KINGDOM ALLIANCE
REENTRY RESOURCES
IN LEXINGTON COUNTY.
A resource page, not a program brochure. Ben Lovro served five years. He is a few years ahead of this walk, not above it.
For the first-ninety-days walkthrough, see the Cayce coming-home guide.
The logistics of Lexington County
Cayce is compact and bus-served, which means someone without a car can still reach work and services. The realistic openings are in airport-area hospitality and ground handling, warehouse and distribution work near the interstate, and restaurants. Rail and utility jobs pay well but screen hard, so treat those as a second move rather than a first one, after a year of verifiable work history.
Everything is close. The university campus, the airport and downtown Columbia are each a short drive, bus routes reach the city, and a genuine share of residents commute in single-digit minutes.
None of that is a judgment about anybody. It is a logistics problem, and logistics problems have solutions if you know the terrain before you start.
Record relief, in outline
How to find out where you stand
- Decide which remedy you are asking about. Expungement destroys the record, so the offense no longer appears on a background check. A pardon leaves the conviction in place, marked as pardoned. They are not substitutes for one another.
- Check whether the charge is even in the category. Dismissals, not-guilty verdicts, diversion dismissals, certain first-offense misdemeanors and some drug possession convictions may be eligible. Traffic and fish-and-wildlife convictions generally are not.
- Count the time. The wait runs from about one year to twenty, starting once the sentence is complete — and that includes probation and parole.
- Work out who receives the application. The court itself, for a non-conviction in Magistrate or Municipal Court. Otherwise the Solicitor's office in the county where the charge or conviction occurred. A pardon goes to SC Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
- Budget the fees. Published amounts have been $250 to the Solicitor, $35 to the Clerk of Court and $25 to SLED, varying by type, and some types are exempt.
- Then ask somebody who can actually advise you. This page is not legal advice. The Solicitor's office, South Carolina Legal Services, or your own attorney.
This page is part of a larger body of work — start with the full story behind this work.
If you are the one hiring
Shift schedules rule. Utility, rail and airport work all run outside normal business hours, which means the local labor pool is available at unusual times and unavailable at the times retailers want.
Two federal programs exist precisely to absorb the risk that makes employers hesitate.
The Federal Bonding Program provides free $5,000 fidelity bonds to employers who hire people considered high-risk to place. It is insurance against employee dishonesty, at no cost to the employer. In South Carolina it runs through DEW at FederalBonding@dew.sc.gov.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit gives a federal tax credit of up to $2,400 for hiring someone formerly incarcerated. The South Carolina contact is WOTC@dew.sc.gov. Verify current terms with DEW before relying on either.
The commercial argument is simpler than the programs. Someone who has been through this and wants to stay out of it is frequently the most motivated person who will apply. Neither program gets anyone the job — the work does that.
What actually predicts success
| Year | South Carolina recidivism rate |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 31% |
| 2019 | 18%, tied for third lowest in the nation |
Both come from figures published by the state's workforce and corrections agencies. Dates matter with numbers like these, so confirm the current figure before repeating it anywhere.
The trend is real, and it is still a statement about a population rather than about any individual. Nobody can promise an outcome to one man.
What the figures point toward is ordinary and practical. Three things show up among people who do not return: somewhere stable to sleep, income arriving within the first couple of months, and at least one person paying genuine attention. Build those three, in whatever order the week allows.
Small enough that the same faces appear at council meetings, the ballfields and the river cleanups. Municipal services are hyper-local and residents expect to be able to reach someone by name.
Kingdom Alliance is Ben Lovro’s service work and Second Chance Kings sits under it. Neither is affiliated with the South Carolina Department of Corrections, which runs its own separately-named Second Chance Program, or with any other state agency.
What hiring looks like locally
The first job is a bridge, not a verdict, and it helps to know in advance what kind of bridge this place offers.
Cayce sits on infrastructure. A utility headquarters, a major rail classification yard and the airport corridor give a small city an employment base far larger than its population would suggest. The sectors that dominate here are utilities, rail and freight, aviation, public administration and hospitality, and entry-level hiring tends to follow them. The headquarters of the state's largest electric and gas utility is here, along with one of the significant rail yards in South Carolina and the employment cluster around Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
Small and independent, strung along Knox Abbott Drive and State Street. Diners, barbers, repair shops, a handful of professional offices. Very few chains, and almost nothing that would be called a corridor. Smaller employers are often the ones who will actually sit with a candidate and hear the whole answer, because the decision is not being made by a screening system.
Freight trains are part of daily life here. Cayce is a rail town as much as a river town, and long-time residents time their errands around crossings the way other people time traffic lights.
Where to start
Program details change. Call and confirm rather than trusting any website, this one included.
- SC Works centers. Run by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Job search help, interview practice and skills training, including services delivered to people still incarcerated.
- 211. The statewide United Way referral line — food, transportation, utilities and housing, by county.
- South Carolina Legal Services and the SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center for civil legal questions and plain-language guides.
- The Solicitor's office serving Lexington County for expungement applications on anything other than a non-conviction in Magistrate or Municipal Court.
- SC Probation, Parole and Pardon Services for supervision and pardon questions.
- 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; 911 if anyone is in immediate danger.
County records for this area are handled at Lexington County Judicial Center, 205 E Main St, Lexington, SC 29072.
Frequently asked
Questions people actually ask
Is there a reentry program in Cayce?
Second Chance Kings is Ben Lovro's work under Kingdom Alliance. It is not a government program or a facility. The agencies listed above are where formal services live — start with SC Works and 211.
Do I have to be religious to get help?
No. Ben's faith is his own and it is why he does this. Nobody has to share it, agree with it, or attend anything to be treated decently.
What is hardest about coming home to Cayce specifically?
Cayce is compact and bus-served, which means someone without a car can still reach work and services. The realistic openings are in airport-area hospitality and ground handling, warehouse and distribution work near the interstate, and restaurants. Rail and utility jobs pay well but screen hard, so treat those as a second move rather than a first one, after a year of verifiable work history.
Where do I apply for expungement in Lexington County?
For a non-conviction in Magistrate or Municipal Court, through that court. For everything else, through the Solicitor's office in the county where the charge or conviction occurred.
I am an employer — what is my actual liability?
A question for your own attorney and insurer. The Federal Bonding Program exists specifically to address dishonesty exposure; ask DEW about bonding and WOTC eligibility before assuming anything either way.
How can my church or business help?
Consistency beats intensity. A standing ride, a skill taught, interview practice, or one job opened up is worth more than an event. Unreliable help is worse than none, so offer only what you can keep up.
Make your next move
A year from now, what will you be glad you started today?
You don't need another promise that everything will be easy. You need something useful to learn — and a next step you're willing to take.