(Lawrenceville, Ga., July 2, 2013) – Over the past 13 years, federal Workforce Investment Act funds have provided nearly a million dollars to help provide job training to inmates at Gwinnett’s Comprehensive Correctional Complex. Gwinnett commissioners voted Tuesday to apply for and accept grant funds for the program for another year. If awarded, the $106,200 grant will come through the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Interim Warden Darrell Johnson said, “It’s difficult to measure our success in breaking the cycle of recidivism but most of the inmates who participated in this program were gainfully employed during the 12 months following their release from prison.”

Gwinnett’s vocational training program has received numerous awards for innovative job training and has been featured on Georgia Public Television. In addition to their regular work assignments, inmates may participate in the vocational training program two days per week. In 2012, 91 percent of the inmates were successful in finding jobs following their release from prison.

The Atlanta Regional Commission has partnered with Gwinnett County since 1997 to provide training that helps former inmates re-enter society successfully.