The basic training prepared people for the basic mechanical tasks, it did not address the development of critical thinking and evaluation that are essential to human services professionals. The college conducted a national literature search on local corrections education, contacted the authors of articles and texts, contacted institutions already teaching academic courses on jails, and surveyed the administrators of the local jails and larger police lockups in Michigan. The survey revealed general satisfaction with the current 160-hour program and the desire for the addition of first aid, CPR, and fingerprinting. A tentative course of study was based on the objectives of the 160-hour program and additional topics determined through the survey results. further analysis resulted in the addition of a course titled Local Detention. The Michigan Correctional Officers Training Council granted provisional certification for this program on March 29, 1996. Charts