TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Dozens of offenders with Indiana’s Department of Corrections have received work certifications through a partnership with Ivy Tech Community College in Terre Haute.
The college and DOC are now being recognized by the Indiana Department of Education with an Award for Excellence.
The state of Indiana created the Hoosier Initiative for Re-entry in 2018. It’s an effort to prepare offenders for re-entering the workforce.
Ivy Tech in Terre Haute has been training offenders from the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle on both welding and machine tool.
“So far we’ve had 89 inmates complete the program and of those 89 inmates who have completed, the ones who have been released, 55% of those have received jobs in the community,” says David Will, Dean of the School for Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering and Applied Sciences.
The IDOE also gave awards to Ivy Tech student Jerika Powell and the college’s Information Technology Support program.
