The Last Mile in 2026: Scaling Opportunity, Education, and Employment for a New Economy January 12, 2026 Entering 2026, The Last Mile is advancing a mission that has never wavered. From the beginning, the focus has been clear: provide marketable skills that lead to gainful employment. As The Last Mile expands into more states and facilities, that mission now meets a rapidly changing economy, new technology, and an urgent need for scalable solutions. In response, we are growing faster than ever, building new learning infrastructure and an expanded curriculum to prepare people for sustainable employment in an AI-driven world. This moment is also one of celebration. Nearly 1,000 The Last Mile alumni have returned home with skills, confidence, and ongoing support. Seventy-five percent are employed. Recidivism remains below eight percent. Those outcomes exist because donors, partners, and supporters chose to invest in people and possibility. Locked Out of Opportunity at a National Scale Justice-impacted people want to work, yet structural barriers keep capable individuals on the sidelines long after they have served their sentences. Even in 2026, the system of incarceration creates consequences that ripple far beyond the individual, destabilizing millions of families and communities across the country. More than 80 million Americans carry an arrest or conviction record. For many, that record limits access to employment, housing, and education. Skill gaps grow during incarceration. Background checks eliminate candidates before interviews begin. Limited access to technology restricts job searches, training, and credentialing. These barriers stack, making reentry far more difficult than it needs to be. Unemployment remains the strongest predictor of recidivism. 30% of justice-impacted people are unemployed, a rate eight to nine times higher than the national average. When people cannot find work, stability erodes. Families lose income. Communities absorb the cost. Roughly two thirds of incarcerated people return to prison, which alone costs taxpayers an estimated $80 billion every year, averaging about $51 per taxpayer for each recidivism event. Beyond incarceration costs, exclusion from the workforce drains approximately $87 billion from the U.S. economy annually in lost productivity and wages. These numbers point to a system that struggles to translate accountability into opportunity. Yet the data also show what becomes possible when barriers are removed. Access to education, technology, and fair hiring practices changes outcomes at scale. Families regain stability. Communities grow safer. Economic participation expands. In 2026, organizations like The Last Mile are positioned to redefine rehabilitation and reentry across the country. A Mission That Has Never Changed The Last Mile began with a simple but demanding premise. “When we started The Last Mile, we had a mission which has never changed,” Cofounder Beverly Parenti explains, “Our mission is to provide marketable skills that result in gainful employment.” That belief rests on experience. Employment creates stability. Stability supports families. Families strengthen communities. The clarity of our mission guides every program decision we make as an organization. If we provide training, that education must create economic opportunity. If we design a new curriculum, it must reflect the labor market graduates will enter. Chris Redlitz explains why that connection matters. “The solution doesn’t exist only inside of a prison,” he says. “It exists throughout the entire system of incarceration. If you stop at the gate, the momentum stops.” For The Last Mile, continuity of support is non-negotiable. Education, reentry, and employment form a single system that is designed to build a stable, fruitful life after incarceration. Building Technology That Scales Prison Education Expansion at this scale requires infrastructure proven inside real correctional environments. For more than a decade, The Last Mile has operated secure, prison-approved technology that enables remote instruction across facilities and states. That system introduced remote education to U.S. prisons, a system that has run reliably and securely ever since. Entering 2026, The Last Mile is expanding that same technology to allow other organizations to deliver their own curriculum inside prisons. This next phase opens the platform to partners who share our commitment to education, security, and outcomes for residents in prisons. The pilot will launch at San Quentin in early 2026, creating a shared instructional environment without compromising safety or consistency. Remote instruction creates access while preserving trust, mentorship, and accountability on the inside. It also allows The Last Mile to support the broader rehabilitative justice field by offering a proven delivery system rather than relying on isolated programs. This expansion builds capacity across institutions while maintaining the standards that made the model successful in the first place. The Last Mile Curriculum for an AI-Driven Economy The labor market has changed at an unprecedented pace. Entry-level software engineering roles are disappearing. Artificial intelligence is reshaping entire industries. Kevin McCracken sees this shift clearly. “The job market is changing much more quickly than most of us expected,” he says. In response, The Last Mile is rolling out a refreshed and expanded national curriculum in 2026. The program includes digital literacy, project management, sales fundamentals, entrepreneurship, skilled trades and AI-native skills. These competencies transfer across industries and adapt as technology evolves. Kevin frames the goal beyond employment placement. “We’re not just looking at salary,” he explains. “We’re looking at how people feel about their place in their community and their future.” Sustainable reentry requires confidence and mental comfort, as well as stable employment. Investing in Families, Communities, and the Next Generation The Last Mile’s work extends beyond current students. The Last Mile’s “Turn2U Scholarship Program” invests in children of incarcerated parents, addressing generational cycles before they repeat. In this approach, education becomes an early intervention that prevents incarceration from ever happening in the first place. Reentry support reinforces that investment. Graduates receive laptops, guidance, and consistent connection. Kevin underscores the importance of dignity in that process. “The way we speak to people matters,” he says. “Humanizing language changes how people see themselves.” That philosophy shapes internal culture, employer partnerships, and alumni engagement. Fair chance hiring remains central to our mission, ensuring that every graduate has an opportunity for employment opportunities that help them build wealth and confidence. Looking Ahead to 2026 As The Last Mile expands into additional states, facilities, and classrooms, the need for support grows with it. New curriculum development, LMS technology, and national scaling require sustained investment. This moment matters. Support today enables education delivery, reentry infrastructure, and the first paycheck on the outside. Monthly donors also help power alumni-run social enterprises like Turn2U Productions, where graduates earn ownership and above-industry wages. The road ahead is ambitious, and our mission is unwavering. Join us as we pave the road to success in 2026. Support The Last Mile as we expand education, technology, and workforce pathways across the nation. Donate today and become part of an effective rehabilitation system. By Robert Roche, VP of Marketing at The Last Mile Want articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to The Last Mile Marker. This is a biweekly newsletter offering in-depth insights, critical updates, and inspiring stories on criminal justice reform and second chances.