East Lake Norman News

A new plan to fight recidivism rates across the country proposed by U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, R-Greensboro, is being touted as one that could “help erase employment barriers” for many who have fallen on hard times.  

Among others, House Resolution 4369 would expand apprenticeship programs for ex-convicts, veterans and high school students.

“Employment opportunities are hard to come by for individuals with a criminal record, even when the prior conviction is unrelated to the nature of employment,” Julia Hawes of North Carolina Justice Center told The Center Square.

In particular, HR 4369 would give access to apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship opportunities to inmates and others with criminal records. Currently, there are nearly 600,000 apprentices in programs across the country, over 90 percent of whom move on in careers where they earn an average of $60,000, according to the Department of Labor.

Across North Carolina, the annual cost of incarcerating an inmate runs taxpayers about $30,000. Currently, the state houses more than 35,000 inmates, with about 40 percent of all ex-prisoners re-arrested within three years of their release.

Walker has a long history of pushing criminal justice reform, sponsoring the First Step Act of 2018, which increases the amount of time inmates can cut off of their sentences due to good behavior, reduces sentences for drug charges and adds more discretion for mandatory minimum sentences.