DOC Program Allows Inmates To Make Money While Incarcerated

As the Oklahoma Department of Corrections works to improve conditions and services offered inside Oklahoma Prisons, it's also taking a focused look at making sure inmates are also ready to re-acclimate to society through its work release program.

“It gave me a sense of value. They gave me an opportunity when nobody else would,” a former Oklahoma inmate said.

He was given the opportunity to work and earn money before he was released from prison.

It's all part of an effort to break the cycle of incarceration.

Scott Nunn with the ODOC says inmates are far more likely to re-offend upon release if they don't have resources to help them reacclimate to society.

“We provide a large range of services, such as substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, job training,” Nunn said.

But the work release program stands out.

Inmates who have less than 3,000 days remaining on their sentence can qualify to get a job.

“They sleep at the facility, shower, programs, and then they go to work during the day," Nunn said.

He has seen inmates rejoin society with up to $50,000 in savings.

“To see them save money, put it in their savings and, and to be able to discharge with not just $50 and a bus ticket,” Nunn said, calling the program extremely rewarding.

“When I discharged from prison, I was able to buy me a vehicle, get me an apartment, and still have money to live on to where I ... I didn't have to go back to my old ways,” Alvin Davis said.

Davis is one of many former inmates who say the program set them on a new path.

The DOC reports inmates in the program are released with an average of $5,000 saved up but more than 10% leave with over $16,000 to work with.

“We have a new vision here. We change lives,” Nunn said.

The DOC says the work release program is rapidly growing and the agency is always looking for more community partners to create job opportunities for inmates.