Instilling hope, Bingham County launches jail program to ignite hope and help inmates

BLACKFOOT — Two years after the IGNITE program was introduced to the Gem State at the Bonneville County Jail in Idaho Falls, the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office has become the second facility to host the educational program for inmates.

IGNITE, Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education, was established in 2021 in Genesee County, Michigan, where it provided inmates with the opportunity to learn trade skills or participate in enrichment classes, to earn an educational degree or certificate.

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The program was introduced to Idaho by the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office in 2023 and served as the initial pilot facility for the state. Fifteen other states have begun to incorporate IGNITE inside jail facilities, with Bingham becoming the 32nd facility to do so.

Bonneville County Sheriff Sam Hulse told EastIdahoNews.com that since the introduction of IGNITE, 65 individuals have earned their GEDs while at the Bonneville County Jail.

“Imagine how big of a deal that is,” Hulse said. “It instills hope in the hopeless.”

In the two years that IGNITE has been running at the Bonneville County Jail, there have been 84,726 learning items completed, 14,781 courses completed, 1,563 unique learners, and an average of 55.52 hours per learner.

The courses are completed digitally through tablets provided by the jail, meaning the program incurs no cost to taxpayers.

Aside from the educational aspect, Hulse mentioned a 12-step recovery program called Solution, which originated in Texas and is also used in Bonneville. Many have gone through the program and speak highly of it.

“Given the opportunity, a high percentage of inmates in the jail facility will take that opportunity to improve themselves,” Hulse said.

Hulse said that since the introduction of Solution, they’ve seen a 17% reduction in crime recidivism in Bonneville County.

Looking at resources outside of jail is also a key factor. For Bingham County, Hulse pointed to the Center for Hope as a way to ensure the assistance doesn’t end when inmates leave the jail.

Bingham County Sheriff Jeff Gardner told EastIdahoNews.com that for many years, discussions have been held about introducing a program like IGNITE to the jail, but nothing has ever panned out.

When IGNITE was introduced to Idaho, Gardner said he kept a close eye on it, knowing Hulse well and knowing he believed in the program.

“They took that heavy lift first, so there’s a lot of lessons learned that we took advantage of,” Gardner said.

Gardner said Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office and Hulse have helped to mentor them through the process, leading to the launch of IGNITE.

“This wouldn’t have happened on my own,” Gardner said. “We’re going to make a huge difference in this community by the example that’s been set before us.”

Bingham County Chief Deputy Jordyn Nebeker quoted the saying that it takes a village to raise a child, and for IGNITE, it took two agencies working together to make it happen.

However, the community has also signaled its interest in helping the inmates after IGNITE gets going. Some of them have been to help inmates with their financial, physical and mental health needs.

“We have some very skilled people that live here, people that have built businesses from scratch, people that have passion, that know how to generate momentum and effect change. We plan on yoking to them and generating that synergy,” Nebeker said.

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