Governor Rhoden: What an Awesome Idea!
Getting prisoners the skills necessary to move above the poverty line is a WIN-WIN.
Way to go Governor Rhoden!
Thank you for taking concrete action to address the recidivism (committing crimes after leaving prison) issues we are having in our corrections (prison) system. Providing training options, like the $1.5+ million you authorized for a diesel heavy equipment certificate program, is definitely a step in the right direction. This training appears to be particularly desirable, because the skills are transferrable to other areas.
Job skills are especially important because many people in prisons are below the poverty line. If we can get them trained and teach them how to get and hold a job, they are less likely to be involved in crime. As a result, spending some money on programs, like Governor Rhoden just announced, makes good sense.
Then we need to be sure people learn job skills (not being absent, showing up on time, how to work with others, how to listen, etc.) so they can keep a job. A lot of this job skill training could happen in the prison itself. When people have some basic skills it would be helpful to include some off-site job opportunities (companies that offer employment to inmates).
For these offsite programs to be effective, the programs would have to be open to all companies. Perhaps the jobs could be advertised through an online portal. Then prisoners that have been successful at meeting pre-job milestones, performing well in job assignments within the prison, and other metrics could earn some type of priority in job search and placement. On the company side, those organizations that do a good job getting prisoners well trained and keeping them out of the system could get priority listings on the portal.
From a financial perspective, this type of training could be a huge win for the taxpayers. We release about 1000 prisoners a year. About 1/2 of them end up back in the system (the last data we have is from 2020, but have told by word of mouth the number is now closer to 50%) which is costing us around $16.8 million per year ($33,650/yr on average to keep a person incarcerated) in re-incarceration expenses alone. This does not count the family disruptions and related juvenile crime. If we could keep 50 people that would have normally been back in the system from returning to prison (reduce our readmission from around 500 to 450), we would pay for the $1.5 million in about a year. If we could get more people on the right track that would be an even bigger win. That’s what we would like to see, a win for the person working to turn their life around and a win for the taxpayers.
What is your take on this program and the funding?
I believe each prisoner should take a free Career Interest Inventory online. It’s a battery of questions Likes and Dislikes. Pick their top three choices( scores) research ; wages/ salaries, work environments , hours , any on the job training etc.. skills needed such as reading level, math , and social skills required. I believe they all need to be taught budgeting skills, credit building, cost of living where they aspire to be, insurance costs .. the whole package needs mastered. I believe they all will need to be able to commit to Mental Health counseling ongoing.
Yes. I absolutely agree that a good job is the key to reducing recidivism. And vocational training and development of the soft skills a person needs to hold a job is important to meeting that goal. It isn't just the wage that matters, but the feeling of self-respect a person gains from being a genuine member of the community.