Providence awarded nearly $500K in federal grants to help inmates transition to working life

PROVIDENCE – The city of Providence has been awarded $499,672 in grants through the Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release Program created by the U.S. Labor Department.
In response to the Obama administration’s attempt to break the cycle of poverty, crime and incarceration, the Labor Department said that $64.5 million in grants will be allocated nationwide to provide services for at-risk youth and currently, as well as formerly, incarcerated individuals.

“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,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said in a statement. “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 are part of a series of new actions to reduce recidivism and promote reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals; they were announced June 24 at an event hosted by the Center for American Progress.

The grants will be going to 40 organizations providing services in 26 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.

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The City of Providence is one of 11 organizations that will receive grants through the Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release program created by the U.S. Labor Department. The funding will be used to help integrate government services offered by correctional facilities with federally funded workforce development programs to assist soon-to-be-released inmates transition to working life in their communities.

The other three programs will award grants to the remainder of the 40 organizations providing services.

Elsewhere in New England, Action for Boston Community Development Inc., in Boston, will be awarded $1 million through the Pathways to Justice Careers program, according to the U.S. Labor Department press release. Through this program, mentorship and career training will be provided to youth ages 16 to 21 who 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.

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