CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — During a recent meeting, the Ross County Reentry Coalition (RCRC) met with the County Commissioners to provide updates on how they are spending money they have received from the taxpayers.
The RCRC is a non-profit organization intended to help qualified incarcerated people find local employment following their release from the state prison system. To participate in the program, prior to their release former inmates must pass a series of pre-screenings to ensure they meet the expectations set by the Coalition. Additionally, they are required to continue training, recommended treatment, and other program stipulations to stay enrolled in the program. Since the RCRC’s establishment, they have been provided monetary assistance by the Ross County Commissioners.
The organization is a fairly-new group that only recently started. It was made possible with the funding provided by the county, according to representatives.
In the time since receiving the funding from the Commissioners, RCRC has successfully attained its status as a 501(c)3 organization, meaning it has been granted tax exemption status. They were also successful in bringing financial management inside the operation.
The coalition successfully brought on a new coordinator to replace Jeff Daniels, who was on board with the organization from the beginning, in lieu of his retirement. His successor, Pauline Crockett, introduced herself to the Commissioners at the Monday meeting, stating that she formerly worked for the City of Waverly at the income tax office as an administrator, and graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication.
Wayne McLaughlin, who presented the progress made by the RCRC, explained to the Commissioners that from their experience, they have observed that of all incarcerated people who are released, one out of three will be sent back to prison within three years for committing another felony. However, this changes with intervention.
“A big part of how we [provide assistance] is to contact the inmates before they get released,” McLaughlin stated.
The presenter pointed out that a large part of their operation requires them to directly email the inmates, often multiple times, to offer assistance before their release date. To help in this effort, they have inside contacts in four different institutions to encourage incarcerated individuals to sign up. Going forward, they hope to increase this number.
When asked by the Commissioners the cost of maintaining an inmate per year, McLaughlin admittedly did not have estimations from a local level. The speaker stated that while he has reached out to local officials to determine this, the only data available to him was from a state level, which was declared as $31,000 a person per year.
Following this, McLaughlin then stated that while there are systems in place designed to put individuals in prison, there is little in terms of support for incarcerated people once they are released.
“Once a criminal does something, we have an enormous amount of resources out there to catch them and put them in jail, prosecute them, and put them in prison. What we don’t have is very effective processes by which when they get out of prison, what do you do?”
Admitting that it would be a costly effort, the coalition pointed out that if preventative measures were put in place, such as means of employment or other methods of care, then the rate of crime would likely significantly increase.
Other sources concur with their findings, as formerly incarcerated individuals are unemployed at a rate of 27%, which is higher than any U.S. unemployment rate throughout history. In addition to this, it has been shown that if provided more access to meaningful employment, former felons are less likely to return to prison.
Those interested in receiving assistance from the Ross County Reentry Coalition can contact Coordinator Pauline Crockett at (740) 649-4612 or [email protected]
