From: Barking@The.Moon   
      
   Thats great. Glad to see someone getting trained to do something useful. But   
   who will benefit from it ? The inmates who wont find jobs, or the   
   incarceration industry which is now getting additional funding to run the   
   program ?   
      
   Frequently inmates are thought of as "just going through the motions" of   
   rehab and not really committing to it. The system is no different.   
      
      
      
      
      
   > Proposal outlines vocational training for inmates   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   > Board to vote Friday on program to help train, educate convicts for   
   > jobs   
   > By Riva Brown   
   > rvbrown@clarionledger.com   
   >   
   > More inmates at county regional correctional facilities could get   
   > training that will help them get jobs after they are released.   
   >   
   > "They would be productive workers when they go back out into the   
   > population and they wouldn't be on welfare," said Robert Mingo, warden   
   > at Marion-Walthall County Regional Correctional Facility in Columbia.   
   > "They would be able to get a job where they could support their   
   > families."   
   >   
   > The State Board for Community and Junior Colleges will vote Friday on   
   > a proposal to offer inmate vocational training at the 11 facilities.   
   > If approved, it could cost the state up to $457,600 a year to hire   
   > full-time instructors.   
   >   
   > Wayne Stonecypher, the board's executive director, said offering the   
   > training could reduce recidivism rates. "Hopefully, we won't have as   
   > many folks coming back into the system," he said.   
   >   
   > Of the 240 offenders released from county regionals between June 1,   
   > 2000, and May 31, 2001, 62, or about 26 percent, returned to the   
   > custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, according to a   
   > November MDOC recidivism report. Of the 4,384 offenders discharged   
   > statewide during the same time period, 1,133, roughly 26 percent,   
   > returned to MDOC custody.   
   >   
   > Board Chairman George Walker said he supports the proposal.   
   >   
   > "The problem, of course, is competition for limited funds, which are   
   > available for work-force training for existing businesses, new   
   > businesses and other demands, all of which are positive for economic   
   > development," Walker said.   
   >   
   > Under the proposal, inmates with fewer than 24 months to serve before   
   > they are paroled or released would get priority.   
   >   
   > The inmates must pass an adult basic education test before they can   
   > enroll in courses such as carpentry, welding, auto mechanics and food   
   > services. Prison officials would provide a six-month follow-up.   
   >   
   > The community college board also could form partnerships with   
   > businesses so inmates would have jobs after they get out of prison.   
   >   
   > The state's three prisons - Mississippi State Penitentiary at   
   > Parchman, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and South   
   > Mississippi Correctional Institute - offer vocational training through   
   > the state Department of Education. The four private prisons also have   
   > contracts to provide such training.   
   >   
   > Some regional prisons already offer vocational training without   
   > considering parole or release dates.   
   >   
   > Marion-Walthall, for instance, has been offering carpentry classes for   
   > about three months through Pearl River Community College. The prison   
   > is considering offering a welding class.   
   >   
   > "We want to see people better when they leave here than when they   
   > came," Mingo said.   
   >   
   > Carroll-Montgomery County Regional Correctional Facility in Vaiden has   
   > been offering a building-trades class through Holmes Community College   
   > since 1999. A part-time instructor spends 16 hours two days a week   
   > teaching the trade.   
   >   
   > Cooper Misskelley, warden at Carroll-Montgomery, said vocational   
   > training helps keep former inmates who work well with their hands from   
   > "becoming disenchanted and ending up right back on the street corner   
   > again."   
   >   
   > "They might not have the ability to learn about reading and writing   
   > and ciphering and all that stuff, but some are very intelligent with   
   > carpentry and auto mechanics," Misskelley said.   
   >   
   > Jefferson-Franklin County Regional Correctional Facility in Fayette   
   > does not offer vocational classes, but warden Michael Morris hopes   
   > that soon will change.   
   >   
   > "It's my belief that in order to rehabilitate we have to educate," he   
   > said.   
   >   
   >   
      
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