Offender Employment

New Mexico Class Completes Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) Training

Scott — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:02:00 GMT

On June 27, 2008 at the CNM Workforce Training Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 22 participants received certificates for completing the Offender Workforce Development Specialist Partnership Training program. The participants included representatives for U.S. Probation, the New Mexico Corrections Department, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, the New Mexico Probation and Parole Division, the New Mexico Aging and Long Term Services Department, and nonprofit organizations serving the reentry needs of offenders. We extend our congratulations to the class graduates!

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Albany, NY class completes Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) training

Scott — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:10:00 GMT

On June 19, 2008 at the headquarters of the New York State Department of Labor in Albany, New York, 24 participants received certificates for completing the Offender Workforce Development Specialist Partnership Training. The participants included representatives for community-based agencies along probation officers from counties throughout the state. We extend our congratulations to the class graduates!

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NIC Satellite/Internet Broadcast: Building Tomorrow’s Workforce: An Effective Reentry Strategy

Scott — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:59:00 GMT

On August 20, 2008, the National Institute of Corrections will host a live 3-hour satellite/Internet broadcast featuring a diverse panel of corrections and workforce development professionals, including correctional administrators, policymakers, employers, community agency representatives, and correctional industries professionals. Together, they will share strategies for leveraging resources through partnerships to improve offender employment outcomes. At the end of this broadcast, participants will understand the

Benefits of correctional industries and workforce development.
Social and economic values of correctional industries.
Need to strike a balance between competing interests.
Relationships among workforce development, community organizations, and correctional industries.
Relationship between evidence-based practices and offender employment.
Workforce development competencies and available training resources.

This broadcast is available without charge to any agency or facility nationwide with access to the Internet or a satellite dish or downlink (both analog C-Band and digital KU-Band transponders).

For more information, download the brochure.

To register for the broadcast, go to www.nicic.gov/broadcasts. While you're there, don't forget to register for the Women Offender Workforce Development Satellite/Internet broadcast on September 24.

Capitol Hill lawmakers discuss ex-offenders in the federal workforce

Scott — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:19:00 GMT

According to governmentexecutive.com:

"The government should do more to assure individuals with criminal records that they are not barred from certain types of federal employment, lawmakers said on Tuesday.

At a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, members of Congress said hiring ex-offenders could help many of them as they re-enter communities and also help government as it addresses impending staff shortages."

Read the full article right here.

Download and read each testimony by going here.

FBI: Violent crime decreases

Scott — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:02:00 GMT

According to the FBI:

Violent crime dropped 1.4 percent overall compared to 2006, reversing a two-year up tick. That includes decreases in all four offense categories-forcible rape (down 4.3 percent), murder/non-negligent manslaughter (down 2.7 percent), and robbery and aggravated assault (each down 1.2 percent).

Property crime declined 2.1 percent from 2006, with decreases in each city grouping. Arson-tracked separately from other property crimes-also fell 7.0 percent from 2006.

Read the full article here.

You can download excel data sets and view how your region/state/city did on this page.

Penn Researcher Finds High Recidivism Rate Is Due to Few Transitional Services for Ex-Offenders

Scott — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:39:00 GMT

According to www.upenn.edu, "Penn researchers found that the existing human-service organizations all had the capacity to serve more clients, and were willing to do so, but more coordination between the re-entry services needs to be established in order to better serve the ex-prisoner population."

To read the full article, click here.

Upcoming OWDS and OES training

Scott — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:12:00 GMT

Upcoming Offender Employment Specialist (OES) Training

July 22 - 24* - Butner, NC. Contact: Zaneta Vaughn, 919-575-3900 ext. 5339, zvaughn@bop.gov

July 29 - 31* - Butner, NC. Contact: Mona Horton, mhorton@bop.gov

August 25 - 27** - Oklahoma City, OK. Contact: Dixie Becktold, 405-609-5810

September 16 - 18** - Howard College, San Angelo, TX. Contact Michael Laughlin, 972-709-6098 ext. 229

September 23 - 25* - Butner, NC. Contact: Mona Horton, mhorton@bop.gov

September 23 - 25* - Hazelton, WV. Contact: Mona Horton, mhorton@bop.gov

*Training provided by the Federal Bureau of Prisons

**Training provided by U.S. Probation

Upcoming Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) Training

June 16 - 20 and Sept. 15 - 19 - St. Louis, MO. Contact: Pat Doherty, 314-244-6750

OWDS National Partnership Training Update

Scott — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:10:00 GMT

This information was contributed by guest blogger Patricia Doherty who is a Supervising U.S. Probation Officer with the Eastern District of Missouri.

