Report from the Ombudsman

click here to download 2001 Annual Report pdf

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are small matters compared to what lies within us." How fitting are the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson relative to this year’s Report.

The Ombudsman’s annual message typically provides a statistical perspective of FPI waiver activities. Little emphasis is placed on the real message that lies within the reported numbers. During Fiscal Year 2001, we received 23,892 waiver requests and 334 appeals from Federal agencies. I couldn’t help but wonder if they knew the power their purchase dollars wielded in impacting another human being’s life. Approximately 22,000 inmates worked in FPI factories during FY 2001, all looking to acquire marketable job skills to eventually help them make a "fresh start" in life. Every dollar relinquished to the private sector through waiver approval, however, diminished FPI’s ability to meet its mandate.

Fiscal Year 2001 waiver requests represented approximately $328 million in potential sales to FPI. For various reasons, FPI approved $237.3 million, and another $23.4 million through the appeal process, leaving $260.7 million in relinquished potential business to the private sector. Only $67.3 million in denied waivers remained to help support FPI’s programmatic mission.

But, rather than focus on lost opportunities, I believe it apropos to recognize those who have remained avid supporters.

We sincerely thank our loyal customers who continue to satisfy their product and services requirements through FPI, be it by using their government purchase cards "on line," establishing memoranda of understanding/agreement, submitting military interdepartmental purchase requests, etc. These "investors," as I like to think of them, contribute to the immediate success of FPI’s mission, by creating inmate training and employment opportunities, while reaping tomorrow’s "dividends," as former offenders return to society, better equipped to lead self-supporting, productive lives.

I urge you to read and re-read the words of current and former inmates throughout this Report which explain how FPI’s program has personally touched them. Just think: the skilled upholsterer in town who expertly refurbished the cherished heirloom you inherited may have been trained in Allenwood, Pennsylvania; the repair technician who spotted that cracked engine block before you were about to drive to the little league game may have acquired his skills in Beaumont, Texas; the thoughtful customer service associate who jumped through hoops to expedite delivery of the anniversary present which almost slipped your mind may have once been employed in Lexington, Kentucky... all, of course, being FPI factory locations. Could there be any better way to put Federal procurement dollars to work?


Jan I. Hynson