Commissioner: Gregory C. Dozier

Director of Public Affairs: Joan Heath

Progress of Offender Reentry Programs

FORSYTH, Ga. – The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) has released the Inmate Services Impact Report for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17). The report was created as a tool to highlight the progress and successes of Educational, Vocational, and other programs implemented to assist offenders on the path to reentry.  

GDC’s educational partnerships throughout the state have provided necessary tools and resources toward continued development of offender programs, job skills training and evidenced-based practices. Through the support of these partnerships, like the Technical College System of Georgia, GDC’s Academic Education unit realized a total of 2,371 General Equivalence Diplomas (GED) completions for FY17, thereby exceeding their fiscal year goal of 2,000 GEDs.  The total number of GEDs for FY17 accounted for 23% of the statewide GEDs obtained.

In addition to a substantial increase in education accomplishments, both on-the-job-training and Vocational program completions also increased, with more than 6,000 completions for an increase of 152% since FY15. These programs allow offenders a chance to return to society with marketable skills in high-demand job fields.

By working in partnership with the Department of Driver Services in FY17, 2,500 offenders were issued a driver’s license or identification card upon their release.  Career Centers, located in each state prison also play a large role in helping offenders perfect skills needed for re-entry, by assisting them with learning ‘soft skills’ such as building resumes.

“I am proud of the ongoing progress we are making and see it as a reflection of our commitment to offender reentry and overall public safety,” said Commissioner Gregory C. Dozier. "I look forward to seeing our team achieve even more success in the upcoming year.”  

Another significant project highlighted in the report, is the planned opening of a specialized reentry facility for the Metropolitan Atlanta area, the Metro Reentry Facility.  This facility will specifically focus on and utilize evidence-based practices and community collaboration to address successful reentry.  The facility is scheduled to open in early 2018.

To access the full report, Download this pdf file. 2017 GDC Impact Report .

The GDC has one of the largest prison systems in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising nearly 52,000 state prisoners. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 10,500 employees.

For more information on the GDC call 478-992-5247 or visit https://gdc.georgia.gov.