CONTACT: Michele Kane (916) 358-1802- wk (916) 462-0731- cell
Female Offenders Graduate with Job Certifications Providing Productive Life after Prison
California Prison Industry Authority graduates of these programs have some of the lowest recidivism rates
FOLSOM – Today, 55 female offenders at the Folsom Women’s Facility received certificates during graduation ceremonies after completing programs through the California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA).
The majority of women graduated from Career Technical Education (CTE) programs in ComputerAided Design (CAD), Pre-Apprentice Construction Labor, Pre-Apprentice Carpentry, and Facilities Maintenance. Some of the other graduates completed customer service and warehouse logistics training.
“These graduates have learned valuable job skills inside a prison setting, so that when they leave prison they are successful on the outside,” said Charles Pattillo, General Manager of CALPIA. “By choosing to participate in CALPIA’s programs, these women are job-ready and will work to become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens.”
With a cumulative recidivism rate of 7.13 percent, CALPIA’s CTE programs are some of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) most successful vocational training programs.
To increase the chance of employment, all CALPIA offender employees are required to obtain a high school diploma, or complete a GED, within two-years of beginning the program.
CALPIA’s CTE program partners with several trade unions where women can work immediately after being released from prison. CALPIA provides paroled graduates with a set of tools and a tool belt so they are ready for the first day at their new job.
CALPIA is a self-financed state entity that provides training and productive work assignments for approximately 8,000 offenders in California. CALPIA receives all of its revenue from the sale of the products it manufactures and does not take an allocation from the state budget. CALPIA funds the CTE programs from proceeds derived from CALPIA enterprises.
