Tulsa Business Staff
1/18/2010
A team of legislators, judicial officials, state and local community service agencies, educators, researchers and business leaders will kick off a three-year-long study on the rate at which Oklahoma incarcerates women next week. The “Complex Dialogues” series, hosted by Oklahoma City University, in partnership with the George Kaiser Family Foundation and Don and Donna Millican, begins Jan. 26 at OCU.Oklahoma leads the nation in its female incarceration rate, at 134 per 100,000, compared to the national average of 69 per 100,000. Sixty-eight percent are incarcerated for non-violent offenses, many of which are drug- and alcohol-related. Two thirds of female prisoners were abused as children, and 75 percent have been victims of domestic violence. The two foremost challenges looming before former prisoners upon re-entry into society are housing and employment, said Pam Richardson, director of Resonance Center for Women and one of the community leaders involved in the summit. Resonance offers intervention, prevention and support services to former prisoners and at-risk women. “The (summit) committee I’m on is the workplace committee,” Richardson said. “It’s going to be a conversation about, how do we put people back to work? We’re inviting a lot of the local business owners who are interested in this to come and visit with us about it and talk about what do we need to do? How can we get folks employed? And what are the issues around that?” Lynse Luther is an example of a former prisoner who had made strides to change her life for the better. The 30-year-old was released from prison in September following a two-year sentence for a second Driving Under the Influence conviction. Upon release, she connected with the Girl Scouts of America who, in conjunction with the Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa, sent her and seven other women on a job interview with Ted Banzhaf, owner of Tulsa Biofuels. Banzhaf bought the failing business in September and reopened it. By October, he needed a couple of employees. He heard about a grant recently award to the CSC that would allow companies that hire former prisoners to be reimbursed for a portion of their wages. The President’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative is a $304,116 grant awarded to the SCS in February of last year. “For a short period of time, we get reimbursed for some of the payroll,” Banzhaf said. “And if the person stays for six months, we get reimbursed for another portion of the payroll. They reimburse us up to a certain amount. “Lynse’s already gotten a raise and already gotten a Christmas bonus and the company’s keys to the facilities,” Banzhaf said. She works as the shop tech, helping convert used kitchen grease into diesel fuel, which the company then sells to trucking and transit companies. Banzhaf said hiring Luther through the PRI program helped negate some of the risk of hiring an ex-prisoner. “There are a lot of factors involved when you hire an employee; there are so many things that can go wrong,” Banzhaf said. Luther said having a “good” job is keeping her motivated to stay of out trouble. She defined “good” jobs as ones like she has now. “They become the potential careers, because you never stop learning,” she said. “You better yourself with the responsibility and being accountable, being trustworthy. It’s going to go somewhere.” Those involved in the “Complex Dialogues” series want to hear more stories like Luther’s, but they say it will take focused community involvement.
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Aerospace
