Offender Employment : Federal Bureau of Prisons

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.

House of Representatives passes the Second Chance Act

Scott — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:07:00 GMT

On November 13, 2007, The Second Chance Act (H.R. 1593) passed in the House of Representatives. The vote totals were 347 Ayes, 62 Nays, 23 Present/Not Voting. The bill still requires passage by the Senate.

If the Second Chance Act becomes law in it's current form, the bill requires the Attorney General to:

Make grants to establish state and local reentry courts to monitor offenders and provide them with access to comprehensive reentry services and programs;
Carry out a grant program to evaluate methods to improve academic and vocational education and educational services for offenders in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities;
Make grants to states, local governments, territories, and Indian tribes to provide technology career training to prisoners;
Make grants to nonprofit organizations for providing mentoring and other transitional services for reintegrating offenders into the community;
Implement a program to educate employers about incentives for the hiring of former federal, state, or local prisoners, including the federal bonding program and tax credits.

The bill also has an extensive substance abuse component. A summary of the Second Chance Act can be found here.

Updated on 11/19/07: According to chicagopublicradio.org, the bill is being reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee but is not scheduled for a vote.

Updated on 12/14/07: An article about the Second Chance Act from the Austin Weekly News can be read 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

New Webpage Launched in Support of the Offender Employment Specialist (OES) Training.

Scott — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:01:00 GMT

A new webpage has been created to support facilitators and participants of the Offender Employment Specialist (OES) training. Please point your browser to www.nicic.org/oes to view the page. Additional resources will be uploaded to the site in the future.

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.