US Labor Department announces $64.5M in grants as part of Obama administration’s efforts to break cycle of poverty, crime and incarceration

WASHINGTON – What’s next for the 600,000 people released from federal and state prisons annually, millions more leaving county and local jails, and others in danger of falling into the cycle of poverty, crime and incarceration? With the help of $64.5 million in grants announced today by the U.S. Department of Labor, the answer for some will soon be in-demand skills, access to good jobs and a stronger foundation of support within their communities.

To address the employment and life challenges faced by many people involved with the criminal justice system, the department is awarding grants to 40 organizations providing services in 26 U.S. states and the District of Columbia through four programs – Reentry Demonstration Projects for Young Adults, Training to Work, Pathways to Justice Careers, and Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release.

“America works best when we field a full team, but far too many people who have been involved with the criminal justice system are being left on the sidelines,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “These grants are an important step in fulfilling our promise as a land of second chances by moving beyond locking people up and instead working together to unlock their potential.”

The grants were part of a series of new actions taken to reduce recidivism and promote reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals announced today by the Obama administration at an event hosted by the Center for American Progress. Secretary Perez joined Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Education Secretary James King, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro at the event.

Reentry Demonstration Projects for Young Adults

Young adults who exit the correctional system face myriad challenges that include a lack of education and employment skills, antisocial attitudes and values, mental health and substance abuse problems, medical issues, lack of housing and family issues. To help these young people reinvent their lives, grants totaling $31.3 million are being awarded to seven organizations to provide job training and a path to meaningful employment.

The grants will help design programs for adults ages 18 to 24 that apply evidence-based interventions, such as mentoring, career pathways, registered apprenticeship, family reunification and other promising practices with a focus on providing occupational training and credentials. The department will conduct a rigorous evaluation of each program to build upon the evidence base in the area of reentry.

Training to Work

The program will award grants totaling $21.2 million to 16 organizations to serve individuals in high-poverty and high-crime areas, including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-designated Promise Zones, which have a large proportion of citizens returning from incarceration and typically experience high rates of recidivism. These grants offer returning citizens in a state or local work release program an opportunity to participate in a career pathway program that defines and maps out a sequence of education, training and workforce skills training resulting in skilled workers that meets the needs of local employers. Additionally, these programs will provide services such as case management, mentoring, and follow-up services.

Pathways to Justice Careers

The program will award grants totaling $6.5 million to five non-profit organizations and two local governments to provide mentorship and career training to youth ages 16 to 21 that are at risk of dropping out of high school, becoming involved in the criminal justice system, or already hampered by juvenile records. Justice and emergency services personnel will mentor students to explore career paths as police officers, firefighters, lawyers, paramedics and other related professions.

These grants will use a career pathways model – an articulated sequence of rigorous academic and career/technical courses resulting in educational and skills credentials – adapted for in-school youth. Participants will be encouraged to graduate from high school or earn a high school equivalency degree and to either enter the workforce or pursue further pertinent training or post-secondary education.  

Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release

To help integrate government services offered by correctional facilities with federally funded workforce development programs and assist soon-to-be-released inmates transition to working life in their communities, approximately $5.5 million in grants to 11 organizations operate specialized American Job Centers inside correctional facilities. Approximately 2,500 American Job Centers are located in communities throughout the country, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and administered by local workforce investment boards. By placing specialized centers inside of county, municipal, or regional jails and correctional facilities, local inmates will receive services to prepare for employment and increase their opportunities for successful reentry into their home communities. 

This is the second round of Linking to Employment Activities Pre-release grants designed to build partnerships between local correctional systems and the local workforce systems to connect individuals with criminal records who are transitioning to a range of community-based services that lead to employment and a renewed future. Previously, the department awarded $10 million to 20 organizations in 14 states in June 2015.

These initiatives are part of the Obama administration’s ongoing efforts to help Americans who have paid their debt to society reintegrate into their communities and lead prosperous, law-abiding lives. Many of the grants align closely with the administration’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative which seeks to close opportunity gaps still faced by too many young people and often by boys and young men of color.