Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order Thursday establishing the Governor’s Council of Second Chance Employers. Gov. Beshear appointed several Kentucky Chamber leaders including Kentucky Chamber Foundation Workforce Center Executive Director LaKisha Miller to the 15-person council.
A representative from the Governor’s office and secretaries of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Cabinet for Justice and Public Safety, and Cabinet for Education and Labor will serve on the council alongside the following business leaders:
- Tyler Stegall, BlueOval SK
- Barbara Aker, More Than a Bakery
- Steve Powless, Lifeline Recovery Center
- Rob Perez, DV8 Kitchen
- Stephen Johnson, Martin Contracting
- Nick D’Andrea, UPS
- John Estus, Amazon
- LaKisha Miller, Kentucky Chamber Foundation
- Chad Mills, Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council
- Ryan Quarles, Kentucky Community and Technical College System
- Tami Wilson, Northern Kentucky Chamber
The council will educate employers and local communities on the benefits of second chance hiring. Gov. Beshear said the council also will advocate for improvements to reentry outcomes and develop best practices for effective reentry programs.
“We have made great progress, recording the three lowest recidivism rates in over a decade, and now we’re turning our progress into prosperity,” Gov. Beshear said in a press release. “To protect Kentucky families, save lives, build safer communities and create a new Kentucky home with less crime and addiction, we must support those leaving incarceration with a solid foundation so they can obtain a good job – one that helps them provide for their family and successfully return to society.”
Kerry Harvey, special advisor on reentry programs for Gov. Beshear’s administration, joined him during the announcement. Harvey, a former secretary of the Cabinet for Justice and Public Safety, spoke on the critical need for reentry programs and how the council will build necessary partnerships between the business community, state government, and local communities.
“Successful reentry programming offers an enormous return on investment to taxpayers,” Harvey said. “If we could reduce the recidivism rate by just a few points, something that’s entirely achievable, it will result in a savings to Kentucky taxpayers that will be measured in the tens of millions of dollars. Effective reentry programming is a great investment in and for Kentucky.”
Gov. Beshear also announced that the state prison system is expanding its career and technical trainings and opportunities for inmates to learn valuable skills and attain certifications that will help expand the talent pool in Kentucky’s fast-paced labor market.
“Kentucky’s economy is thriving and because of that, demand for technical skills is tremendous and access to a wider talent pool is critical,” Gov. Beshear said during a press conference. “The idea is that everyone can leave (prison) with a skill that can result in gainful employment within days or weeks of their release.”
Stay tuned to The Bottom Line for updates.
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