By Gabe Bullard
Louisville, KY – Federally-funded initiatives are likely behind a drop in the recidivism rate in Kentucky. The rate of felons who return to prison within two years has dropped to just below 30%. That's a ten-year low for the rate, which has risen above 35% at times. Department of Corrections spokesperson Lisa Lamb says several relatively new programs have attributed to the drop.
" our re-entry efforts and increased efforts and increased efforts in substance abuse treatment programs. But we give a great deal of credit to our probation and parole staff and the work they've done to reduce the return of technical parole violators."
Technical parole violations include missed curfews or other non-felony actions. Many of the new programs were funded with a federal grant, but Lamb says she's confident the initiatives can continue, despite the uncertain economy.