MANY INMATES DON'T SURVIVE RELEASE FROM PRISON

Since November 1999 the Justice 2000 Coalition has been trying to give
ex-offenders a fresh start when they are released from the Corrections
Department. Under the current system many inmates are released with no job
or money. The result is about 50 percent don't survive on the outside and
go back to prison.

Our initial goal was to have private groups and churches assist inmates
with housing and finding jobs. The numbers of inmates released was so large
that only a small number of inmates could be helped from private resources.

The Justice 2000 Coalition asked the state Legislature to duplicate
"Project RIO" (Reintegration of Offenders) implemented by the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice in 1989. The goal is to reduce the
recidivism rate by placing ex-offenders quickly in jobs. There was
bipartisan support in the General Assembly for Project RIO legislation
including Sen. Ralph Anderson, Sen. David Thomas, Rep. Al Robinson and Rep.
Chip Huggins.

The Offender Employment Act (H.3101) was signed by Gov. Hodges in September
of 2001; the implementation was contingent upon the appropriation of the
necessary funds. It was estimated to cost $1.8 million to carry out the
provisions of the legislation. Even in a tough budget year it made sense to
fund the bill because it only required a 13.9 percent reduction in the
recidivism rate (492 inmates) to break even on the project.

It was very disappointing that the state budget for 2002-2003 contained no
funds for the Offender Employment Act. Columbia "politics as usual" took
over the budget process with mindless across-the-board budget cuts and
wasteful spending. For example, it makes no sense for the state Budget &
Control Board to spend $23 million dollars to buy a new state office
building and not fund $1.8 for the Offender Employment Act.

The RIO program required the cooperation of four agencies: the Department
of Corrections, the Department of Probation and Parole, the Vocational
Rehabilitation Commission and the Employment Security Commission. The
concept called for the Department of Corrections to test inmates, prepare
resumes and refer them to an office of the Employment Security Commission
for job placement. The Probation and Parole Department would insure that
ex-offenders under their supervision would participate in the RIO program.

The RIO program could save the taxpayers millions of dollars by reducing
the number of repeat offenders because the cost of incarcerating inmates is
one of the largest expenditures in the state budget. The annual cost of
incarceration has risen to $16,000 per inmate. The state operates 34
prisons and has built 17 new facilities in the last 20 years.

Try to picture yourself as part of a new television "survivor" game.
Instead of being dropped off on an isolated island, you are sent to
Greenville or Columbia. The object of the "game" is to see if you can get a
job and a place to live. You are dropped off at the bus station with only
$10 cash and no picture identification card. It is winter; your clothes
consists of cotton pants, a shirt, and no coat.

This is exactly what happens to thousands of ex-offenders who "max out"
their sentences each month. The South Carolina Department of Corrections
releases about 11,000 inmates each year. It is no surprise that about 5,500
ex-offenders go back to prison in a short period of time.

A close look at existing public and private programs for ex-offenders in
South Carolina gives a misleading picture. The Corrections Department,
Alston Wilkes Society and various churches all have programs to help people
when they are released from prison. However, the number of people being
released from prison far exceeds their capacity to help ex-offenders find jobs.

Most inmates get no help finding jobs. The South Carolina Department of
Vocational Rehabilitation has an excellent program designed to help inmates
with disabilities obtain employment prior to release. The program has a
counselor assigned to a pre-release center and provides their clients with
tools and work clothes. It is a wonderful program but is only serving a
fraction of the prison population.

The South Carolina Employment Security Commission has unemployment offices
throughout the state. They have the capacity to help ex-offenders with job
skills find employment. But sadly the Employment Security Commission served
only 459 ex-offenders in 2000.

No single issue South Carolinians face is more critical than the problem of
crime.

It does not matter what kind of spin the politicians put on the crime
statistics; we are losing the war on crime in South Carolina. Our
experience in trying to get the RIO program duplicated in South Carolina
shows the need for fresh new political leadership in Columbia.

Since the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has implemented the RIO
program, 150,000 ex-offenders have gotten jobs. It provides job placement
through the Texas Workforce Commission. In Texas, it costs $34,000 per year
to keep an inmate in prison. By contrast, it costs only $400 per year to
help an inmate get a job through RIO.

I hope that South Carolina will elect leaders who are not afraid of change
and are willing to develop a reintegration program for ex-offenders.