CGI program aims to help inmates find jobs

Alex Bloom

With the implementation of a new program at the South Bay House of Corrections, the facility is living up to its name as a correctional institution to help offenders become productive members of society.

Since 2005, Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral and her staff have worked hard to implement vocational training at the South Bay House as part of the Common Ground Institute (CGI) re-entry program. The program recently became the first facility in the state to receive accreditation from Massachusetts Workforce Development’s Division of Apprentice Training.

Cabral believes that with certification from the state, inmates will have a much easier path to finding employment.

“State recognition of CGI as a certified apprenticeship program is a testament to the enormous hard work and dedication of the staff that put it together and keeps it going,” said Cabral. “State certification is an enormous boost to [placing graduates with employers] and I’m very proud that CGI’s quality has been recognized.”

To receive apprenticeship certification from the state, an apprentice must fulfill a minimum of 150 hours of classroom instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training. CGI students can receive training in many different areas, like carpentry, painting and landscaping, and use their training as part of the facility’s Community Works Program, which offers projects such as building library shelves. After touring the facility and analyzing the curriculum for the 10-week CGI course, Division of Apprentice Training Director John Rich and his staff concluded that the program meets state standards.

“We want to give people credit for doing [apprentice training],” said Rich. “We want to credential anyone behind the wall who’s doing the programs.”

The CGI program is designed to reduce the rate of recidivism, the percentage of inmates who are repeat offenders. Cabral believes that CGI can go a long way into helping offenders reenter society.

“The quickest road to recidivism for most inmates is unemployment,” said Cabral. “Vocational skills equal increased employability. CGI is a detour from that road [to recidivism].”

Cabral and her staff also recruit employers to help inmates find employment upon re-entry. Rich noted that having graduated from a state-approved program greatly increases an offender’s chance of employment, especially since most offenders are competing with graduates of four-year vocational programs.

“[Offenders] can show they’ve participated in a formal program,” said Rich. “Without that, it makes it that much easier for an employer not to take a chance on someone.

“Without these credentials I think they’re going to be lost,” Rich continued. “You can’t save everybody, [but] this is just one way to save some people and help those people who want to go out and sell themselves.”

South Bay House of Corrections is the first correctional agency in the state to receive apprenticeship accreditation, according to Rich.

“Suffolk County is the first one to move ahead,” said Rich, who noted that his staff has visited other facilities, but none have progressed as far as Suffolk.

The Division of Apprentice Training has been working with the Department of Education, the Office of Apprenticeship Training, Employer and Labor Services in the U.S. Department of Labor, and Division of Career Services’ Reentry Manager Dave Sullivan to develop the program. The Division hopes to develop similar programs other correctional facilities in the near future.

“We’re trying to create standards for all apprenticeship programs whether in construction trades, chef programs or carpenter trades,” said Rich. “Whether it’s behind the walls or outside the walls, we’re trying to come up with standards of education that we can document and put our stamp of approval on.”

Rich has been impressed with the dedication of the Suffolk facility’s staff, including John D’Amore, director of vocational education, and Rodney Dailey, the business corporate community liaison. However, he said that Cabral’s leadership has been instrumental in implementing the program.

“My experience has been with strong support from above, the staff is much more prone to move ahead quickly and that’s what happening over there,” said Rich. “Without the sheriff’s endorsement, this wouldn’t be happening.”