Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Friday, August 07, 2009

Prison Jobs Not A Hard Sell

The Denver Post

HUDSON — Some are desperate, many are just starting out, and others want a fresh lease on life.

None are skittish about working in a 1,250-bed men's medium-security prison. They also aren't against putting down roots in a town carved by unpaved roads and a truck stop as one of its biggest amenities.

"I'm a small-town girl at heart," said Tina Coffman, who was among the 400 or so who had applied by Thursday morning for jobs at the soon-to-open Hudson Correctional Facility.

Coffman wants to be a dental assistant at the prison and move from Littleton to the Weld County community of 1,600 with her two teenage sons.

Raising two teens in the big city is tough, said Coffman, who figures it will be easier to keep track of them in a place where a $2.5 million street-paving plan will be celebrated by a parade in September.

"With two teenage boys, this a good place to be," Coffman said.

Thursday was the second job fair in Hudson sponsored by Cornell Companies Inc. The private-prison operator expects to hire as many as 250 people by the time the prison opens in early 2010.

The company's first job fair last week drew more than 900 people, mostly from Hudson and surrounding communities. Thursday's, held at the First Baptist Church, was open to all comers.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I couldnt and wouldnt work for Cornell Companies Inc which makes its money from slavery?djw

Anonymous said...

What I want to know is what about jobs for people who have "paid their debt to society(hah!)" and have been released from prison? How about their jobs?

Unknown said...

We are supposed to be trying to reduce our inmate population, so why another new facility? I read something from Ritter's office about how well he was doing toward that end, as no new prisons had been opened during his administration, in fact the Womens's Correctional Facility in Canon City closed. However, our prison population has not decreased, but has increased steadily. We have not added new facilities (until this Hudson facility), but we have doubled and/or greatly increased bed space in several facilities. Also, the women's facility that was vacated is supposedly only be revamped to reopen as an additional male facility. Propoganda!