October 15, 2015
Story and photo by Joe Vinduska
Barton Community College and Ellsworth Correctional Facility (ECF) received recognition for their innovative and progressive cooperative efforts to reduce recidivism of inmates via education at a press conference Wednesday afternoon at ECF.
The Governor thanked the college for their efforts in providing inmates with opportunities to become productive members of society.
“Barton, the work that you guys have done within this facility, to get people to get an associate degree or get technical training is just really important,” Brownback said. “Ninety-seven percent of these men are going to get out. They are going to pay their dues to society and once they get out, we want to see that they don’t come back. We want that recidivism rate as low as it possibly can be.”
Brownback stressed the importance of the technical training Barton offers, such as welding.
“While we’ve got them we want them improving their life and improving their thinking,” Brownback said. “Barton has been working on that a lot. I hope we can extend even more technical training into the prison population. Barton has been a strong partnership in doing that. Thank you for what you’re doing.”
Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman spoke on behalf of the college and acknowledged its commitment to continuing to pursue educational opportunities within correctional settings.
“We’re very appreciative of the partnership we have with the Department of Corrections and ECF,” Heilman said. “Our common goal is to improve people’s lives after they’ve paid their debt to society by providing training and opportunities. We have something that works really well here. We’re very pleased and appreciative of your recognition as well, governor.”
Some of the programs that Barton has established are traditional college education classes, technical training such as welding and carpentry and a GED program.