DOL Announces Nearly $50 Million to Upskill Incarcerated Individuals

David Mantey June 29, 2023

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The U.S. Department of Labor recently awarded some $49.4 million in grants to 17 organizations across 15 states. The funds will be used to train and provide employment services to adults reentering the workforce after incarceration.

The Pathway Home aims to close the interval between an adult's release from incarceration, registration into a reentry program, and gainful employment. The grants will help local organizations connect incarcerated people with training and skill providers needed to get jobs post-release and case management services to help retain work. Eligible adults should be scheduled for release within 20 to 270 days at the time of enrollment.

According to The Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development partner of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), about 25% of Americans have a criminal record. Without opportunities, many of these individuals are kept out of the workforce, sidelining potential candidates for employers looking to fill skills gaps.

"Coming out of the pandemic, manufacturers are facing record job openings with nearly 700,000 open jobs today, and we're projected to have to fill more than 2 million by the end of the decade," says Pooja Tripathi, director of workforce initiatives at The Manufacturing Institute. "Hiring Americans who are justice-impacted is important for the success of the manufacturing industry as we look to provide the goods and services to help keep our economy moving forward."

A criminal record can be a significant barrier to work. Not all people with criminal records have been incarcerated, but for those who have been, second-chance hiring can significantly increase the success of reentry, according to the Manufacturing Institute.

The product of a 2014 federal workforce development law, the reentry grants support the Biden administration's goal of lowering recidivism rates and decreasing crime, Labor Department officials said. The Pathway Home 4 grants allow workers to keep the exact caseworker pre- and post-release and support registered apprenticeship ands other occupational training for industry-recognized credentials.

The Pathway Home 4 grants, totaling $49,438,075, were given to the recipients below.

Ambassadors for Christ Youth Ministries Inc, Pine Bluff, AR: $4,000,000
Detroit Employment Solutions Corp., Detroit, MI: $4,000,000
Goodwill Industries International Inc., Rockville, MD: $4,000,000
Keys2Work Inc., Indianapolis, IN: $4,000,000
North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, Stevens Point, WI: $4,000,000
Goodwill Industries of Kentucky Inc., Louisville, KY: $3,995,264
Oregon Workforce Partnership, Salem, OR: $3,918,676
Technical Assistance Partnership of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ: $3,480,492
Connections to Success Inc, St. Charles, MO: $2,999,998
Mott Community College, Flint, MI: $2,999,892
EMERGE Community Development, Minneapolis, MN: $2,975,000
Gang Alternative Inc., North Miami, FL: $2,499,999
Alabama Department of Commerce, Montgomery, AL: $1,500,000
PATH, Los Angeles, CA: $1,499,999
Broward College, Fort Lauderdale, FL: $1,499,999
City of New Orleans-Mayor's Office of Workforce Development, New Orleans, LA: $1,218,757
Safer Foundation, Chicago, IL: $849,999