Training ex-offenders for 'green collar' jobs
Washington County Community Partnership develops home weatherization pilot program
By PAULA BARR
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, November 15, 2009
Updated: Sunday, November 15, 2009 4:09 AM CST
Updated: Sunday, November 15, 2009 4:09 AM CST
The issues seemed an obvious match for Washington County Community Partnership staff.
The focus on the environment and “green” living in the past few years was creating new jobs in several fields. Some of those jobs required candidates with new skills.
The Partnership is part of the state’s commitment to help ex-offenders become productive, law abiding citizens instead of committing more crimes. But finding area employers willing to hire ex-criminals was proving difficult.
Why not train ex-offenders for “green collar” jobs?
Partnership Executive Director Debby Bust had also heard predictions that stimulus money eventually will be released for weatherization projects in low income homes. She and her staff realized that training ex-offenders to work in the energy audit field would help them become productive, law abiding citizens and give them a way to help the community.
The Partnership developed a home weatherization pilot program with a $25,000 Department of Corrections (DOC) Community Reentry Grant that ended in October. Now, Bust and her staff are waiting to hear if they will receive a $100,000 grant from the DOC that would allow them to expand the program.
The grant money comes from intervention fees paid by men and women on probation or parole, not from taxpayers, said Ray Mills, probation and parole district administrator for Washington, Iron and Reynolds counties.
The DOC had hoped to announce grant recipients by the first of November, but has not yet done so.
The Washington County Reentry Green Team program graduated 18 students who were on probation or parole. Ex-offenders also participated in a computer/job skills program that is free to anyone in Washington County. The weatherization course caught the attention of New York Department of Correctional Services in July.
Washington County Community Partnership is a member of the Missouri Partnerships for Reentry, the community component of the state’s official Reentry Process. Missouri’s commitment to successful reentry is one response to studies that show criminals are far more likely to turn their lives around if they have support and the necessary skills to make a successful transition from prison or jail to the street.
“The biggest factor of people committing crimes is not having decent jobs, although drugs add a different factor,” said Dave, who is on parole from a 14-year stint in prison that ended three years ago. “With more opportunity to have at least middle income jobs, you’ll have less crime.”
Dave was a member of the second weatherization class and agreed to be interviewed only if he would not be identified by name.
“I don’t tell anybody about my prison time until we get close,” he said. “I’m building my own business, and I don’t advertise my prison time. That (illegal behavior) is no longer part of my life anyway.”
Reducing recidivism
As of September, there were 53,516 men and women on probation, 30,661 people in Missouri prisons, 17,709 on parole and 2,762 on interstate status.
Approximately 97 percent of people in prison will be released from prison to live in neighborhoods across the state. The DOC releases an average of about 20,000 ex-offenders every year. More than 500 ex-offenders currently live in Washington County, and most face several barriers to gainful employment.
In recent decades, the philosophy that criminals should be locked up in cells and left there to serve their time (sometimes referred to as ‘warehousing’) has led to the release of people who have anger issues, poor communication skills, low self-esteem and inadequate life skills. About 34 percent of those released committed more crimes and ended up back in prison.
“People get discouraged very quickly when they are trying to change and their efforts aren’t paying off fast enough,” Dave explained.” People who think criminally aren’t very patient.”
Reducing the recidivism (return to prison) rates benefits the community through lower crime rates and fewer tax dollars going to the costs of incarceration. Those costs range from $43.91 to $46.04, according to the DOC’s 2008 annual report ( http://www.doc.mo.gov/publications.htm . Probation and parole daily costs range from $3.03 for general supervision to $49.36 for residential facility supervision.
Recidivism rates resulting from warehousing practices have spurred changes in correctional philosophies across the country. Missouri is one of the states considered to be on the forefront of that movement.
The focus on reentry now begins when new offenders enter prison and continues throughout their incarceration. The community aspect of the process helps ensure that paroled men and women will have some support to help them ease back into society. That might be providing individual mentors from area churches, or holding job fairs with local companies.
In economically depressed areas such as Washington County, finding a job can be difficult for anyone, let alone someone with a record, Mills explained.
“There’s not a whole lot of opportunity for offenders to gain valuable employment,” he said. They have a hard time finding employment that pays enough to support their families.”
