FPI Operations FAQs

1. Is FPI a business or a correctional program?

FPI is, first and foremost, a correctional program. Although the FPI program produces products and performs services, the real output of the FPI program is inmates who are more likely to return to society as law-abiding taxpayers because of the job skills training and work experience they received in the FPI program. The production of items and provision of services are merely by-products of those efforts.

Other Program Benefits.....

to society - Rigorous research demonstrates that participation in prison industries and vocational training programs has a positive effect on post-release employment and recidivism for up to 12 years following release. Inmates who worked in prison industries or completed vocational apprenticeship programs were 24 percent less likely to recidivate than non-program participants and 14 percent more likely to be gainfully employed. These programs had an even greater positive impact on minority offenders, who are at the greatest risk of recidivism. 

to the courts, crime victims, and inmate families - In FY 2006, inmates who worked in FPI factories contributed almost $2.6 million of their earnings toward meeting their financial obligations, e.g., court-ordered fines, child support, and/or restitution. Many inmates also contributed to the support and welfare of their families by sending home a portion of their earnings.

to thousands of incarcerated men and women in federal prisons - For many inmates, working in Federal Prison Industries represents an opportunity to learn a marketable skill and gain valuable work experience that will substantially enhance their ability to successfully reintegrate into society following release from prison. The program teaches inmates pro-social values including the value of work, responsibility, and the need to respect and work with others. Many inmates gain a sense of dignity and self-worth that they had lost or never before experienced. 

to private sector businesses - During FY 2006, FPI purchased approximately $552 million in raw materials, supplies, equipment, and services from private sector businesses. Over half of these purchases were from small businesses, including women and minority owned and disadvantaged businesses.

to the Bureau of Prisons - FPI contributes significantly to the safety and security of federal correctional facilities by keeping inmates constructively occupied. Inmates who participate in work programs and vocational training are less likely to engage in institutional misconduct, thereby enhancing the safety of staff and other inmates.  

FPI is an integral component of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau or BOP), and the Director of the Bureau serves as Chief Executive Officer for FPI. The Assistant Director for the BOP’s Industries, Education and Vocational Training Division serves as Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary of FPI.

2. Why has FPI grown so much over the past decade?

FPI’s growth has been driven the by the increase of the BOP’s inmate population. FPI’s goal is to provide job skills training to 25 percent of the BOP’s sentenced and medically-able inmates. At the end of FY 2006, the percentage of those inmates in the FPI program was only 18 percent.

3. Why have FPI's earnings increased so significantly?

During FY 2005 and FY2004, alike, FPI’s sales were temporarily inflated as FPI responded to war surge requirements from the Department of Defense.

4. Where does the revenue go?

Of the sales revenue generated by FPI, every cent goes into the economy, generating private sector demand. Seventy-seven cents of each sales revenue dollar is spent buying raw materials, supplies, services, and equipment from commercial companies, thereby creating private sector jobs. Eighteen cents is spent on salaries and benefits of the civil service staff who train and supervise inmate workers. Five cents is paid to inmates, who are required to pay at least 50 percent of their earnings toward satisfying their financial obligations. The balance of their pay may be used to purchase items from the prison commissary which sells items supplied by private sector vendors from within the local community.