Ross Correctional Institution

ROSS CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION

• Adult Basic Education (ABLE) is funded with Adult Basic Education funds through the Ohio Central School System. ABLE Roofing is a ten to twelve week program that targets offenders with reading scores below 6.1. The program offers training on the use of roofing tools, identification of roofing materials, figuring the amount of materials needed, and roofing installation. This program offers readiness skills to offenders to become successfully employed roofing helpers upon release.
• The New Life program is a modified 120 bed therapeutic community for offenders with identified alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems. New Life helps offenders develop the skills they need to maintain an AOD and crime-free lifestyle. Offenders participate in a 24-hour learning experience in which individual improvement in behavior, attitude, and emotions are monitored and mutually reinforced by staff and fellow program participants during the daily regimen. Within the limits imposed by a prison setting, the offenders, under staff supervision, run the operation of the community. This is accomplished by assigning various "crews" that are arranged in a hierarchy according to seniority, individual progress, and productivity. This social organization is fundamental to the rehabilitative approach of mutual self-help, work as education and therapy, peers as good role models, and staff as rational authorities.

Religious Services

• Complete listing of available programming/services

Reading Room
 

In 2000, former First Lady Hope Taft approached the Director about establishing a reading room for the children who visited their incarcerated parent at the Pickaway Correctional Institution. This idea spread across the state, and now the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction maintains children’s reading rooms in each of the 32 institutions. The reading rooms encourage family literacy by providing a pleasant and comfortable setting for both child and incarcerated parent. Each room is stocked with a wide variety of children’s books and has an inmate narrator who reads to the visiting children twice a day. The role of the inmate narrator is to read picture books to the children in much the same manner that children’s hour would be done at a public library. A variety of arts and craft supplies for the children are also available in most of the rooms. Many of the supplies and books are donated by employees and service organizations. This past year the Department served over 45,000 children. The inmate narrators worked over 32,000 hours in reading to and with the children.
 

Visit the Reading Room at Ross

• Tuesday through Sunday 7:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Reservations are required.  Call 740-779-0451, Thursday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to schedule.
• Closed on Mondays and all state holidays.
• Visiting hours are subject to change without notice. Please call the institution to verify visiting hours before planning a visit.

For general visiting information or to download a visitor application, go to http://www.drc.state.oh.us/web/visiting.htm.