In the first two years after adopting the reentry philosophy, recidivism rates in Missouri dropped to about 31 percent in 2007. That decrease is expected to continue as reentry efforts in prisons and in the community are developed and expanded.
New skills
Missouri Partnerships for Reentry works in collaboration with Americorp VISTA. In Washington County, Chris Humphrey has spent the past two years as the VISTA Missouri Partnership for Reentry Coordinator. Funding for his position ended last week, however.
Humphrey said construction is one of the places ex-convicts can get jobs, which adds to the appeal of the weatherization program.
“Every angle of it is has a plus,” Humphrey said. “There is a big void for energy auditors. Someone will have to be trained to fill that void.”
If the new grant comes in, weatherization classes will continue. In the pilot program, probation and parole officers referred ex-offenders to the eight-week course. Class ran for four hours every Saturday morning and was taught by local contractor Tom DeGonia. During the classes, students used tools, learned math and practiced necessary skills to build a window, insulate a water heater, and perform other tasks that will help households conserve energy.
They learned about R value insulation ratings (used to measure insulation’s ability to resist heat flow) and R values, as well as how to figure the percent of energy saved.
The top student received a $1200 scholarship to Building Performance Institute to become certified as an energy auditor. Missing a class meant they were cut from the program. Of the 20 men who started the classes, 18 finished.
“I think that the idea of career training got the participants excited,” Bust said. “They liked the hands-on instruction and they felt that what they were learning could lead them to an actual career.”
Green Team participants also learned computer and jobs skills in classes at the Partnership office, 104 Hickory Street, Potosi. The first two classes included group discussion, and were followed by one-on-one mentoring. Participants learned how to write a resume and garnered experience with software programs such as Word and Excel.
They worked on interview skills, had mock interviews, improved their typing and went through the University of Extension’s Tackling the Tough Skills course that deals with attitude, responsibility, communication, problem solving, and preparation for the workplace.
Grant money also went into an emergency fund that could pay for car repair if an ex-offender can’t get to work, or for clothing appropriate for the job they choose. The Partnership installed a computer and DSL Internet service at the probation and parole office so ex-offenders can do online job searches.
“I think this is the best program that has come out of the grants,” Mills said. “It was very successful. It’s one of the first job training programs that we’ve really been able to conduct down here.”
The computer instruction is free to anyone in Washington County, not just ex-offenders. For more information, call 573-438-8555.
“We’re hoping to help people get better life skills and get on track to find jobs,” said Sarah Albert, project manager and the Partnership’s liaison with Probation and Parole. “Ex-offenders are just like anybody else. They’re just trying to get help and better their lives.”
Of course, ex-offenders will not benefit from the help unless they want to change, Dave pointed out.
“Within the first year and a half in prison, I had an epiphany,” he explained. “I told myself, ‘The world’s not the problem, you are,’ I knew plenty of people in prison who were trying to change. They just need a chance.”
Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at pbarr@dailyjournalonline.com.
The focus on the environment and “green” living in the past few years was creating new jobs in several fields. Some of those jobs required candidates with new skills.
The Partnership is part of the state’s commitment to help ex-offenders become productive, law abiding citizens instead of committing more crimes. But finding area employers willing to hire ex-criminals was proving difficult.
Why not train ex-offenders for “green collar” jobs?
Partnership Executive Director Debby Bust had also heard predictions that stimulus money eventually will be released for weatherization projects in low income homes. She and her staff realized that training ex-offenders to work in the energy audit field would help them become productive, law abiding citizens and give them a way to help the community.
The Partnership developed a home weatherization pilot program with a $25,000 Department of Corrections (DOC) Community Reentry Grant that ended in October. Now, Bust and her staff are waiting to hear if they will receive a $100,000 grant from the DOC that would allow them to expand the program.
The grant money comes from intervention fees paid by men and women on probation or parole, not from taxpayers, said Ray Mills, probation and parole district administrator for Washington, Iron and Reynolds counties.
The DOC had hoped to announce grant recipients by the first of November, but has not yet done so.
The Washington County Reentry Green Team program graduated 18 students who were on probation or parole. Ex-offenders also participated in a computer/job skills program that is free to anyone in Washington County. The weatherization course caught the attention of New York Department of Correctional Services in July.
