Montgomery, AL – Alabama Corrections Commissioner Richard Allen says the prison industries program won't be cut as drastically as originally planned.
They had planned to change the programs mission from inmate training to profit making in order to help patch a $30 million budget shortfall.
Officials had said any of the 21 business ventures that weren't turning a profit in the Alabama Correctional Industries program would be eliminated.
Now they say ventures that are at least breaking even will be continued - at least for the time being.
There will also be efforts to turn a profit in those that are losing small amounts of money.
But some of the businesses still weren't able to avoid getting axed.
The department has done away with its boxing, paint and data entry operations as well as most of its farming.
Other services, such as chemical manufacturing, vehicle restoration, license tag making, metal fabrication, and furniture manufacturing, are still intact.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)