Beshear announces initiative to help people released from prison get good jobs

(LEX 18) — Gov. Andy Beshear announced additional steps that Kentucky is taking to help people in prison get good, stable jobs when they are released.

“The idea that everyone has the opportunity to leave with a skill that could result in gainful employment,” Beshear said.

“We’re focusing on training that makes people immediately employable at a living wage,” he added.

To expand career and technical opportunities throughout the prison system, Beshear announced a new licensure program at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women, which is working to establish a licensed cosmetology school.

This will be the first time in Kentucky that a prison has had a cosmetology school, according to Beshear.

“Once launched, female inmates will be able to complete a Kentucky Board of Cosmetology-approved course of study from qualified instructors while incarcerated. Upon completing the required 1,500 hours of instruction, inmates will be eligible to take the cosmetology examination,” according to a press release from the Governor’s Office. “Upon successfully passing the practical and written exams, an individual will be a licensed cosmetologist and ready to obtain employment upon release.”

“Cosmetology is in high demand and it was even requested by those inside that prison as a skill that they were interested in learning,” Beshear said during his weekly press conference.

Beshear said they’re also looking into teaching skills in fields such as construction, manufacturing, and logistics.

“Everybody that we can provide a stable job opportunity, or at least job skills, as they leave prison – the numbers show that they’re just significantly less likely to reoffend,” said Beshear.

“Long-term, I believe this could be this could be one of the most successful programs to reduce crime, to improve public safety, and, at the same time, to rebuild lives,” he added.

The governor also signed an executive order on Thursday establishing the Governor’s Council of Second Chance Employers, comprising 15 business and community leaders, including Amazon, BlueOval SK, UPS, DV8 Kitchen and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, along with the secretaries of the Justice Cabinet, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Education and Labor Cabinet.

According to the governor, the council will meet quarterly to educate employers and local communities on the benefits of second-chance hiring, advocate for laws and investments to improve reentry outcomes, and develop best practices for effective reentry programming.

“We have made great progress, recording the three lowest recidivism rates in over a decade, and now we’re turning our progress into prosperity,” Beshear said. “To protect Kentucky families, save lives, build safer communities, and create a new Kentucky home with less crime and addiction, we must support those leaving incarceration with a solid foundation so they can obtain a good job – one that helps them provide for their family and successfully return to society.”