Washington County Community Partnership is a member of the Missouri Partnerships for Reentry, the community component of the state’s official Reentry Process. Missouri’s commitment to successful reentry is one response to studies that show criminals are far more likely to turn their lives around if they have support and the necessary skills to make a successful transition from prison or jail to the street.
“The biggest factor of people committing crimes is not having decent jobs, although drugs add a different factor,” said Dave, who is on parole from a 14-year stint in prison that ended three years ago. “With more opportunity to have at least middle income jobs, you’ll have less crime.”
Dave was a member of the second weatherization class and agreed to be interviewed only if he would not be identified by name.
“I don’t tell anybody about my prison time until we get close,” he said. “I’m building my own business, and I don’t advertise my prison time. That (illegal behavior) is no longer part of my life anyway.”
Reducing recidivism
As of September, there were 53,516 men and women on probation, 30,661 people in Missouri prisons, 17,709 on parole and 2,762 on interstate status.
Approximately 97 percent of people in prison will be released from prison to live in neighborhoods across the state. The DOC releases an average of about 20,000 ex-offenders every year. More than 500 ex-offenders currently live in Washington County, and most face several barriers to gainful employment.
In recent decades, the philosophy that criminals should be locked up in cells and left there to serve their time (sometimes referred to as ‘warehousing’) has led to the release of people who have anger issues, poor communication skills, low self-esteem and inadequate life skills. About 34 percent of those released committed more crimes and ended up back in prison.
“People get discouraged very quickly when they are trying to change and their efforts aren’t paying off fast enough,” Dave explained.” People who think criminally aren’t very patient.”
Reducing the recidivism (return to prison) rates benefits the community through lower crime rates and fewer tax dollars going to the costs of incarceration. Those costs range from $43.91 to $46.04, according to the DOC’s 2008 annual report ( http://www.doc.mo.gov/publications.htm . Probation and parole daily costs range from $3.03 for general supervision to $49.36 for residential facility supervision.
Recidivism rates resulting from warehousing practices have spurred changes in correctional philosophies across the country. Missouri is one of the states considered to be on the forefront of that movement.
The focus on reentry now begins when new offenders enter prison and continues throughout their incarceration. The community aspect of the process helps ensure that paroled men and women will have some support to help them ease back into society. That might be providing individual mentors from area churches, or holding job fairs with local companies.
In economically depressed areas such as Washington County, finding a job can be difficult for anyone, let alone someone with a record, Mills explained.
“There’s not a whole lot of opportunity for offenders to gain valuable employment,” he said. They have a hard time finding employment that pays enough to support their families.”
In the first two years after adopting the reentry philosophy, recidivism rates in Missouri dropped to about 31 percent in 2007. That decrease is expected to continue as reentry efforts in prisons and in the community are developed and expanded.
New skills
Missouri Partnerships for Reentry works in collaboration with Americorp VISTA. In Washington County, Chris Humphrey has spent the past two years as the VISTA Missouri Partnership for Reentry Coordinator. Funding for his position ended last week, however.
Humphrey said construction is one of the places ex-convicts can get jobs, which adds to the appeal of the weatherization program.
“Every angle of it is has a plus,” Humphrey said. “There is a big void for energy auditors. Someone will have to be trained to fill that void.”
If the new grant comes in, weatherization classes will continue. In the pilot program, probation and parole officers referred ex-offenders to the eight-week course. Class ran for four hours every Saturday morning and was taught by local contractor Tom DeGonia. During the classes, students used tools, learned math and practiced necessary skills to build a window, insulate a water heater, and perform other tasks that will help households conserve energy.
They learned about R value insulation ratings (used to measure insulation’s ability to resist heat flow) and R values, as well as how to figure the percent of energy saved.
The top student received a $1200 scholarship to Building Performance Institute to become certified as an energy auditor. Missing a class meant they were cut from the program. Of the 20 men who started the classes, 18 finished.
“I think that the idea of career training got the participants excited,” Bust said. “They liked the hands-on instruction and they felt that what they were learning could lead them to an actual career.”
