With the failure of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to provide state-funded college classes for inmates, it’s time to consider better options to reduce recidivism.

In February, Cuomo announced his highly controversial plan, which he eventually dropped because of the harsh public criticism.

Many argued that it makes little sense to pay for inmates to have access to publicly-funded classes while many law-abiding citizens are unable to afford their educations.

Onondaga County’s First Chief Assistant District Attorney Rick Trunfio believes that providing free college education to inmates is “offensive to law-abiding citizens” but there are effective solutions to decrease recidivism. A re-entry program in Onondaga County has had enormous success in reducing recidivism rates.

Trunfio states that re-entry programs help the newly released parolee gain the skills to re-enter society. The program consists of job training, GED completion, job fairs, addressing drug and alcohol problems and overall laying down the foundation for success.

Of 470 ex-convicts in the program since 2012, only 10 percent failed to complete the program. Failure is constituted by re-arrest, parole violations, or dropping out.

There have been other programs in New York state to address this problem. In 2013, New York state began a program called Work for Success. It offers tax credits to businesses that hire screened and qualified ex-convicts. Additionally, ex-convicts participating in the program receive training to increase their employability and success in the workplace.

According to a March 12, 2013 Syracuse.com article on the program, every ex-convict that gets a job saves the state between $17,000–25,000.

It is crucial that opportunities continue to be created for ex-convicts to help prevent recidivism. Opponents to Work for Success are concerned with any advantages given to ex-convicts over law-abiding citizens and safety issues with employing ex-convicts.

When considering the benefits and risks of the program, it appears that it is beneficial overall.

Programs like these are a much more practical and fair way to address recidivism rates than Cuomo’s proposed plan.

This is not to say that it is the state’s responsibility to provide assistance to ex-convicts or to enable them to take advantage of government programs. Re-entry programs are based on common sense. Our communities will be safer with lower crime rates and fewer repeat offenders. This program is not designed to reward ex-convicts but rather to better society.

Cuomo’s proposed program certainly has potential to reduce recidivism rates, but it poses an injustice to law-abiding citizens. It opens a door for inmates to a free college education that is not available to everyone. It is clear that something needs to be done to reduce recidivism rates but there needs to be a limit on how much support is offered to ex-convicts.

Re-entry programs find balance between the societal good of reducing recidivism rates and limits the amount of benefits provided to ex-convicts.

The cycle of repeat offense is particularly vicious. After an ex-convict is released from prison, they are nearly impossible to employ.

This is problematic because employment serves as a deterrent to crime. Crime rates can be proactively reduced through programs like Work for Success as well as improving inner-city education. It is not the responsibility of the government to ensure the well-being and success of all individuals. However, it clearly benefits society to create opportunities.

These programs do not negate the value of hard work and do not guarantee success. They simply open doors that allow ex-convicts to re-enter the work force and create a positive and lawful future.

Rachel Potter is a junior political science and sociology major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected].

Published on April 9, 2014 at 1:00 am