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Since Jobs Rebuild America (JRA) began in May 2013, we have successfully launched two new federal employment and training programs, as well as a privately funded employer-driven training program focused on food services. We have also continued to enroll participants from all around the country in the broad swath of employment programs united under the banner of Jobs Rebuild America.
In July 2013, NUL launched a new program called “Adult Re-entry: Training to Work.” The program targets adults with felony convictions who are currently in a local work release program. Training to Work is administered through two Urban League affiliates—the Chicago Urban League and the Urban League of New Orleans—and a major goal of this program is connecting ex-offenders to GEDs and industry-recognized certifications in high--growth industry sectors. While employment is the ultimate goal of this program, the model clearly emphasizes the importance of connecting this constituency with credentials as a pathway to longer-term and higher-waged career goals. Training to Work is built upon lessons learned from an earlier adult re-entry program operated by NUL. Key components of Training to Work include robust case management systems; implementation of the Workeys Job Readiness Assessment and the National Career Readiness Certificate; structured mentoring activities; stipends for milestones achieved; career exploration and job readiness training; and pre-apprenticeship training and/or skills certification programs.
NUL also launched a second federal employment program in July 2013, the Ohio Urban Youth Empowerment Program (UYEP). Modeled after our signature UYEP model, the Ohio UYEP targets juvenile offenders 16-24 years old in high-crime, high-poverty zip codes in two cities in Ohio, Cincinnati and Cleveland. The program offers juvenile offenders an opportunity to connect with a Youth Advocate Counselor and develop an individualized career and education plan that maps out tailored educational and career goals. Components of the program include: education and training goals; case management support; structured mentoring; service learning and restorative justice projects; and career planning. Additionally, the program offers the Workeys Job Readiness Assessment and the National Career Readiness Certificate, and legal support for record expungement. Youth are referred to the Greater Cincinnati Urban League and the Urban League of Greater Cleveland by the courts, and the program serves as a diversion to incarceration.
Through support from a grant from Sodexo, NUL also launched a training program in partnership with Wayne Community College and the Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan. The program targets seniors 55 years and older who are interested in careers in customer service, food service and janitorial/custodial arts. Eligible participants partake in certificate training programs, cooking and nutrition courses, and receive health education, as well as career coaching and job placement support. Qualified participants will be employed at Sodexo or similar employment prospects.
These three new programs join NUL’s robust portfolio of programs that launched as part of our initial Jobs Rebuild America initiative. Jobs Rebuild America included several key NUL signature programs: UYEP, College Bound, Adult Re-entry, and our Mature Worker Program. Below is an update on these programs:
Since the May 2013 launch of JRA, NUL and its Urban League affiliates have served almost 1000 participants in our signature Urban Youth Empowerment Program, of which more than 15% have found jobs across 25 cities marked as high-crime, high-poverty communities. The UYEP program targets juvenile offenders, young adult ex-offenders and high school dropouts, and connects them to the following services: education and training opportunities (including GED classes), career planning and job placement support, case management, mentoring, restorative justice, and community wide anti-violence initiatives.
Through our College Bound Program, which operated through the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and the Central Florida Urban League, we served almost 300 participants and enrolled them in GED programming with a goal of on-ramping them to college. Participants also received career coaching, college advising, and financial empowerment coaching.
Through our signature Mature Worker Program operating in six cities, almost 1000 unemployed seniors received subsidized job training, case management, and job placement services through the support of our Urban League affiliates.
Together, the variety of participants served and outcomes achieved show the impact of the Jobs Rebuild America program.
One unique feature of many of our employment programs for ex-offenders is the restorative justice project, which gives participants a chance to make amends to their community for earlier misdeeds while learning valuable skills. Descriptions of few notable restorative justice projects are listed below.
Notable Restorative Justice Projects
In partnership with the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and the Newark Conservancy, the Urban League of Essex County (ULEC) launched the Clean and Green Initiative in an effort to ‘green’ the city. UYEP WORKS participants, who are heavily involved in planning their projects, have a chance to learn soft skills such as timeliness, leadership, and conflict management, as well as marketable skills in landscaping and construction. Time for reflection with an ULEC staff member is built into each project.
The Springfield Urban League (SUL) entered into a partnership with several local organizations—including Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association, Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County, South Town Construction Training Program, Republic Services, Springfield Electric Supply Company,and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers--to renovate a house in Enos Park, a neighborhood plagued with crime. The newly renovated house will be set aside for a Springfield police officer to live in via the Resident Police Officer Program. Once the renovation is complete, the police officer will live in the neighborhood rent-free, in exchange for putting in service hours for the neighborhood. The program complements the off-duty police patrols already in place in the neighborhood. Construction and electrical work will be provided by a crew of participants from the SUL’s Male Involvement and UYEP WORKS programs. The men will be supervised by representatives of the South Town Construction Training program and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Habitat for Humanity plans to provide various building materials for the project, and Republic Services will provide Dumpsters.
The Las Vegas Urban League entered into a partnership with Avila Family Outreach and Faith Based Partnership to enable participants to complete a large scale landscaping project for a community member’s home. Participants also had the opportunity to paint the inside of the house, and several participants determined there was a need for a dog kennel and initiated construction. Participants learned about and adhered to safety measures and precautions related to construction work. Time for reflection was also built into the activity.
