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The Russell County Detention Center recently hosted its third Pre-Release class to inmates with upcoming release dates. Russell County’s Pre-Release Program aims to reduce recidivism among released prisoners. The Pre-Release initiative is a response to the Bureau of Justice Statistics found within five years of release, about 76% of released prisoners were rearrested.
In an effort to break the cycle of criminal behavior, the Pre-Release program takes a comprehensive approach by offering tools to help individuals become productive members of the workforce. The education session at the Russell County Detention Center included information on healthy living, education, probation and parole, employment resources and much more.
Speakers included Cumberlands Workforce Development Board Director Myra Wilson, Health Benefits Assister Carol Johnson, and Lake Cumberland Area Development District Executive Director Darryl McGaha.
A number of agencies participated in the program, offering workshops and talks for the inmates:
Cumberlands Workforce Development
Russell County Department of Corrections
Goodwill Industries
Sky Hope Recovery Center
Oxford House
Rural Health Opioid Program
Lake Cumberland Area Development District
Russell County Attorney
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SOMERSET, Ky. — A new four-week Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program at Somerset Community College is steering students toward a career with huge demand and the potential for a steady paycheck.
Program instructor John Mitchell said that graduates could see immediate results. “There are very good employment possibilities for truck drivers in this area,” he said and notes that “a CDL is a guaranteed paycheck for the rest of your life.”
Classes are held on SCC’s Somerset campus for 10 hours a day, four days a week, for four weeks—160 hours. Forty of the hours are in the classroom and 120 hours are “in the trucks, driving and performing maneuvers,” Mitchell said.
The program, administered through Workforce Solutions, has three trucks. When the course is completed, students will have learned all the necessary skills to take the Class A CDL license test. The evaluation is administered by the Kentucky State Police, and Mitchell says the college is involved throughout the entire process.
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CRITICAL will provide soft-skills, technical training to inmates and help them navigate the job application process
The Somerset-Pulaski County Economic Development Authority (SPEDA) introduced industrial leaders to an evolving initiative Thursday to grow Pulaski County’s workforce while also helping incarcerated men and women gain a new start on life when they are released.
During the second installment of SPEDA’s Industrial Leaders Breakfast series, more than 50 leaders representing 26 Pulaski County businesses listened as those involved in implementing the CRITICAL program — Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Inmates Transforming Individuals, Community and Livelihoods — described its purpose and encouraged local businesses to participate.
This three-phase program will offer soft skills and technical training to inmates at the Pulaski County Detention Center, while also creating a transformational center inside the jail where employees can learn about job opportunities available and interview.
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The Cumberlands Workforce Development Board October meeting featured an update from Russell County Jailer Bobby Dunbar and Russell County Attorney Kevin Shearer on Russell County's Pre-Release program’s initial inmate information session recently held at the Russell County Detention Center. The purpose of the pre-release program, or LEAP (Linking Employment to Activities Pre-Release), is to successfully bring those with felonies or misdemeanors, or who have extremely low income, into the workforce.
The pre-release program recently provided a group of Russell County inmates with comprehensive resources to help them access pre-employment necessities that many take for granted, such as locating birth certificates, social security cards, identification, etc. The pre-release program partners also provide resources to offer assistance with things like job search, resumes, interview skills, transportation, and even interview clothing. The program’s initial group of inmates have noted an overwhelming success rate with post-incarceration employment.
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Recently Dr. Richard Miles, a family medicine specialist in Russell Springs, gave the Cumberlands Workforce Development Board an overview of the current state of Substance Use Disorder in a presentation titled "SUD as a Chronic Brain Disease.” Dr. Miles offered a better understanding of addiction, its causes and most effective treatments to help mediate the issues of addiction in the workforce.
“Substance Use Disorder is a Chronic Medical Disease and from a public health perspective, it is mandatory that we as physicians and providers treat the disease,” says Miles. He urges employers to recalibrate their understanding of addiction in the workforce, stating "Addiction is a brain disorder, not a character disorder."
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Each of Kentucky’s 10 Local Workforce Areas (LWA) is expected to have at least 33 occupations grow by 20 percent or more in the next 10 years. The Cumberlands LWA is projected to be the fastest-growing job region in the state during the 2016-2026 projection period with an expected growth of 12.53 percent or 14,194 new job openings.
Read the full story in The Lane Report
