The familiar orange jumpsuits of inmate workers are beginning to appear along highways like early spring flowers that bud once winter temperatures thaw.
 
Starting this month, in a town 40 miles south of Erie, Pennsylvania, Cambridge Springs Correctional Facility inmates are beginning to pick up litter and care for the neglected, “orphaned” roads not adopted by clean-up volunteers.

“Any section of road that has not been adopted, we take over and clean up,” says Beth Barbary, a Cambridge Springs labor foreman. “This is an excellent program. It's great for the state, it's great for the inmates, and it's great for public awareness. The public sees us doing something productive with these inmates and we've gotten a very positive response.”

Inmates at the adult female facility are paid 51 cents an hour for their work from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. They typically work Monday through Friday every week when spring arrives. Those convicted of violent crimes are not allowed to participate in the roadside cleanup.

“They have to go through a lot in terms of procedure in order to be cleared to leave the front gate. I usually work with 10 inmates on each trip and so far I've had no problems in terms of escapes,” she explains. 

Barbary says inmates enjoy the program because it keeps them productive and gives them the opportunity to leave the facility. It also gives them a sense of pride about their work.

CSCF inmates will soon join others from institutions across Pennsylvania for the Third Annual Great Pennsylvania Cleanup. Volunteers and inmates join together for the event to beautify the state.