Gov. Bevin praises prison reform program to keep people from going back behind bars

Governor Matt Bevin praised a prison reform program Tuesday, saying the new approach is helping keep Kentuckians from going back behind bars.

, also known as S3C, tracked Kentucky prisoners for the last eight months.

"They struggle to find employment. They struggle to rebuild the lives that they left when they were removed from their communities and incarcerated," said S3C Principal Researcher Carrie Pettus-Davis.

Davis said the program focuses on healthy thinking patterns, effective coping mechanisms and positive relationships.

"We are tracking what's happening with these folks along with those that are receiving traditional services," said Gov. Bevin. "So we want to know, is this really going to have the effect that we think it will? And we're quite confident that it will."

Public Safety Cabinet Secretary John Tilley said he worked with Bevin to re-engineer the project, and they will continue the program after the initial research is complete.

Tilley also told WKYT the prison population has already dropped slightly.