Several offenders are making the most of it while facing incarceration in Southeast Indiana. Over 150 female offenders participated in the semiannual graduation celebration at the Madison Correctional Facility.
Inmates successfully completed various programs including Therapeautic Community, Residential Reformative Reentry Program, Department of Labor Apprenticeships, IN2WORK program, Business Technology, and the START program. Nine offenders also completed the Test Assessing Secondary Completion exam.
Several of the graduates were participating in the graduation ceremony for completing more than one program.
Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Bruce Lemmon spoke of Indiana as being a state that focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment and noted that studies have shown that the more programs an offender participates in, the less likely they are to reoffend. These programs give offenders the tools to maintain sobriety and get a job upon their release.
Madison Mayor Damon Welch, the keynote speaker, stated, “These young ladies are part of our community and are going to make a mark wherever they end up going in life.”
The Madison Correctional Facility is located in Madison on the State Mental Hospital Grounds and was founded in 1989. Madison is a minimum security facility that houses approximately 700 offenders. They have approximately 20 work crews supporting the City of Madison and other community and state agencies.
