Tuesday marked the grand opening for two new vocational schools here in Georgia, but the setting might not be what you expect.
CoreCivic’s Wheeler County and Coffee County Correctional Facilities are now home to brand new centers offering courses in gas metal arc welding and diesel truck maintenance. Inmate students can earn certificates from nearby Wiregrass Georgia Technical College and Oconee Fall Line Technical College, which are running the programs and supplying the instructors.
Courses will begin in early January, and inmate students have already signed up for classes.
Studies have shown that graduates of programs like these are 43 percent less likely to return to prison once released.
– Submitted