Giving Ex-Offenders a Choice in Life: First Findings from the Beneficiary Choice Demonstration

摘要

The Employment and Training Administration within DOL has created the Beneficiary Choice Contracting Program, a demonstration to help ex-offenders successfully enter and remain in the workforce and stay free of crime. To be eligible for the program, individuals must be between 18 and 29 years of age, have been convicted of a Federal or state crime, and have been released from a Federal or state institution within the past 60 days. In July 2007, DOL awarded five grantees a total of $5 million for the first year of operations to serve approximately 225 participants each. The grantees are as follows: Arizona Womens Education and Employment, Inc. (AWEE); Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (DLE); City of Chicago, Mayors Office of Workforce Development (MOWD); Indianapolis Private Industry Council, Inc. (IPIC); and The Directors Council (TDC) - Des Moines, IA. The Beneficiary Choice Demonstration involves an indirect funding model in which grantees engage in performance-based contracts with specialized service providers (SSPs) to provide employment-focused services to participants. DOL provided a blueprint for building a service delivery structure that includes the grantee, a services coordinator, and at least five specialized SSPs. Grantees maintain the administrative functions. Services coordinators serve as the gateway for participants to select an SSP. The SSPs then provide in-depth services. Community partners also provide referrals and leveraged resources to support service delivery.