About 400 detainees will receive training and support to help steer them toward jobs upon their release from St. Louis County’s Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton, thanks to a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Family and Workforce Centers of America will position staff at the Justice Center and begin working with the returnees up to 180 days before their scheduled release, to begin “putting them on a path in order to achieve their goals,” said Carolyn Seward, the organization’s chief executive.
“We’re building that bridge, so people are not wondering, ‘What do I do next, once I’m released?” – Carolyn Seward, CEO, Family and Workforce Centers of America
The grant — one of two issued in Missouri — comes as formerly incarcerated individuals continue to face hurdles finding jobs, even as cities like St. Louis enact measures such as “ban the box” to keep many employers from basing hiring or promotion decisions solely on an applicant’s criminal history.
The Labor Department grant signals that “DOL understands the importance of participants earning livable wages and beginning the ‘Pathway Home’ journey while they are still in the justice system, so when released back into the community, they have a network of support for achieving their training, education and employment goals,” Seward said. “This will be a positive impact for our families and communities.”
As part of the program, Workforce Centers will do assessments, and provide individual employment plans and offer supportive services, such as tutoring or assistance getting a high school diploma.
“They will be relocating into the St. Louis County area, and we want them to be ready with skills and jobs at the end of the day,” she said.
The majority of those returning to St. Louis County from the Justice Center will return to areas where most of the residents are people of color, Seward said, adding that participants will be in the program for two years with a 12-month follow-up.
The program expands a similar effort the centers launched 5 years ago with DOL funds administered through St. Louis County.
Workforce Centers is one of two Missouri organizations to receive part of $85.5 million in labor department grants designed to help individuals who are now or once were involved in the criminal justice system gain employment and a second chance.
Springfield received a grant of more than $3 million, according to DOL.
The department’s Employment and Training Administration – which administers the grants – awarded 28 grants to organizations in 17 states and Washington, D.C. through the department’s Pathway Home program and Young Adult Reentry Partnership program.
Experts see job assistance not only as a way to boost a former inmate’s economic prospects, but also to reduce the chance that they will be reincarcerated.
In the state’s fiscal year 2020, more people who were released on parole had been sentenced in St. Louis city or county than in any other area of the state — 2,683 released inmates or 14% of the statewide total, according to data from the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Nationwide, more than 600,000 people are released from prison each year, according to the federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Within 3 years of their release, more than half are incarcerated again.
“We’re building that bridge, so people are not wondering, ‘what do I do next, once I’m released?’” Seward said.
Karen Robinson-Jacobs is The St. Louis American / Type Investigations business reporter and a Report for America corps member.
