Project Re-entry has been so successful that officials decided to try it at the Cabarrus County Detention Center.
The jail program, which began in 2012, is the first of its kind in North Carolina. It was made possible through a grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission.
The two-year pilot program has been tailored to fit the needs of inmates serving sentences for misdemeanor convictions. Instead of 16 weeks, the inmates are offered classes for 11 weeks to help them find jobs and to support them upon their release.
Rebecca Sauter, coordinator for Project Re-entry, acknowledges that the jail program has faced bumps along the way.
Prisoners are more humble than jail inmates, most of whom spend much less time locked up, Sauter said.
But Cabarrus County Sheriff Brad Riley says the new program has been successful.
