Clergy from churches in Minneapolis and St. Paul will set up shop for the first time Thursday in the waiting room of the Dakota County jail, hoping to talk with the 75 or so family members who are waiting to see inmates.

The effort is being launched by the Dakota County jail's outreach worker, Larinda Hodges, who is building bridges between the jail and programs on the outside.

Her job is to help inmates who get out, stay out.

"Two out of three offenders return back within three years of being released," Hodges said. "That's alarming."

The new program comes as Dakota County looks for ways to bring down jail costs of about $100 a day per inmate, said Jail Commander Blair Anderson.

"It always comes back to money, and we only get so much, so that we have to stretch that dollar," Anderson said.

The odds and the obstacles are high. Each year, 650,000 inmates are released from jails across the nation, and more than a million from prisons.

So Hodges is working to help inmates find housing, jobs, education, continuing treatment for chemical dependency, mental health services, parenting classes and more.

She's pulling together resources from businesses, faith organizations, community services and ad-hoc groups.

"Programs that are effective with reintegrating guys back into the community have figured out how to pool their resources," said Hodges, who began the initiative in February.

Hodges said that providing connections to urban churches in Hennepin and Ramsey counties is important.

That's because 51 percent of the inmates in the Dakota County jail come from outside the county, and of those, 80 percent are from St. Paul or Minneapolis, she said.

Dakota County churches have always been good about coming to the jail, Anderson said. But for many released inmates, it's too far to return to for church, he said.

Hodges is trying to get those from outside the county connected to churches so they and their families will have support in their own communities.

For Anderson, it's crucial to help inmates cope with chemical dependency. More than 60 percent of people booked into the jail have drugs or alcohol in their systems, he said.

Now, a full-time alcohol and drug counselor, Sandy Clark, is running a new outpatient chemical dependency at the jail. Primary treatment at the jail is three times a week, and continuing care is once per week. In between meeting with inmates last Thursday, Clark lauded Hodges' work and spoke about outreach efforts.

"I really applaud Dakota County for developing this treatment program and allowing inmates to recover and stay sober, because it can only help the individual as well as the public," Clark said.

Lt. Lawrence Hart sees the same faces at the jail again and again. In 1991, the jail booked in 1,400 inmates. Last year, that number hit nearly 15,000.

"There has to be something done besides releasing these people back into the same situation," he said.

As the jobless rate goes up, so do the number of unemployed who land behind bars, Hart said. They're competing for jobs with senior citizens trying to supplement their incomes, and new immigrants.

John Roberts, 44, of Hastings, has been in the jail for seven months. He said he enjoyed Job Club, which helps inmates search for jobs, write resumes and prepare for interviews.

Roberts said he's seen a lot of people helped through Hodges' multi-pronged program, including those who needed housing.

"I think I can speak for all the guys," Roberts said. "I really appreciate Ms. Hodges and what she's done for us. She's been very good the whole way through."

Hodges said she hopes to expand the program to women inmates, who are housed in Scott County for Dakota.

One of Hodges' biggest challenges is to find transportation for the many who commit crimes in Dakota County but live outside of it and must return for probation meetings.

Many of the men released have no cars, and there's no public transportation coming so far south. That's leading to probation violations and repeat jailings, she said.

"Hastings residents don't want to see inmates released and walking down Highway 55," Hodges said at the jail.

She spoke outside a room full of inmates who were listening to an anger management class by the Rev. Jim Bzoskie. He gave tips on how to avoid catalysts of anger.

"This the number one reason people get into trouble: frustration," he told the men as Hodges listened, too.

"What I'm trying to do is enhance it, so once they get out, they can continue it on the outside," she said of the class.

Bzoskie has worked in the jail for 30 years, from the days when the first Alcoholics Anonymous meetings were held and clergy began to visit.

"The outreach is new, and it's huge," Bzoskie said. "To me, it's the mission to take what we do in here, and take it outside, to build healthy families. They will be someone's neighbors."

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017