S.C. training program aims to keep inmates on straight path
RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Department of Corrections has the lowest recidivism rate in the country, but they want to make it even lower by teaching inmates job skills they can use immediately after incarceration.
The Lieber Correctional Institute in Ridgeville is in its third week of a pilot program that has master welders teaching inmates how to weld hands-on and learn other skills in the classroom, like how to develop a blueprint.
“We’re setting them up for success and not failure,” South Carolina Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said.
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The inmates in this all-male prison have volunteered to take part, and it does not matter what their offenses are. They just have to have consistently good behavior and have already served a decent amount of their sentence.
The Grace Impact Development Center is a nonprofit that has helped bring this program to life. Its co-executive director, Tory Liferidge, says one of their main missions is workforce development.
“They’re not just gaining welding skills, but through our master welders, they’re gaining life skills,” Liferidge said. “And having different types of conversations, it’s making it a holistic program for them. "
This program is funded by $45,000 worth of grant money from the nonprofit Coastal Community Foundation, S.C. Association of Community Economic Development and money from the state for the 45-foot mobile welding lab.
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What they learn here is what can take them to the right place, such as working for an airplane dealer, shipbuilder or automaker, post-incarceration.
“We have people who return home, and they face a lot of obstacles in of finding an affordable place to live, finding gainful employment, and employers who are not requiring them to check the box,” Liferidge said. “And so, because of the need in our different industries, we feel that we’re providing a necessary pipeline that not only helps employers, but it provides an opportunity for returning citizens to anywhere from $17-$22 an hour.”
Stirling says SCDC has a 17.1% recidivism rate and is the lowest rate in the entire country. Once this five-month program wraps up, he hopes to expand it to make the rate keep going down.
“It 100% makes the community safer,” Stirling said. “If people have a job and a place to live, stable income and benefits, they’re much less likely to come back to prison at a great societal cost, and a great taxpayer cost. This will save taxpayers a lot of money by these folks not coming back into the system.”
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Former state legislator Joseph H. Jefferson Jr., who helped bring in some of the funding, got to see this program in person for the first time Monday.
“We want to keep this funding source available because it is desperately needed and it’s going to be gainfully employed to many individuals, which is most important,” Jefferson said.
SCDC is encouraging employers to partner up with their program so they can receive job candidates and make it a little bit easier for folks with a criminal record to have a stable-paying job.
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