Harrisburg, PA – Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel served as the keynote speaker at the York County Economic Alliance's Economics Club Breakfast recently in York. His message to the approximately 50 business leaders covered how smart investing can prevent incarceration, how education is key to pre-entry and reentry, and why hiring reentrants is good for business and Pennsylvania.
"When people really need an opportunity, often they're going to be your best employee," Wetzel said. "There are 2,000 (reentrants) in south central Pennsylvania. You're going to run into them. It really makes sense for companies to invest in people."
While the DOC focuses on the back end of criminal justice, Wetzel encouraged the audience to support "pre-entry" efforts on the front end that keep people out of the criminal justice system. The best pre-entry tool available is education, Wetzel said, as 41 percent of those entering state prison don't have a high school diploma.
A key to improving the prison system and keeping people out of prison is reinvestment into local services.
"When you talk about reentry and pre-entry, investments are better made in the community," Wetzel said. "The whole push of Justice Reinvestment Initiative 2 is to take money out of the prisons and invest it locally. The key is reinvesting smartly."
York County employers need employees, and incarcerated individuals are reentering society at historic levels eager to work and with freshly learned skills and trades. Wetzel told the employers about the CDL simulators and other trades being taught inside the prisons, and he also teased future educational programs to better equip inmates with the knowledge and skills to be employable when they reenter society.
Sticking with his push for education inside and outside of prison, Wetzel told the audience about the DOC's superior GED pass rate: Inmates in Pennsylvania state prisons have an 86 percent pass rate whereas those in the general public only have a 73 percent pass rate.
"Our teachers do a fantastic job, and our students are very motivated," Wetzel said. "Education during incarceration is key."
The event closed with a question-and-answer session, and questions were focused on what employers can do next to hire reentrants and fill their employment vacancies. Wetzel highlighted the county work release programs as a great opportunity to try working with incarcerated individuals, and he also recommended reaching out to a few employers in Pennsylvania who are already hiring reentrants and finding success. He also highlighted federal bonding programs which add insurance to employers hiring individuals with criminal records.
Wetzel will attend another business leaders' event at a roundtable discussion in Lebanon on Dec. 3.
MEDIA CONTACT: Susan McNaughton, 717-728-4025
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