Branchville inmates take part in virtual job fair before release

Branchville Correctional Facility inmates spent June 24 in a virtual job fair designed to put jobs within reach before release, a move Indiana officials say can help cut repeat offenses and keep Perry County families and employers from absorbing the cost of another prison return. The event was built around people who are 30, 60 or 90 days from release, giving them a chance to start matching their skills with work in the communities where they plan to live.

The Indiana Department of Correction’s HIRE division, short for Hoosier Initiative for Re-Entry, hosted the fair. The program connected incarcerated people with employers and was intended to do more than offer encouragement: it was aimed at lining up real employment options before release, when a stable paycheck can be the difference between a smooth transition and another cycle through the system.

Branchville matters in that equation because it is one of Perry County’s major institutions. The medium-security men’s prison opened in 1982 and has capacity for more than 1,400 incarcerated individuals, according to IDOC. The agency also says Branchville provides educational and vocational training, including woodworking and sewing, with some items produced there going to community organizations.

For the men taking part, the stakes were immediate. George Neighbors said the event gave participants a chance many facilities do not provide, and he pointed to support behind them as a key factor in whether a restart succeeds or ends in another return. George Gullion described the fair as a fresh start and a chance to move forward rather than stay defined by past mistakes.

IDOC moved HIRE into the Department of Correction in 2019 and says employment is a key factor in post-release success. Its public materials say more than 30 percent of people released return to prison after three years, but that rate rises to 60 percent when a person remains unemployed. A three-year study of a 2015 HIRE participant cohort found an 85 percent success rate.

The broader push has become part of state policy. In April 2025, Gov. Mike Braun signed executive orders aimed at reducing recidivism and improving retention of correctional officers, including one directing IDOC to address employment and housing barriers for people leaving prison. Braun’s order said unstable housing and unemployment are among the most common obstacles facing formerly incarcerated people, and it noted that IDOC oversees more than 24,000 incarcerated individuals in 21 facilities statewide and more than 7,000 parolees.

At Branchville, the virtual job fair linked those policy goals to Perry County’s reality: if employers hire people before they leave prison, fewer residents return to custody, more families keep a wage earner, and taxpayers avoid another round of incarceration costs.