The Wayne County Work Release Program allows convicted offenders that have been ordered to serve a jail sentence to work during the course of their jail term. There are no set hours, so if an offender works an afternoon or night shift, the Wayne County Work Release Program can accommodate those work hours.
A couple of caveats to consider before trying to get work release:
- Enrolling in the work release program does not guarantee that you will be released. It usually takes a couple of days before a person is released on work release, but you might find out that you are never accepted by the jail into the program. This makes planning difficult, and if you promise an employer that you will show up for work, you and your employer might be disappointed.
- You pay for the privilege of work release, and it can get expensive. The fee for the work release program is 20% of your gross income or a minimum of $70.00 per week.
- If you serve your time on work release, you will very likely serve the entire sentence. The jail is almost always overcrowded, and a lot of people who are ordered to do straight time without work release are released on tether. In some instances, depending upon the person's classification by the jail and the number of beds available, the offender might be immediately released on tether. You will not be released on tether if you are paying to participate in the work release program.
If you seek approval for work release, most -but not all- Wayne County judges are inclined to grant that request for misdemeanor offenders as well as first-time low grade felony offenders. A judge must approve work release for it to be considered, but you are not guaranteed placement on the work release program by a judge’s approval. Tether, on the other hand, may be ordered without a court's consent and explicitly contrary to a judge’s wishes if overcrowding justifies tether release.
You must bring the following items with you to the work release program:
1. Your last two (2) pay check stubs.
2. A money order (NO CHECKS) in the amount of $105.00 paid to WAYNE COUNTY TREASURER. (Clearly print your name.)
3. A letter of employment including your work scheduled signed by your employer or immediate supervisor in ink. This must be on company letter. The letter cannot be from your union. It must be from your employer.
If you are self-employed, you must provide:
1. A copy of your W-2, 1099s.
2. A copy of your business operating license.
Contact Cpl. Brownfield at (313) 875-8045 for additional information.
Note: All warrants and other charges must be satisfied before entering the work release program.
The fee for the work release program is 20% of your gross income or a minimum of $70.00 per week.
The pay schedule is Saturday through Friday. If you start on a Wednesday, the following week you will pay for the remaining days in that week through Friday, and then you pay weekly until released from the work release program.
The number of beds available in the work release program is extremely limited, and there are rumors that Wayne County will be phasing out the work release program because of budget difficulties.
The work release program operates out of the The William Dickerson Detention Facility, which is located at 3501 Hamtramck Dr, Hamtramck, MI 48211. The telephone number to the jail is 313-875-7000. The work release program can be called directly at (313) 875-8045, but it can be difficult to reach a person on that telephone number.
