TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Shawnee County Jail is expanding its re-entry program in an effort aimed at reducing recidivism.
Jail director Brian Cole said offenders who are released may find securing housing and employment to be a challenge.
Last month, a newly formed re-entry advisory board met for the first time. The group is comprised of city and county officials, representatives from local nonprofits, and other stakeholders.
“They’ll make this work,” said re-entry coordinator Rich Christie. “I know they have a passion to help lives.”
Christie, who began working at the jail in April, said he expects a more robust re-entry program to be in place by the end of January.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that while the jail has had a work release program and GED classes, officials are adding cognitive classes and workforce development.
The cognitive classes aim to help people make better decisions.
“It doesn’t really try to change what they think or they feel, but intervenes before they act,” Christie said. “It really slows down the thinking instead of reacting.”
Participants in workforce development courses will learn to write resumes and conduct mock interviews.
The program will start in the jail’s annex building, which is minimum security, though Cole said he hopes it expands to the main building at some point.
Inmates will undergo an assessment to see which classes will be most beneficial.
“It’s really a one-size-doesn’t-fit-all. We have to tailor to the client,” Christie said.
He expects the program to facilitate a healthier environment. Inmates who go through programs together support each other, he said, adding they can also implement some of the skills they learn while still in jail.
Christie also is working to launch a mentoring program in which someone who has been released has extra support.
“It’s really to give them some direction if they have some difficulty,” he said.
Christie hopes there community members may have interest in volunteering, as the re-entry and mentoring programs will rely on volunteers. He also has reached out to businesses that could be potential employers.
Christie said he expects about 120 people to be in the program at any time. Even if the program is successful for only a small segment of inmates, he said, it will still save the county money because incarceration costs $85 per day per inmate.
“There’s other costs that you really can’t put a dollar figure on,” Christie added. “Most of them came from Shawnee County, committed their crime in Shawnee County, are coming right back into our community. I think the citizens hope that they come out in a better place, otherwise they are going to victimize again.”
Many inmates arrive living an unstable lifestyle, surviving day to day.
After learning some skills and gaining some tools while in jail, Christie said, “When they leave, I want them to wonder, ’How do I want to live?’”
So far, Christie said, he has received positive feedback from inmates about the new programming.
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Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com
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