Two-thirds of felons are back in prison within a year.And that's understandable. It's tough even for a college graduate with a straight-arrow employment record to land a decent-paying job. Imagine what it's like for robbers, drug dealers, and murderers, many of whom are barely literate, have a poor work history, and are a threat to steal or be violent in the workplace.
It can be awfully tempting for an ex-felon to go back to robbing or selling drugs: If you get away with it, you make a heckuva lot more than McWages; if you get caught, you qualify for three hots and a cot plus rent and gym membership, and health care, all free, compliments of the taxpayer.
Career counselor Maureen Nelson wrote this great piece on how ex-offenders can find the motivation to stay the course until they succeed, legally.
A friend of a friend teaches welding at Laney College and says that classes for fall aren't full. (She also says that one of her most inspiring students is a female parolee.) I'm surprised that classes leading to good, high-paying tradeswork don't have waiting lists full of disillusioned former office workers AND ex-offenders trying to get their lives together.
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