Gov. Matt Bevin's administration is starting a pilot project aimed at making sure more of Kentucky's prisoners get the skills needed to find jobs once they're released.
The initiative is called "Justice to Journeyman." It will put inmates on track to earn credentials in skilled trades that they can use to land jobs.
The project will match inmates with employers willing to take a chance on felons.
Bevin said Thursday that the project is part of efforts to make Kentucky the national model in helping turn former prisoners into productive citizens.
Labor Secretary Derrick Ramsey says it shows Kentucky is a "second-chance state."
The project will begin in three adult prisons and four juvenile justice facilities. Each program will be able to train about 15 people at a time.
Participating facilities:
- Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women, Shelby County – electrical program
- Northpoint Training Center, Boyle County – welding
- Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex, Morgan County – carpentry
- Northern Kentucky Youth Development Center, Kenton County –telecommunications and masonry
- Adair Youth Development Center, Adair County – telecommunications and building maintenance repair
- Lake Cumberland Youth Development Center, Wayne County – combination welding and building maintenance
- Mayfield Youth Development Center, Graves County – building maintenance
