Job center in jail to be replicated in women’s facility (workforce.org)

San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP) is excited to announce the award of a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to build upon the success of its Reentry Works San Diego program at the East Mesa Reentry Facility (EMRF) to also create a career center and provide pre- and post-release career services at Las Colinas, an all-female facility in Santee, CA.

Reentry Works is the result of a partnership between SDWP and the San Diego County Sheriff’s and Probation departments. The goal of the program is to boost the numbers of job placements of offenders reentering the community by better integrating public career services with the criminal justice system. Overall goals also include reducing recidivism and promoting public safety.

“Reentry Works San Diego" reflects a philosophy we have in our service delivery strategy: targeting job training programs to people most in need, like the justice-involved, and in meeting people where they are by bringing our valuable program services directly to the community our target population are living in,” says Andrew Picard, Director of Adult Programs at SDWP. “We have been very pleased with the initial outcomes at EMRF and are excited to have the opportunity to expand and replicate the program model for the women at Las Colinas.”

As 80 percent of the female ex-offenders return home to care for children, the career center staff will not only focus on employment skills but also connecting program participants to childcare and other support services prior to release to help remove as many barriers to employment as possible.

Another unique challenge is that women experience a higher prevalence of abuse and trauma than their male counterparts, with between 77 to 98 percent reporting lived experience with trauma (domestic violence, physical or sexual abuse). To help ensure the most effective intervention, the Sheriff’s Department has contracted with a nationally recognized expert to provide all staff at Las Colinas training and resources to develop gender-responsive and trauma-informed reentry services. The career center staff will receive this ongoing training to implement trauma- and gender-informed values in their approach, including developing gender-responsive policies and procedures and a program assessment.

For the entire story on the San Diego Workforce Partnership's website, please click here.