Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Dept. of Labor Awards Grants to help Ex-Offenders

To help formerly incarcerated women, the Department of Labor (DOL) awarded more than $12 million in grants to help nonprofit organizations develop programs providing job training in high-demand industries, employment preparation, mentoring, housing assistance, substance abuse and mental health treatment, family counseling and assistance with parenting and child reunification. A total of nine organizations throughout the nation received funding. Seven grantee organizations will work with adults, while the other two will focus on youth.

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, women accounted for 25.5 percent of all arrests in 2010, including 19.5 percent of arrests for violent crime and 37.6 percent of arrests for property crimes. Over the past 10 years, arrests of men declined by 6.8 percent while arrests of women increased by 10.5 percent. According to the DOL this grant is intended to help previously incarcerated women gain the stability necessary to improve their educational and employment outcomes by increasing high school graduation rates, improving literacy and math skills, and entering college and/or other post secondary training and employment.

This grant award is part of a series of awards targeting the successful reintegration and development of individuals who have been involved with the criminal justice system. In March, the DOL announced grants to support education and job skill development for juvenile ex-offenders. In April, the Department of Justice (DOJ)—partner with the DOL on the Federal Interagency Re-entry Council, the government-wide effort to reintegrate formerly incarcerated individuals—provided grants to support re-entry and community safety.

For more information on the DOL’s most recent grants, please click here.

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