Offender Employment : Department of Justice

Creating a Workforce Development Culture To Reduce Reincarceration

Scott — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:24:00 GMT

In the mid-1990s, offender reentry gained visibility as an important public policy issue. At that time, organizations such as the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), and the National Institute of Justice began exploring offender workforce development strategies as an avenue for promoting the successful reintegration of offenders into communities. These strategies stem from the idea that offender employment builds communities, increases the economic self-sufficiency of families, strengthens fragile families, and provides structure and support for those seeking to remain crime free.

In 2003, ED's Life Skills for State and Local Prisoners Program awarded a 3-year, $1 million research/ demonstration grant to support Vermont's Workforce Development Program. Correctional administrators in Vermont aimed to reduce recidivism by 25 percent for offenders with poor work histories and moderate to high risk of reoffending by using a strengths-based approach to teach fundamental life skills throughout education, work, and living units.

This strengths-based program approach is built on participants' understanding and use of the "Habits of Mind," which are 16 aspects of behavioral intelligence, or life skills, that foster effective problem solving. In addition to reducing recidivism by 25 percent and reinforcing participants' acquisition of the Habits of Mind, the Workforce Development Program targeted a 90percent employment rate within 1 month of release and sought to make changes in the organizational culture at each of three program sites.

Read the rest of NIC's Transition and Offender Workforce Development Bulletin on NIC's website.

2009 Defendant/Offender Workforce Development Conference

Scott — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:21:00 GMT

Go here for information about the 2009 Defendant/Offender Workforce Development Conference which will occur on April 5-8, 2009 in Pittsburgh, PA. See you there!

President Signs Second Chance Act

Scott — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:11:00 GMT

The President signed H.R. 1593, the Second Chance Act, on April 9th at 10:30 a.m. Read the transcript of his comments here and the White House fact sheet here.

Click here to read the full text of the Second Chance Act.

Click here for an overview of the Second Chance Act.

Click here, here, and here to read NY Times articles about the Second Chance Act.

Read Chris Uggen's blog entry about the Second Chance Act here.

Information about the upcoming Defendant/Offender Workforce Development (DOWD) Conference

Scott — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:55:00 GMT

The 2008 Defendant/Offender Workforce Development (DOWD) Conference will take place April 13 - 16 in Cleveland, OH. The National Career Development Association (NCDA) will partner with the US Probation Office - Northern District of Ohio, the National Institute of Corrections, Federal Bureau of Prisons, US Probation Office of Eastern District of Missouri, Offices of Probation and Pre-Trial Services; and the Administrative Office of the US Courts, to host the conference.

Click here for the 2008 DOWD Conference program.

Please visit NCDA's DOWD Conference Webpage for hotel and registration information.

CONFERENCE AT A GLANCE

Sunday, April 13, 2008:
3:00 - 6:00 pm Registration Open & Exhibitor Set Up
4:00 - 6:00 pm OWDS Master Trainers/Instructors Meeting
5:00 - 6:00 pm First timers Session
7:00 - 8:30 pm OWDS Reunion Reception

Monday, April 14, 2008:
8:00 am - 5:00 pm Registration Open & Exhibits Open
9:00 - 11:30 am NIC Sponsored Pre-Conference Workshops (no cost)
12:00 - 2:00 pm Opening Luncheon/Keynote
2:30 - 4:00 pm Presentations Series A
4:20 - 5:50 pm Presentations Series B
6:30 - 8:00 pm Opening Reception

Tuesday, April 15, 2008:
7:30 - 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
7:30 - 5:00 pm Registration Open & Exhibits Open
8:30 - 10:00 am Second Plenary/Keynote
10:30 - 12:00 pm Presentations Series C
12:30 - 2:00 pm Awards Luncheon
2:30 - 4:00 pm Presentations Series D
2:30 - 4:00 pm Tours of Federal Facility
4:00 - 6:00 pm Exhibits Tear Down
6:00 pm Group Night Out (additional cost required)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008:
8:00 - 9:00 am Continental Breakfast
8:00 am - 2:00 pm Registration Open
9:00 - 10:30 am Closing Plenary/Keynote
10:30 am - 12:30 pm Regional Roundtables
1:00 - 5:00 pm Inmate Skills Development System Training for BOP Coordinators

Second Chance Act update

Scott — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:57:00 GMT

According to the Modesto Bee, "The Second Chance Act passed the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in August with praise from both sides of the political aisle." However, there is no word on when a vote on the bill will occur.

