PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Corrections and Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s Office have partnered with a California-based nonprofit on a new technical skills program to help educate incarcerated individuals on technology that will qualify them for in-demand jobs when they're released.
The organization, named The Last Mile, launched its innovative web-development program last month in the John J. Moran Medium Security Correctional Facility in Cranston. The Last Mile says its program teaches students to create websites and full-stack web applications using modern technologies, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Node, Express and MongoDB.
Rhode Island is the seventh U.S. state and second in New England with Massachusetts to offer this programming. McKee said in a statement that the state’s support, which includes a mix of grant and state funding, is part of his goal to enhance workforce development for all Rhode Islanders by 2030. Those trained by The Last Mile have a 75% employment rate and less than a 4.5% chance of falling back into criminal activity, according to the nonprofit.
The Last Mile Executive Director Kevin McCracken told Providence Business News on Tuesday that Rhode Island’s prison population is lower than most states at about 2,500. But when individuals reenter society with skills to get sustainable jobs that pay more than $70,000, the chances of returning to prison decrease, McCracken says.
“It’s a universal issue across many departments of corrections … to get people who have been incarcerated for a long period of time ready for the modern world,” McCracken said. “That’s a huge factor in having success.”
RIDOC Acting Director Wayne T. Salisbury Jr. said in a statement that as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing challenges employers are facing in hiring skilled workers, businesses are now more willing to consider employing justice-involved individuals.
The Last Mile has 16 students participating in its first cohort, and McCracken says each cohort lasts about six months. Students are chosen if they have a GED or have not had any disciplinary writeups for a year prior to applying for the program, he says.
Participating individuals can also apply for additional training programs, which include audiovisual and film editing training. Other future training programs being developed by The Last Mile include game design and information technology training and entrepreneurship, McCracken says.
The program also will provide the state with significant savings on incarceration costs. The Last Mile says it roughly costs $80,000 per year to incarcerate one person. The 16 students in the first cohort of graduates alone could potentially save the state more than $1.2 million in such costs annually if they stay out of prison.
McCracken also says the programming will include an “alumni success program” that starts inside the prison facilities, allowing the organization to conduct reentry training. It is partnering with Bank of America Corp. to offer inmates financial literacy training. Grow With Google, part of Google Inc., will help with resume and interview training, he says.
Each individual reentering society is also provided with a laptop and a coach to help them create resumes to send out to potential employers, McCracken says. The program will regularly post job openings to further help program graduates gain employment. McCracken says The Last Mile’s partnership team is currently reaching out to Rhode Island-based companies to help connect with the organization and provide employment to local program graduates.
“There are jobs out there for people,” McCracken said. "If they have served their debt to society and they’re rehabilitated through programs like ours … what you get out it is not just somebody who is willing to work hard for you, but also somebody who is dedicated to the job – and be loyal for your company. It really is a life-changing experience.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
