COLUMBUS — The state has been cleared of charges that it was to blame for failure to give workers compensation to prison inmates in connection with a federal program allowing prison-made goods to be sold outside Ohio.

        A report released Friday by state Inspector General Thomas Charles said attempts by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance to help Ohio comply with a requirement to provide the compensation ended up making compliance more difficult.

        The bureau did not return a call requesting comment Friday.

        The Prison Industry En hancement Certification Program allows state prisoners to produce items for private businesses to sell out of state.

        The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction became certified to participate in 1995 and began its first project in October 1996. The project, in which inmates made jewelry from hardware, was shut down shortly after it began because it was not successful.

        Prison officials in December 1996 began a second project, in which inmates sewed drop cloths and side walls for tents sold by AAdvantage Tent of Chillicothe.

        A 1998 federal audit of the program showed that the state never put the workers compensation requirement in place because of complications with the state's employment laws. Instead of shutting down the operation, the federal government told the state to continue the program and fix the problem within 28 months.

        “We had communicated several times to the Bureau of Justice that we were having difficulty getting this type of coverage for the inmates, but we were told keep the program and try to become compliant,” said Gary Mohr, deputy director of administration for the department.

        “We believe the feds should have shut it down, not allowed the state to continue,” said Richard Rucker, deputy state inspector general.

        When the state couldn't become compliant, it voluntarily stopped operation in March, one month before the federal government canceled its certification.

        Mr. Charles' investigation resulted from a complaint filed by Daniel L. Dooley, a project manager at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. He charged that the state was at fault for violating certification requirements by not providing workers compensation.

        Marc E. Myers, an attorney for Mr. Dooley, did not return calls Friday.

        Mr. Charles has asked the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to review its in-state prison goods program to ensure all state and federal laws were being followed.

        The state has contracts with 13 private companies for inmates to make products for sale within the state.

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