According to the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate, The Second Chance Act "would authorize the appropriation of $181 million for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 for Department of Justice (DOJ) grant programs to improve the treatment of inmates and to help offenders reenter communities after they have served their prison sentences. H.R. 1593 also would authorize the appropriation of $10 million a year for 2008 and 2009 for Bureau of Prisons (BOP) activities to prepare prisoners for successful reentry into the community."

Currently, it is proposed that between $50 million and $65 million will be allocated for Department of Justice grants. Read the HIRE Network's summary of the bill for more specific information on the grants.

New Department of Justice Grant Opportunities

Scott — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:09:00 GMT

The information below has been provided by Scott Shortenhouse of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The U. S. Department of Justice has recently made available a number of grant opportunities to faith-based and community organizations involved in different areas of prisoner reentry. The various programs open to faith-based and community organizations are listed below, along with the date applications are due. All of these funding opportunities can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/funding/.

Support for Mentoring Initiatives

Deadline: June 8, 2007

Summary: This solicitation invites applicants to propose the implementation of initiatives that will assist in the development and maturity of community programs to provide mentoring services to populations that are underserved due to locations, shortage of mentors, special, physical or mental challenges of the targeted population, or other such situations identified by the community in need of mentoring services.

Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Programs

Deadline: June 8, 2007

Summary: The purpose of this grant is to foster innovations and advancements in juvenile justice and child protection-related practice at the local, state, and tribal government levels. OJJDP is particularly interested in programs or strategies that address substance abuse problems in an integrated, comprehensive, communitywide approach that focuses on change not only at the individual level, but also at the family and community levels.

Prevention and Intervention Programs

Deadline: June 8, 2007

Summary: The purpose of this grant is to foster innovations and advancements in juvenile justice and child protection-related practice at the community level. OJJDP is interested in programs that focus on reducing risk factors and enhancing protective factors to prevent youth from becoming victims or from entering the juvenile justice system. Special consideration will be given to intermediary organizations that provide mini grants to encourage community organizations, including faith-based organizations, to support juvenile delinquency prevention and/or intervention efforts.

National Juvenile Justice Programs

Deadline: June 8, 2007

Summary: The purpose of the grant is to provide support to programs that focus on combating juvenile delinquency, reducing the victimization of children, and improving the juvenile justice system. They also must support OJJDP's mission to provide national leadership, coordination, and resources to prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency and victimization.

High-Risk Youth Offender Reentry and Family Strengthening Initiatives

Deadline: June 8, 2007

Summary: Under this initiative, OJJDP will fund (1) high risk youth offender reentry strategies and programs designed to promote collaboration among Departments of Juvenile Corrections, faith-based and community-based organizations and providers committed to providing services for youth offenders upon release and (2) family strengthening strategies and programs. OJJDP will give priority to family strengthening programs that focus on families of at-risk youth; it is particularly interested in programs that address family strengths and needs in an integrated, comprehensive manner.

Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program

Deadline: June 25, 2007

Summary: This grant program helps local communities improve the capacity of local justice systems and provides for national support efforts including training and technical assistance programs strategically targeted to address local needs.

Weed and Seed Communities Competitive Program

Deadlines: Notice of Intent-May 31, 2007

Draft-August 9, 2007

Application (only on grants.gov)-11:59 pm ET, August 30, 2007

Summary: The Weed and Seed strategy aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, criminal drug-related activity, and gang activity. The Weed and Seed strategy is a community-based, comprehensive multi-agency approach.

Expansion and Maintenance of the Model Programs Guide

Deadline: June 8, 2007; 8:00 pm ET, February 28, 2007

Summary: This grant seeks applicants to maintain and further develop the Model Programs Guide, an online database of evidence-based juvenile justice programs.

Helping Outreach Programs to Expand

Deadline: No deadline; available as funds are available

Summary: This funding program is available to support those organizations that directly provide services for crime victims.