Oct 6, 2026 · 50 min · 13 segments
Amy Walter, Alabama’s party leaders, and other voices weigh in on the political and policy issues shaping the state. For transcripts, video, and more information…
Todd StacyHost
Bobby SingletonGuestScott StadhagenGuestJeff SandersBob NanceHostStella Mae PetwayGuestAnd with prison populations increasing, officials in Alabama are working to keep inmates from coming back once they've been released.
In Perry County, a new workforce training facility is part of that effort.
This facility previously was a prison.
I think it's ironic that it was previously a prison because now today it's resurrected as a hope center, a center where people have an opportunity to succeed in life.
It's no longer about keeping people inside.
It's about helping people make it on the outside.
The Bureau and Ingraham State Technical College opened the training facility at the Perry County Prep Center.
Inmates can learn welding, electrical work, carpentry and heavy equipment operation.
We're gonna teach them work ethic.
We're gonna teach them responsibility, how to work in the elements.
Because guess what? You can learn to weld in the welding booth, but when you go to that employer, you may not be welding in the welding booth anymore.
If you're operating heavy equipment, you gotta know how to operate it and operate it effectively and efficiently.
He says the new training center is a multi-year collaboration that is producing results.
And I'm so proud today that what we brought together in the collaborative efforts between the executive branch of government and the legislative branch of government, and now with two-year colleges, we are now seeing something that models an envy by the people across the United States.
Since then, more than 600 inmates have graduated with a reported recidivism rate below 1%.
Director Ward says keeping people from returning to prison takes more, though, than teaching them a new trade.
What I've learned is this.
And with prison populations increasing, officials in Alabama are working to keep inmates from coming back once they've been released.
In Perry County, a new workforce training facility is part of that effort.
This facility previously was a prison.
I think it's ironic that it was previously a prison because now today it's resurrected as a hope center, a center where people have an opportunity to succeed in life.
It's no longer about keeping people inside.
It's about helping people make it on the outside.
The Bureau and Ingraham State Technical College opened the training facility at the Perry County Prep Center.
Inmates can learn welding, electrical work, carpentry and heavy equipment operation.
We're gonna teach them work ethic.
We're gonna teach them responsibility, how to work in the elements.
Because guess what? You can learn to weld in the welding booth, but when you go to that employer, you may not be welding in the welding booth anymore.
If you're operating heavy equipment, you gotta know how to operate it and operate it effectively and efficiently.
He says the new training center is a multi-year collaboration that is producing results.
And I'm so proud today that what we brought together in the collaborative efforts between the executive branch of government and the legislative branch of government, and now with two-year colleges, we are now seeing something that models an envy by the people across the United States.
Since then, more than 600 inmates have graduated with a reported recidivism rate below 1%.
Director Ward says keeping people from returning to prison takes more, though, than teaching them a new trade.
What I've learned is this.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.