The Indiana Department of Correction has developed effective programs aimed at keeping offenders from returning to prison once they're released. The challenge now is to get more offenders to participate.
Only a fraction of the 20,000 men and women released from Department of Correction custody each year participate in these services because there isn't enough capacity in the programs for them.
"We are not funding and we're not doing what we should be doing about this," state Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, said. She is a member of the General Assembly's study committee on corrections.
That group is trying to develop legislative solutions to improve the transition from prison to society. As it now stands, 36.7 percent of felons will be back in prison within three years of being released.
That recidivism rate must be reduced.
There's no single approach that works best for all inmates, but programs like education courses, intensive drug counseling and apprenticeship training typically cut the recidivism rate by one-third to one-half for participants.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development is also partnering with hundreds of Indiana employers to provide post-prison jobs for 1,451 offenders. But even with a $9,600 federal tax incentive, it's a hard sell.
It's difficult to convince employers to take a chance on a new employee who is a proven failure. That's why the in-prison rehabilitation programs are so important.
Even if the recently released offender learned job skills and went through behavioral modification programs behind bars, there are other challenges facing that person right away, including housing, health insurance, child care and family life.
Pam Ferguson, assistant superintendent of the Rockville Correctional Facility, suggested the state establish a network of safe houses in major cities to ease the transition to life after prison. It's one of many ideas the study committee must consider.
Correction, not just incarceration, must be the goal.
Putting more emphasis on changing behavior, and easing the transition to life after prison, will help Indiana avoid spending as much on housing inmates in the future.