Parolees First to Graduate Re-entry Program
Day Reporting Center Offers Assistance to Ex-cons
Leaving behind felony convictions and patchwork lives, 25 former state prison inmates received their diplomas as the first graduating class of the Day Reporting Center (DRC) in Santa Barbara.
The private ceremony took place Thursday evening in a small, shaded amphitheater at Elings Park, well attended by a tight community of family, friends, DRC staff, and parolees. A number of area officials — including Congressmember Lois Capps, District Attorney Joyce Dudley, Sheriff Bill Brown, and Supervisor Janet Wolf — turned out for the ceremony, offering words of praise and encouragement. “I think everyone knows that California has a dismal recidivism rate — 70 percent,” said Rick Roney, chair of the S.B. Reentry Steering Committee. “But all the statistics in the world don’t make a difference. It’s what you do in your life that does.”
The Day Reporting Centers in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, operated by nonprofit Community Solutions Inc. and funded with state dollars, opened in July of last year. Parolees work with case managers and employment counselors to set goals, receive employment training, and develop coping skills to prepare them for reentry into the community.
