LUMBERTON — Robeson County’s District Court has become an active participant in the Partners Aligned to Cultivate Talent, or PACT, program.

Chief District Court Judge Angelica Chavis McIntyre recently announced a new program partnership between the district courts, the North Carolina Department of Commerce and Robeson Community College. PACT is a job skills training program designed to help put Robeson County residents into the workforce.

“We’re excited about innovative ways to get our citizens jobs,” McIntyre said. “We are constantly striving to look at innovative ways to get the people of Robeson County educated, trained, and put into the workforce. The lack of economic stability and employment are closely tied to issues with substance abuse, crime and other problems that can lead a person to be involved with our court system.

“We are grateful to John Lowery of the Department of Commerce and President (Melissa) Singler at RCC as we are working together to help move Robeson County in the direction of jobs and education.”

In the two-week program, participants are enrolled in a Pre-Employment Skills Training Class at RCC and are trained to become job ready for companies in Robeson County, such as Mountaire Farms, Smithfield Packing, Prestage Foods, Telamon, and Lumbee Regional Development Association, among others. The program also offers the opportunity to enhance job, and interviewing and presentation skills with credentials and certificates offered through RCC.

Once students complete the two-week course, they will be required to register with the local NCWorks Career Center, which will actively help them find employment.

This program will utilize the resources of the Department of Commerce and Robeson Community College to help Robeson County residents who are first-time offenders or who have been charged with misdemeanors get employment as a means to support themselves and their families instead of facing jail time. Participants would be ordered by the court to participate in the program as a requirement to resolve their legal cases.

“RCC is very excited to now have the District Court participating in the PACT program,” Steven Hunt, vice president of Workforce Development, Continuing Education and Institutional Service. “PACT is an excellent second chance based program, but can only be successful with enrolled participants. We cannot make a difference in the lives of individuals if they do not attend classes. Partnering with the District Court should really close the gap with lack of participation and allow the program to make a positive impact in our communities.”

When PACT launched in September, Robeson County’s Superior Court opted to participate in the program, but District Court was not involved, District Attorney Matt Scott said. Because the program deals with individuals charged with low-level felonies and misdemeanors, District Court would be able to help a wider range of individuals.

“We are now doing direct referrals from our courts to their program, as well as requiring offenders to participate as a part of the resolution of their cases,” McIntyre said. “When the program was initially started, their participants were just individuals who voluntary saw or heard about the program and chose to participate. We are now using it as a court ordered program.”

Scott said the District Court’s participation is key to expanding the program and reaching as many individuals as possible.

“We really believe that District Court would allow more people to participate,” Scott said. “It would open us up to a larger group of people to participate in the program and therefore the program would be more successful because it would be able to change the lives of the individuals that participate.”

“I am thankful to RCC, thankful to N.C. Works, thankful to our Superior Court and now thankful to our District Courts,” he added.