The Department of Community Correction is expanding a partnership with Arkansas Baptist College and area churches in Little Rock to teach prison inmates business skills for a transition back to society.
The college opened its Scott Ford Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development Center Wednesday, funded in part by donations from local business leaders. College president, Fitz Hill, said he wants inmates to have a second chance through the center.
“It’s an entrepreneurship program that really takes inmates that are currently incarcerated and in the last six months of their sentence [and gives] them a transition phase with the support of mentors [for] academic development and spiritual development," he said.
“We’re really excited about a new educational frontier and we’re not quite sure how it will end. But, we’ve launched our ship out into the sea, and we’re praying God’s blessing as we move forward.”
The program will provide accredited college courses to roughly 43 inmates a semester once it is fully running. The inmates will travel from Pine Bluff and Little Rock correctional facilities for courses at the school and will be encouraged to stay in college upon release.
“Some employers are hesitant on hiring them, so one of the things we’re trying to do is teach them the skills to start their own businesses, whether it be a beauty shop, or we have one that’s very successful in a car detail shop," said Kevin Murphy, Deputy Director of ACC.
ACC Director, Sheila Sharp, said she believes communities must step up to help with reentry into society for a successful shift in the state's 43 percent recidivism rate. She acknowledged some institutions may question whether to assist former inmates.
“I’m sure there are a lot of doubts. On the other hand, there are a lot of community leaders that know everyone needs a second chance,” said Sharp.
“Everyone has failed at something in their life, and that’s what we’re talking about is failure. Restoring people has to be important," she added.
Chairman of the Arkansas State Board of Corrections, Benny Magness, said studies show education helps reduce recidivism, even for inmates who simply get a GED.
“It actually increases their pay-rate between someone that doesn’t have a high school degree or a GED. When they just even get a GED it increases what they can make in the free world. It really quadruples success when they get college hours, and that’s what is so important,” said Magness.
According to Murphy, ACC is in conversation with several other schools in the state, including Shorter College in North Little Rock, about creating similar programs.
The state legislature passed a series of reforms and allotted new funds in its 2015 session to launch reentry efforts and drug courts, increase the number of parole officers in the state, and create more bed space for existing inmates. There are currently close to 2,500 state inmates backed up in county jails.
Governor Asa Hutchinson's prison task force will hold its first meeting at the capitol on Thursday.
