The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office in partnership with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), brought the Florida Licensing On Wheels (FLOW) mobile to the Sarasota County Jail Thursday morning.

The FLOW mobile is one of 14 units throughout the state of Florida that provides mobile services to residents including renewing, replacing, and changing information on drivers’ licenses, issuing identification cards, renewing vehicle registrations, and more. Sheriff’s office corrections personnel worked with FLHSMV to secure the vehicle for a trip to the Sarasota County Jail to equip inmates with identification cards. Over the course of approximately two hours, 20 inmates received ID cards with the goal of helping them achieve success after incarceration.

 

“Many of the people who come through our facility are facing significant addiction issues which leads to homelessness and an array of other basic, societal challenges,” said Sheriff Knight. “Many of them don’t have a home, much less a driver’s license, vehicle, or ID card. That is why we take advantage of the time they are in our custody by providing them with as many tools as possible to help with re-entry. One of those most basic tools is an ID card and for that reason, we are really excited about this partnership.”

 

All 20 inmates who received new IDs are currently housed in addiction recovery and mental health-focused pods inside the jail, and were selected based on recommendations from case managers. Corrections personnel plans to invite the FLOW mobile back to the facility to provide ID cards for future inmates, a service that comes at no cost to Sarasota County taxpayers.