A new work release program in Hart County is allowing state inmates to work regular factory jobs and earn standard salaries at Kentucky Chrome.

Hart County Jailer Israel Bergenson said the program puts nonviolent Class D state inmates to work at Kentucky Chrome’s Horse Cave facility in an effort to cut down on recidivism.

Released inmates often don’t have a lot of money or a place to stay, which can often lead them back to jail again, Bergenson said.

“A lot of these boys ain’t got nothing to go back to, so they go back to selling drugs or stealing,” he said. “At least these boys are going home with money in their pockets and might not have to go back to that.”

For inmates with state Department of Corrections approval to participate in the program, the employment process works the same as it does for traditional employees, Bergenson said.

“Once they’re approved, Kentucky Chrome hires them as employees like they would you or me,” he said.

Inmates participating in the program are nonviolent offenders, most of whom are approaching the end of their sentences, Bergenson said.

“Most of them have already served most of their time,” he said. “We’re just trying to reintroduce them to society.”

Bob Biltz, vice president and general manager of Kentucky Chrome, said the inmates the company employs can’t leave the facility and only work a shift that runs from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.. But otherwise they are treated like other employees.

For now, the inmates are only involved in a portion of the manufacturing process that requires them to polish aluminum alloy wheels before they are plated with chrome, but Biltz said some high-performing inmates could be trained on a robot involved in the polishing and buffing process.

An email from Biltz said the first inmate involved in the program began April 16. Kentucky Chrome now employs 11 inmates, who are paid $12.97 an hour, Biltz said.

Biltz has mostly been impressed by the inmates’ work ethic, although a few had their employments terminated for behavioral issues at the jail.

The work release program operates under a new Department of Corrections work release policy that Ray Carcione, Kentucky Chrome’s founder and CEO, had a hand in crafting. The policy went into effect in February, Biltz said.

Hart County Judge-Executive Terry Martin said the program is meant to address recidivism as well as an unmet need for workers in the county.

In the future, other local industries might be willing to participate, Martin said, adding that at any given time, there are 200 or more unfilled jobs in the county.

In addition, the program will put the inmates on a better footing when they’re released, Martin said.

“This gives them the opportunity to start a career,” he said. “This gives them maybe the opportunity to start a new life.”

– Follow Daily News reporter Jackson French on Twitter @Jackson_French or visit bgdailynews.com.