A class of 30 prison inmates graduated Friday from a new program designed to help them find jobs after they are released.
The graduates have been housed at a satellite facility in Little Rock that serves as a re-entry center for inmates nearing parole.
The Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy program -- known as WAGE -- is conducted by the Adult Education Division of the Arkansas Department of Career Education. It's taught by the Pulaski County Special School District's adult education department.
"This program is to help people accrue skills to help them achieve employment or to help them better their employment or to possibly help them retain employment," said Dina Tyler, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Correction.
Inmates in the program learn 112 basic skills deemed essential by both national and Arkansas employers.
Participants are inmates who, through testing, showed the abilities of a student at a 12.9 grade level.
"That means you're a little more than a senior, but you didn't finish college," Tyler said. "They show promise as a student, but perhaps they didn't have an opportunity to continue their education, or they grew up in an environment where the importance of that wasn't stressed. It was more important to have street cred than to have a good education and the skills you need to get a job."
The Wrightsville Satellite Unit is a Pulaski County facility that the Department of Correction leased in an effort to alleviate overcrowding in county jails. It houses 173 state prison inmates, all of whom will be released in less than six months.
The program started Aug. 25 with 40 men. These students studied math, computer literacy, typing and career readiness.
They had the opportunity to earn four program certificates -- Employability, Customer Service I and II and Industrial. These certificates have various components on which inmates must achieve at least 85 percent or higher and the state Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy test, which they must make 100 percent on to receive the certificate.
"This is exactly what these inmates need to help provide skills necessary to support re-entry and hopefully, prevent them from returning to ADC," Tyler said. "But this program isn't just about the skills they receive; it's also life lessons in the classroom. It's about believing in them and letting them know it. It's about understanding where they have come from and what causes them to be in the situation they are in.
"Frankly, it's about understanding they are worthy of being able to do what is expected of them to stay out of ADC. All of these components help support re-entry by giving inmates skills, understanding what employers expect of them and how to make decisions that would benefit them in being productive citizens and being there for their families instead of being incarcerated."
The program partners with local businesses, some of which offer incentives for entry-level workers who want to earn a certificate even after released from prison.
"This certificate is all about achieving skills that are essential for employers," Tyler said. "It's what they look for. When you come out of prison, it can be harder to find a job than for people have never been to prison. If we can give them a step up anywhere, we need to do that.
"The inmates who got their WAGE certificates this morning are beaming. Anytime you earn something through hard work and dedication -- and it's something positive -- you're proud of yourself."
State Desk on 10/18/2014