Emanuel Women’s Facility Hosts Braille Open House and Graduation

Commissioner: Timothy C. Ward

Director of Public Affairs: Joan Heath

Offenders Translate and Produce Textbooks into Braille

FORSYTH, Ga. –  On October 17, Emanuel Women’s Facility hosted a Braille Open House and graduation ceremony, recognizing nine female offenders as the first in Georgia to complete the Library of Congress Braille Transcribers Certification course.  The program teaches offenders skills necessary to transcribe textbooks for visually impaired students in grades K-12 across the United States.

“The Braille Transcribing program is an avenue for the offenders to learn a skill they can use to find a job when released back into society,” said Commissioner Timothy C. Ward. “It gives them a purpose, and a way to give back to others.”

The offenders completed coursework through the Library of Congress Braille Transcribers Certification program, which includes Literary Braille, Nemeth Code-Mathematical, Music, Tactile-Graphics, Literary Proofreading, and Nemeth Proofreading.  They also completed curriculum in basic computer skills, soft skills, and on-the-job training.   

For more information about the National Prison Braille Network please visit https://www.aph.org/pbf/.

For more information on the Braille Program visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyJr9kJSN8c.

About the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC)

The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) has one of the largest prison systems in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising nearly 52,000 state prisoners. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 10,500 employees. For more information on the GDC, call 478-992-5247 or visit https://gdc.georgia.gov.