City launches ‘second chance’ job training programs for Fayette County inmates
Thanks to an influx of federal funding, Fayette County Detention Center inmates will soon have opportunities for job training and placement prior to leaving jail.
“Through the Second Chance Academy, people who are in jail will have a second chance at finding a job once they leave jail,” said Mayor Linda Gorton at a press conference Tuesday announcing the new job training initiative. “We want to put inmates on the path to success.”
The six-week academy will identify inmates who want to work and teaches both soft and hard job skills. The program will include resume writing, job interview techniques and help inmates choose possible career paths.
“By giving the formerly-incarcerated enrolled in the Second Chance Academy an opportunity at gainful employment, we unlock a pool of untapped talent with higher retention rates, increase workforce participation and we lower recidivism rates,” said Amy Glasscock, Lexington Director of Business Engagement, who focuses on workforce issues.
National statistics show the unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people is around 27%, Glasscock said. Employment has been shown to dramatically reduce recidivism, or the likelihood that someone will re-offend.
At the same time, Lexington businesses are scrambling to find workers. Unemployment in Fayette County is at historic lows.
Jubilee Jobs, a nonprofit that works with the unemployed and underemployed, will run the six-week academy. The program is paid for through $150,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding, or federal coronavirus relief money.
Mason King, CEO of Jubilee Jobs, said finding and keeping a job gives people hope.
“When second-chance employees succeed, our community at large succeeds,” King said. “We believe in the power of potential. We believe in hope and we believe in the power of gainful employment to transform lives.”
In addition, the city has received a $616,000 federal grant for a Barrier Free Re-entry program. That program is focused on people with substance abuse issues. Like the Second Chance Academy, it will also focus on getting those inmates jobs or employment-ready when they leave the jail.
Both programs will start July 1.
The jail currently does not have programs aimed at making inmates workforce ready when they leave.
