Atlanta's Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has been in office for 100 days, and she is already making major moves. Days after she reportedly asked her entire cabinet to resign, Bottoms announced a new program as part of her plans for criminal justice reform.
According to CBS 46, Bottoms unveiled a new program that will allow nonviolent offenders to undergo vocational training to assist them in finding jobs after release. In some cases, the training will allow inmates to secure a city job before release.
"These are city employees who will have benefits and more importantly they'll have a paycheck so what does that mean?" Bottoms asked. "That means while they're incarcerated they can start paying child support, while they're incarcerated they can start paying rent but most importantly when they're released, they'll still be city employees."
The program is called "Preparing Adult Offenders Through Treatment Therapy and Training," also known as PAT3.
Bottoms' commitment to the program is also personal, as her father, singer Major Lance, was imprisoned during his struggles with addiction.
"The struggles that my dad had, and his imprisonment and the impact it had on me and my brothers and sisters, and also on our family as a whole … as I shared throughout the course of the campaign, it really was the death of our family," the mayor said.
More than a dozen inmates are already set to join PAT3, and Bottoms said the program will give a second chance to those that are deserving of one.
"And I can tell you that I stand here as the mayor of this city because of second chances," said Bottoms.