MO becomes first state to join national initiative to improve outcomes of people leaving prison

Missouri has roughly 13,000 inmates released from state prison each year.

To step up efforts to help get them on the right track and stay on it, Missouri is the first state in the nation to join a national initiative, called Reentry 2030.

Missouri Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe says by 2030, the department wants 100-percent of its prisoners who need career services to get them.

It also wants 85-percent of incarcerated Missourians to have a job within 30 days of release and another 80-percent of former inmates to maintain employment for at least nine months after release. 

“I’ve heard from the economic community for years – we need people. Well guess what, I’ve got people and they’re coming back to our communities,” says Precythe.

To make this happen, the Department of Corrections plans to expand partnerships with public and private entities to help people leaving prison get jobs and meet their basic needs.