The Prison Industry Authority (PIA) exists to employ inmates in order to reduce the costs of operating and maintaining California state prisons by generating enough revenue from the sales of prison-made goods and services to be self-supporting and to offer inmates an opportunity to advance their work habits into effective occupational skills. The PIA aims to reduce inmate violence and idleness by occupying them with work. However, the PIA neglects to establish participation targets for the number of employed inmates and is not required by law to reach any quota or profit margin. In fact, the company is owned and operated by the government and protected from bankruptcy and government interference. In other words, the PIA is virtually a lawless agency.

The PIA, despite its short-comings, does however, make a point. Most people feel that it would be beneficial to society and to the economy to have inmates be released from prison as more productive members of the society. Moreover, the organization and legislature agree that inmates should also be required to contribute to the cost of their crime and the cost of their incarceration through wages earned in prison industry programs. Legislature also feels that there is a need to reform prison industry in order to meet with sate-wide safety standards, which will be left up to cities and counties to enforce. The idea is truly beneficial for both sides, the prison system and the inmates. Unfortunately, it has not yet been established, whether or not the PIA has met its goals.

Although it is evident that the PIA is in need of some reform, regarding effective job training and rehabilitation for the inmates, as well as increased safety standards; the Prison Industry program is quite structured and well thought out. Cities and counties which provide prison industry must provide work sites within the facility to accommodate inmate workers (no safety regulations are enforced, specifically). It is also required that inmates are paid for their labor, though amounts are also unspecified. Deductions are made from the inmates earnings in order to pay for court-ordered financial obligations, in reasonable amounts as to not discourage the inmates from working. Deductions are also made to contribute to the cost of developing and operating the prison industry program. Other deductions are taken from the inmates' wages in order to compensate for the resources used by the inmate during incarceration, such as food, toiletries, the library, etc. These deductions are not, however, seen as a punishment, instead they are made to instill a sense of responsibility in the inmate for his or her own actions.

In conclusion, it is important to remember that involvement in Prison Industry is the choice of the inmate. It is not required by the state or federal government that a convict contribute his or her labor. Instead, Prison Industry offers an alternative to remaining locked up in a cell all day and an opportunity to start paying off debts before an inmates release. It is not specified how much of an inmates earnings is actually put toward his own fines, but according to PIA documents, some portion of the money is. Studies of the PIA are also not conclusive on the program's effect on recidivism and the effectiveness of the skills developed by the inmates during the program. It is apparent, that the Prison Industry program and the PIA are works in progress.