Green Team participants also learned computer and jobs skills in classes at the Partnership office, 104 Hickory Street, Potosi. The first two classes included group discussion, and were followed by one-on-one mentoring. Participants learned how to write a resume and garnered experience with software programs such as Word and Excel.
They worked on interview skills, had mock interviews, improved their typing and went through the University of Extension’s Tackling the Tough Skills course that deals with attitude, responsibility, communication, problem solving, and preparation for the workplace.
Grant money also went into an emergency fund that could pay for car repair if an ex-offender can’t get to work, or for clothing appropriate for the job they choose. The Partnership installed a computer and DSL Internet service at the probation and parole office so ex-offenders can do online job searches.
“I think this is the best program that has come out of the grants,” Mills said. “It was very successful. It’s one of the first job training programs that we’ve really been able to conduct down here.”
The computer instruction is free to anyone in Washington County, not just ex-offenders. For more information, call 573-438-8555.
“We’re hoping to help people get better life skills and get on track to find jobs,” said Sarah Albert, project manager and the Partnership’s liaison with Probation and Parole. “Ex-offenders are just like anybody else. They’re just trying to get help and better their lives.”
Of course, ex-offenders will not benefit from the help unless they want to change, Dave pointed out.
“Within the first year and a half in prison, I had an epiphany,” he explained. “I told myself, ‘The world’s not the problem, you are,’ I knew plenty of people in prison who were trying to change. They just need a chance.”
Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at pbarr@dailyjournalonline.com.
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Article Comments (5)The comments below are from readers and do not represent the views of the Daily Journal.
blasterrat posted at Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Mythoughts;Our Goverment is you and I and the rest of the Countrys citizens.So when you say our Goverment is screwed up your saying yourself and the rest of us is screwed up.The person who thought of this is very wise.It will lead to less crime,more jobs,and saved money when we dont have to prosecute them for a future crime they may commit thru not having a job.You know life is hard.When one adds a felony conviction to their record it becomes even harder.I think its great we help those who made bad choices.If we have things like this it helps to create productive members of society instead of criminals which are a burden for all.Being an ex con doesnt mean one is not a worthy person.We could train someone without a record but not having a record doesnt make that a better choice.It could mean we are just training one who hasnt been caught yet.You see we as a society have to be openminded and willing to help others.If your not a felon and you dont have a job there may be noone to blame except yourself.There are many avenues for everyone,but they require effort.
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trenticus posted at Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Furthermore, I would rather my tax dollars go to this program than going to the states most experienced welfare receipients. After all, these guys will be working once getting thru this program and not sucking the states budget dry because they are lazy! Give a person a chance!
trenticus posted at Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Hey mythoughts, Are you working? I know how tough it is to find a job. I am finally working after being laid off since December of 2008. I looked and found that you have to be willing to work for minimum wage and put aside your pride to take a lower level position. BUT, heres the thing.. You have people that want ANYTHING and not gripe. So if you are unemployed stop whinning that someone is taking the steps to better themselves and become PRODUCTIVE and wanting it. Not just sitting in front of the T.V. and waiting for someone to come beat down their door to offer a job. Stop complaining and start being proactive! It is people like you that just want to sit back, complain and do nothing to better themselves. At least these guys are trying!
mythoughts posted at Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 10:46 am
JOBS ARE HARD TO FIND.....
So in order to get a job you have to be an ex con?
People who have never committed a crime should be getting those jobs.
Go look at the list of unemployed without a criminal history and train them not the ex cons.
If you can not find a law abiding person to train then go offer training to a drug head.
We have good decent people out there that did not break the law that needs jobs before these people do, why do they get special treatment. Whoever thought of this, thinks they are so smart.
This just shows how screwed up our government is that they would turn their backs on the people who are paying taxes and give to the low life's who screw the system.
So in order to get a job you have to be an ex con?
People who have never committed a crime should be getting those jobs.
Go look at the list of unemployed without a criminal history and train them not the ex cons.
If you can not find a law abiding person to train then go offer training to a drug head.
We have good decent people out there that did not break the law that needs jobs before these people do, why do they get special treatment. Whoever thought of this, thinks they are so smart.
This just shows how screwed up our government is that they would turn their backs on the people who are paying taxes and give to the low life's who screw the system.
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