Tough Economics Makes for Tough Transitions
Cedric Woodcock stood at attention next to his bunk Tuesday morning at the Coastal Transitional Center, gainfully employed and optimistic about his future. Reported by the Savannah Morning News.
The 33-year-old said he entered the state Department of
Corrections system in April 2007 after being convicted of robbery by intimidation, and now he’s eager to complete his sentence on parole and continue life as a free man with his children in Jesup.
“All these people want you to do is succeed,” Woodcock said. “I feel like with what I learned here, I can.”
During his seven months at the center, Woodcock said, he secured a job installing garage doors for a company in Pooler. He also has learned to stay away from the drugs that fueled the decisions that led to his arrest in May 2006.
But according to transitional center officials, Woodcock is one of the lucky residents of the facility, where the economic downturn crippled the employment ratio. As of Tuesday morning, only about 60 percent of Coastal Transitional inmates have found jobs.
“When the economy was rocking, we were up at around 90 percent,” said Richard James, outgoing superintendent of the facility near Louisville Road and Stiles Avenue. “Then the economy dropped, and none of them could find anything.”
James, who will leave his post in Savannah for a job with the Department of Homeland Security in Brunswick, said the job drought has forced center officials to suspend job searches outside the facility until Jan. 4. And when searches return, they’ll be limited to two days a week, he said.
The facility – designed to introduce inmates to productive, lawful lives outside prison walls – suffered a black eye last month after two of its participants were arrested on armed robbery charges.
The facility’s image took a hit again earlier this month, when a former inmate was convicted in the 2005 rape of a Savannah College of Art and Design student.
During a recent community meeting at the Carver Heights Community Center by state Rep. Bob Bryant to address the two November armed robberies, James told the audience of a dozen residents and elected officials the same crimes could have occurred if the two suspects were released on parole or with a completed sentence.
Tuesday, James said that of the 500 or so people transferred to the center every year, only a handful committed crimes while on release.
The majority of residents who ended up in county jail were arrested on lesser charges such as public urination or drinking in public.
“What are six to eight incidents out of 500?” he said. “It’s amazing to see how a lot of these guys change from when they roll in here off the bus.”
James said about 80 percent of his inmates were referred to the transitional setting by parole officers. The remaining 20 percent are inmates whose history meets the standards of the facility but have nowhere to go if they’re released.
Along with passing a screening process at their originating facility, inmates must pass the transitional center screening process before they’re released to the community.
Although there are a few residents convicted of murder and robbery, most were sentenced on drug and property offenses, he said.
Tuesday morning, the program’s career center – an arrangement of plastic tables and chairs in front of a row of a dozen desktop computers – sat silent. The machines aren’t equipped with Internet access, so they can’t perform online job searches. They once were used to prepare resumes.
“Like Mr. James said, if there’s one thing we need, it’s more staff,” said Carlotta Rice, who will replace James as interim superintendent of the facility. “We need someone who can do things like help an inmate build a resume or do role-playing to learn how to act out during an interview.
“A lot of these guys have never even been on an interview before,” she said.
But Woodcock, who said he is eligible for parole next month, feels prepared.
“I feel like I’m ready,” Woodcock said, adding he plans to travel from Jesup to his job in Pooler when he’s released.
Recent Comments