Re-entry initiative gives inmates job possibilities

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms joined the Department of Corrections, the Department of Watershed Management and the Georgia Department of Corrections to launch a re-entry program, Preparing Adult Offenders to Transition through Training and Therapy (PAT3). The program focuses on the re-entry needs of incarcerated males with children by providing job training and employment opportunities with the city, according to a news release.

PAT3 is designed in a three-tiered process: state mandated vocational training, workforce development and employment. Upon completion of vocational training, participants will become certified city employees in the Department of Watershed Management, which includes full health benefits. Earnings will be saved in an account until the participants are officially released from the Atlanta City Detention Center — a state-recognized transitional center.

Program participants include detainees with 12 to 18 months remaining in their respective sentences that are currently in the care and custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections and the Atlanta City Detention Center. The goal of this program is to reduce recidivism by providing essential life skills including financial management, parenting classes, anger management, substance-abuse prevention and workforce readiness. Re-entry counseling and classes will be facilitated by Urban League Greater Atlanta.

Inmates from the Georgia DOC must meet strict requirements to participate including but not limited to: male only; convicted in or return address to Fulton County, Georgia; minimum of 12 months remaining on sentence; medium or minimum security; GED/high school diploma preferable but not mandatory; no sex offenders; and no violent offenders. PAMELA MILLER FOR THE AJC