The Illinois Department of Corrections opened its second Life-Skills Re-entry Center in Murphysboro Monday. It is aimed at helping offenders learn skills that will be critical to their success upon release.

The first 20 offenders were transferred to the center Monday morning. They’ll go through an orientation process and get acclimated to the new facility before starting educational, job readiness and cognitive behavior therapy courses. They will also learn skills that help them readjust to society – like how to manage a bank account, use the latest technology, and schedule medical appointments.

The Murphysboro facility is one of three Life Skills Reentry Centers slated to open in Illinois, as part of Governor Rauner’s plan to safely reduce the prison population and restructure the state’s criminal justice system. The first Life Skills Re-entry Center opened in Kewanee in February of last year.

The Department is working to launch another Life Skills Reentry Center for females at Logan Correctional Center. Offenders who have one to four years left on their sentence qualify for placement at the Life Skills Re-entry Centers.