 70010
Boise, ID 83707
or leave a message at: daleshackelford1@gmail.com
Best Regards,
/s/ Dale Shackelford
The Idaho Department of Correction has, over the past couple years, allowed prisoners to utilize a (non-online) system whereby we may send and receive emails from the outside, purchase music, ebooks and other media such as Associated Press news. The company which has been (sub)contracted to provide these services is called JPay out of Miami, Florida.
I would like to see if there is any way that Idaho Public Television could make available to Idaho prisoners the content of the idahoptv.org/channels guide that is available to the public via the internet. Many prisoners, including myself, are big fans of public television, and find much of the programming rehabilitative, educational and positive in a way most television does not seem to care about anymore. As most of these prisoners will someday find themselves released into the community, such quality programming is a tool in the rehabilitative arsenal. Some prisoners have reported that they have actually relied heavily upon Idaho PTV programming in learning to read, and others to speak English due to factors and limitations related to attending formal classes in the prison setting.
Currently, the 2,200 prisoners at the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) in Boise have PBS channels 4.1 through 4.4 available to them. Other facilities have their own lineups, but I suspect they too make these channels available to their prisoner population. (With 4.5 being so new it has not been incorporated into the ISCC institutional lineup.) Unfortunately, only a very few prisoners have the means to make the $40 donation to receive the print version of the CHANNELS guide. Were this electronic version of the guide made available to prisoners via the JPay portal, prisoners would have more options in finding available programming that would be beneficial. Further, the habit of looking to Idaho PTV for progrmming would likely carry over to post-release, and used by former prisoners to educate themselves, their children and grandchildren.
While I do not know all of the matters involved with making the electronic version of the Idaho PTV channel guide available to prisoners using the JPay portal, there is someone who does. Ms. Juliet McKay is a current contract manager for the Idaho Department of Correction with offices in Boise. Ms. McKay deals with issues related to the (sub)contractor JPay on a daily basis, and may have some insight into the issue. Ms. McKay's email address is jmckay@idoc.idaho.gov and her telephone number at the IDOC Central Office is (208) 658-2000.
Any consideration you might give to this issue would be greatly appreciated and any questions you may have of me can be sent to me directly at:
Dale Shackelford
#64613 / ISCC / Unit F
P.O. Box 70010
Boise, ID 83707
or leave a message at: daleshackelford1@gmail.com
Best Regards,
/s/ Dale Shackelford