Letters: Saving lives, cutting costs

When you talk to knowledgeable people about how to cut the high cost of incarceration in Indiana (more than $1 billion per year), the conversation quickly ends. It seems that no one seems to think much about the obvious, which is reducing the 24,000 or so inmates in Indiana Department of Correction that each cost $80 per day.

Let’s go on the record here. People have to obey the law, and when they do not, there are consequences. But consider our recidivism statistics. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in three years, 68% will return to incarceration. In six years, the recidivism rate is 79%, and in nine years, it’s 83%. We fail miserably at helping people get back on their feet.

Right now, the best thing for reentrants is a job and a ride. We need widespread job training in prisons and jails. Then we need to connect inmates with jobs. 2nd Chance Indiana has developed the most comprehensive online job site for people with a criminal record available in Indiana today. Then, we need to get them to work and back.

When former inmates miss work, they can be fired. Our van transportation effort proves these folks can be successful at work if they can get there on time, every day. Roger Jarjoura, a principal researcher for the American Institute for Research, studied information from the IDOC and determined that Indiana would save $33,786 for every inmate that did not return to prison. If we could lower the recidivism rate 1%, we could shave more than $8 million off the costs of incarceration in Indiana. That would also give 240 families a working parent. These would become families with a future, not living off government assistance, and children with a “map” for employment, as dad or mom becomes a taxpaying citizen.

With little more than $2 million, 2nd Chance Indiana can support 50 vans in counties across the state. This could change everything for reentrants, for their kids and for taxpayers. This could be Indiana’s first great step in leading our state and others to pursue common sense reform.

—Nancy Cotterill
2nd Chance Indiana