Keith Schinabeck Guides Second Chances at State Farm Work Center
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As he walks the muddy path to the calf barn at the State Farm Work Center, Keith Schinabeck’s boots leave behind deep impressions. By the entrance, a woman wearing a jean jacket over a dusty orange T-shirt adjusts equipment while the young bovines stamp and call out from their pens. Beneath the brim of his hat, Schinabeck scans the work area, securing gates and chatting with nearby workers as he moves through the barn.
The work center, located in Goochland, is part of the Virginia Department of Corrections. Schinabeck has spent the past two decades managing agricultural operations at the facility, where program participants in the final years of their sentences gain skills to prepare for life after release.
“The name of the game is to give the inmates everything we can to help them when they get out,” Schinabeck says.
Participants train in skills like tractor operation and livestock care. They can earn certifications to apply pesticides and drive commercially. These qualifications prepare them for jobs in agriculture and related industries.
The program has reduced the participant three-year recidivism rate to 13.6%, compared to 19% for other releases, according to a 2024 VADOC study of former participants who were released in fiscal year 2019. Within that time, 71% had found jobs, including all participants under 30.
The limited time available for training is one of Schinabeck’s biggest challenges.
“They’re out here for only a couple months,” he says.
Still, he’s seen participants leave with skills they didn’t have before.
Kayla Ray, who works in the dairy plant, hopes to stay in agriculture after her release.
“I’d really love to be employed by one of these places that I learned how to work on,” she says.
Kailyn Stine, another participant, learned to use heavy equipment for the first time. “Even though I never ran a tractor before my incarceration, it’s just something that I love,” she says. “I’ve been able to learn how to operate so many different pieces of equipment, and I found a skill that I’m actually very good at and I really do enjoy.”
These positive experiences are what make Schinabeck’s work meaningful. The biggest reward, he says, is giving people the opportunity for a second chance and teaching them skills they can carry with them to be productive.
After two decades in his role, Schinabeck has started thinking more about his own future.
“The older I get, the more serious it [planning for retirement] becomes,” he says. “It’s nice to be able to go on myVRS and look at the calculators and figure up what your outcome would be depending on which options you choose.”
Standing outside the barn, watching the day’s work unfold, Schinabeck reflects on the years he’s spent there. Helping others find direction, he says, has given his own work a sense of purpose — one he hopes to carry with him into retirement.
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