U.S. Department of Labor grants $2 million to Newark, N.J., to build on successes under President's Prisoner Re-entry Initiative
City will be national learning platform that attracts other areas' interest and ideas
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today awarded $2 million to Newark, N.J., to expand the President’s Prisoner Re-entry Initiative (PRI) across the city.
“This $2 million grant will enable Newark to build on the success of the President’s Prisoner Re-entry Initiative and provide over 1,200 ex-offenders with basic job skills and other assistance to help them succeed in developing new career paths, ” said Secretary Chao.
More than 1,200 individuals will be served. The expertise and resources of the state, the Nicholson Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, and local faith-based and community organizations will play major roles. The project will complement existing services, such as the city’s Opportunity Reconnect and the state’s Another Chance re-entry programs. Specifically, this grant will create five access points housed in local faith-based and community groups that will serve as the “front door” for re-entry and be networked with a host of public and private services already available to ex-offenders.
“The purpose of this project is to determine whether the successful PRI strategy of community-based, mentor-supported and employment-focused re-entry can move beyond helping individuals to helping entire neighborhoods and a city recover from the burden of high rates of criminal recidivism,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Brent R. Orrell, who made the announcement of this award in Newark at the New Careers Center with New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine, Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker, and a contingent of partners and community members. “By leveraging the power of partnerships, Newark can be a model for other cities to drive down crime and raise up lives through a network of support that leads to employment.”
The PRI connects ex-offenders to training and employment services such as basic skills remediation, mentoring and job training. Thirty PRI projects – including one run by Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey – are underway in segments of urban areas across the country. To date, they have shown remarkable success in increasing employment and reducing recidivism among nonviolent offenders to a rate two-thirds below the national average.
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