On March 14, 2008, Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) training was completed in Dublin, California. This training was a national partnership training hosted by the Northern District of California and FCI, Dublin. The 22 participants included staff from the Northern District of California - probation; Central District of California - pretrial; District of Hawaii - pretrial; District of Nevada - pretrial; local residential reentry centers; local one stops; Bureau of Prisons staff from the Western Regional Office, FCI, Dublin and FCI, Atwater; and Santa Clara County Probation Officers. Trainers included Pat Doherty, Scott Anders, and Dean Miller who are all from the ED/MO; Melinda Clark and Matt Elvin form the Bureau of Prisons and John Rakis from the National Institute of Corrections. Congratulations to all of the participants.

On April 18, 2008, Master Trainers Pat Doherty and Dean Miller provided OWDS Instructor Training to the following participants:

Elaine Kost, N.Y.S. Department of Labor; Cynthia O. Mendiola, U. S. Probation, Western District of Texas; Janis R. Lasswell, U.S. Probation, Eastern District of Missouri ; Belinda Marie Ashley, U.S. Probation, Eastern District of Missouri; Zaneta Carol Vaughn, Federal Bureau of Prisons - Federal Medical Center, Butner, North Carolina; Evey Wooten, U. S. Probation Office, Middle District of North Carolina; Benjie Pittman, Federal Bureau of Prisons/ Federal Correctional Center, Yazoo City, Mississippi; Mona Horton, Federal Bureau of Prisons/ Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, Federal Correctional Center, Butner, North Carolina; Tracy Longacre, Federal Bureau of Prisons/ Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville, New York. Congratulations to these new instructors who will now join the national training team.

On May 9, 2008, OWDS training was completed in New York, New York. This training was hosted by the New York Southern District probation and pretrial offices and the Eastern District pretrial office. The 19 participants included staff from the Southern District of New York's probation and pretrial offices, the Eastern District of New York's pretrial office, Western District of New York, District of New Jersey - pretrial, Bureau of Prisons - MCC New York; and the CASH and Hope programs. Trainers included Pat Doherty, Ryan Wilke, Quincy Fountain, all from the Eastern District of Missouri; Scott Albert from Western District of Pennsylvania; Kathy Oakar from the Northern District of Ohio and Pamella Harris and Robert Walsh from the Southern District of New York. Congratulations to all of the participants.

To date, Federal Probation's Eastern District of Missouri has completed 13 OWDS trainings. 214 participants have completed the training and 134 of those were federal probation officers, probation officer assistants, or pretrial officers. The 14th training will be held in St. Louis in June and September.

Hire ex-con in Philly, get $10K annual tax credit

Scott — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:35:00 GMT

From the Associated Press:

"Philadelphia averaged a murder a day the past two years and has been sued to reduce its overcrowded, record-high jail population.

So on his 100th day in office last month, Mayor Michael Nutter announced a program, being headed by an ex-offender, that gives $10,000 a year in municipal tax credits to companies that hire former prisoners and provide them tuition support or vocational training."

Read the full article here.

Read a related article here.

ARCHS' Community Action Re-Entry Employment System (CARES) Community Partnership

Scott — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:45:00 GMT

The ARCHS' Community Action Re-Entry Employment System (CARES) Community Partnership focuses on job training and lifeskills services for ex-offenders returning to the St. Louis region. Partners of this program include U.S Dept. of Labor, St. Louis Community College, and the Eastern District of Missouri U.S. Probation office. For more information about the ARCH's CARES program, go here and then read the article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

GAO Report on Community Colleges and One-Stops

Scott — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:21:00 GMT

Guest blogger John Moore, Chief of the National Institute of Corrections Offender Workforce Development Division, contributed the information below.

