Arkansas prison program shutting down due to lack of funding

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     LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A faith-based program designed to reduce the return of inmates at one Arkansas prison will close next month because it is having difficulty raising funds from churches.

     The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the final class of inmates enrolled in the Pathways to Freedom graduated from the program on Monday.

     Director Scott McLean says about 140 inmates at the Department of Correction’s Hawkins Unit in Wrightsville, where the program has been operated by two different groups since 2010, will be allowed to finish some remaining classes until October. He says the nonprofit that oversees the program will continue assisting parolees on the outside.

     Since 2011, 279 prisoners completed the 18-month program, which included anger management classes and technical-skills training in its faith-based approach. A total of 831 began the course.

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