LEAD: BALANCING A CHECKBOOK IS DIFFICULT ENOUGH UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES...BUT AFTER BEING BEHIND BARS FOR A DECADE, THESE SIMPLE TASKS CAN BE OVERWHELMING. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY AS LINDA KUBITZ REPORTS.
Supers:
:01-:06 Marianna, FL
:08-:13 Curtis Stevens - Marianna Prison Inmate
:26-:31 Linda Kubitz Reporting
:43-:48 Joan Elmore - UF Extension
T RT: 1:23
TAG: THIS PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN FLORIDA. IT'S SO POPULAR IT HAS A 6-MONTH WAITING LIST JUST TO GET IN.
CURTIS STEVENS KNOWS ALL HE HAS TO DO TO GET OUT OF PRISON IS SERVE HIS TIME WITH GOOD BEHAVIOR...BUT STAYING OUT IS A DIFFERENT MATTER.
STEVENS: "I'm working on my GED right now and I'm also taking typing, computer classes. I'm trying to educate myself now because I think that's going to be the key in really surviving and making it without crime in my life." (:13)
TO HELP OTHER INMATES LIKE CURTIS, THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA EXTENSION AND THE PRISON SYSTEM ARE WORKING ON A NEW PROGRAM CALLED DEALING WITH DOLLARS. THE GOAL IS TO TEACH INMATES HOW TO BUDGET THEIR MONEY, APPLY FOR JOBS, AND PREPARE FOR LIFE IN THE REAL WORLD.
ELMORE: "I've had people who have never used ATMs. I've even had some people in my class who have never been to a bank. They have never written a check. We take that for granted." (:11)
UF EXPERTS SAY IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER PRISONERS MAY NOT BE PREPARED FOR LIFE ON THE OUTSIDE WITHOUT HELP. IN FACT, 1 OUT OF 5 INMATES DOESN'T MAKE IT AND IS BACK IN PRISON WITHIN A FEW YEARS. IT'S HOPED PROGRAMS LIKE THIS WILL REDUCE THAT NUMBER BY HELPING INMATES GET OUT AND STAY OUT. IN MARIANNA, I'M LINDA KUBITZ REPORTING.