"Community Colleges and One-Stop Centers Collaborate to Meet 21st Century Workforce Needs"

This report focuses on (1) how community colleges meet the workforce training needs of their communities; (2) what community colleges do to integrate with the nation's one-stop system; (3) the conditions or practices that enhance or impede these efforts; and (4) the actions the Departments of Labor and Education have taken to encourage linkages between community colleges and the workforce investment system, including one-stops.

In addition to providing good information on building collaboration between One-Stop Career Centers with Community Colleges and various funding initiatives, this report and a previous GAO report recommends the elimination of performance measures by the WIA that serve as disincentives to the DOL One-Stop System to serve clients with multiple barriers to employment.

This would hopefully pave the way for those with criminal histories to be served and may assist in bridging DOL One-Stop Career Centers to Corrections Career Resource Centers in the future much like exist between the Montgomery County Jail and the One-Stop Career System in Maryland.

This information would also be of value to Directors of Correctional Industries, who may be forging a working relationship with local Community Colleges in developing apprenticeship programs.

NIC Satellite/Internet Broadcast: Women and Work

Scott — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:56:00 GMT

Women and Work: Gender Responsivity and Workforce Development will be broadcast live on September 24-25, 2008. Site coordinator training is scheduled for July 9, 2008.

The National Institute of Corrections will host a live, 8-hour interactive training program specifically designed for individuals working with justice involved women. How do you respond to a woman leaving prison when she asks: "What type of job should I pursue? How do I go about getting the job I want? How do I keep my job? Am I the type of person an employer would want to hire?"

Participants will have an opportunity to engage in a national dialogue regarding emerging knowledge specific to justice involved women, and career theories and practices that help improve outcomes for women. This training includes thereview of policies and procedures that have a direct impact on women and their reentry efforts; as well as, the review of various assessment tools and instruments that support employment attainment and retainment.

To register for the broadcast click here.

To register for the site coordinators training click here.

For more information, download the brochure.

New Product from NIC: Online/Kiosk Employment Application Simulation

Scott — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:09:00 GMT

In response to the growing use of online and kiosk employment applications, the Offender Workforce Development Division of the National Institute of Corrections has developed simulation software that allows offenders to practice completing an employment application on personal computers that do not have access to the Internet. The software is CD-based and is compatible with the Windows® operating system.

According to John Moore, Chief of the Offender Workforce Development Division of the National Institute of Corrections, "many of the prisoners being released from correctional facilities are ill-prepared to apply for jobs that have an online or kiosk-based employment application owing to their inexperience with computers and the Internet." Moore adds that "most jails and prisons do not allow prisoners to access the Internet, creating a barrier for preparing inmates to compete in today's technologically driven human resources environment."

The software developed by the National Institute of Corrections overcomes this barrier by simulating the experience of completing an online application. The software also educates the user about online applications, provides a printable worksheet that can be used to prepare offenders for completing these applications, and allows the user to print out the entries made during the simulation. Context sensitive help is provided throughout the simulation.

The Online/Kiosk Employment Application Simulation is suitable for corrections, probation, and parole agencies as well as faith-based and community organizations. It is available at no cost from the National Institute of Corrections through the agency's Information Center. To obtain a copy of the software, you may do so on the web by going to http://www.nicic.gov/Library/022996. You may also obtain a copy by calling the Information Center at 1-800-877-1461 or emailing asknicic@nicic.org. Request item # 022996.

Please view the video below for a description and screenshots of the software.

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Governor Schwarzenegger speaks about importance of work skills

Scott — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:55:00 GMT

Governor Schwarzenegger attended the graduation ceremony of female inmates from the Career Technical Education-Carpentry program at the California Institution for Women in Corona. Click here to watch Gov. Schwarzenneger talk about the important work of the California PI Authority in teaching inmates work skills to turn their lives around.

Interview with Diana Bailey from inside the MDSE Mobile Unit

Scott — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:39:00 GMT

Maryland's Correctional Education Transition Mobile Unit was recently featured at the National Defender/Workforce Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. The Mobile Unit provides transitional information and library services for inmates in the pre-release system in Maryland. The unit, which was designed and is operated by the Maryland State Department of Education, travels across the Maryland to prepare men and women for release from incarceration into the community and employment.

The video below is an interview with Diana Bailey, Workforce Development/Transition Coordinator with the Maryland State Department of Education, from inside the Mobile Unit.

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