Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that as part of his Second Chance Society initiatives, the Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) will host an American Job Center early next year within the New Haven Correctional Center. Created in partnership with the Workforce Alliance and the City of New Haven, this job development program will be the first-of-its-kind in the state, and one of only 12 in the country. The initiative aims to reduce recidivism - which has declined dramatically - and to continue lowering Connecticut's crime rate, which is at an almost 50-year low.
"We need to break the cycle of crime and poverty - that's our goal with Second Chance. We must give people the tools available to get a good job and be successful outside prison walls. If we are to be successful in lowering crime, we must ensure that those housed in our correctional facilities don't come back," Governor Malloy said. "This is a first-of-its-kind jobs center at one of our correctional facilities, and one of only 12 in the country. Correctional facilities should be just that - places that give inmates the ability to be successful on the outside. FBI data indicates that Connecticut's crime rate is at its lowest level in almost 50 years, and by implementing these types of forward-thinking initiatives, we can drive it even lower."