By Tove Tupper
 
November 17, 2009
 
TALENT, Ore. - Two Jackson County agencies are working together to save money and meet their goals.
 
The Community Justice Transition Center in Talent works with offenders at the tail of their sentences by offering them work restitution opportunities, including a work program at the animal shelter.
 
Between five and eight offenders work at the Jackson County animal shelter daily. They help walk and feed the animals, clean the kennels and do laundry. The shelter pays the transition center $90,000 a year for all the work
 
That money pays for the cost of incarcerating those offenders, which saves taxpayers money.
 
"The money that we put out for as many guys as we get, we couldn't do it if we had to hire just people even at minimum wage, we couldn't get our money's worth like we do with them," said Donna Patnesky with Jackson County Animal Care & Control.
 
The shelter says some offenders have actually come back to volunteer once they are done with the program.
 
The transition center says about 98-percent of the offenders complete the program successfully. All offenders are screened before participating in the program. A work crew coordinator is at the shelter every day to supervise them.