Audit Of Mo. Department Of Corrections’ MVE Program Not Benefiting Short-Term Inmates As Intended

A program designed to help Missouri inmates to gain job skills to use after they’re released is not working as intended, according to State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick.

He told Missourinet that the Department of Corrections has instead primarily chosen inmates with longer sentences to take part in the Missouri Vocational Enterprise program.

His audit recommends adopting new practices that would increase the number of inmates in the program who are closer to their release dates.

The Department of Corrections disagrees, saying all offenders should be offered employment opportunities and that sentence length does not determine an inmate’s appropriateness to a specific employment opportunity.