An article from the Detroit Free Press on the Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative discusses the need for re-entry services and the Transitional Jobs partnership between the Michigan Department of Corrections, Goodwill Industries, and JVS. This partnership is one of five Transitional Jobs projects being evaluated by MDRC through the Joyce Foundation Transitional Jobs Research Demonstration Project.

Click here to read the article.

The NTJN’s intern, Abby Coppock, recently published an article titled, Transitional Jobs: Overcoming Barriers to Employment in the University of Chicago’s Advocates’ Forum. This article discusses the specific barriers to employment for current and former recipients of TANF, people with criminal records, and youth. The TJ strategy is presented as a model that works on both the supply and demand sides of the labor market to successfully transition participants into the labor market.

This article is a good compilation of Transitional Jobs research to date and is useful for anyone working to make the case for TJ. 

Click here to read the article.

RFP Available to Manage NYC Justice Corps!

The City University of New York through John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in consultation with the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Center for Economic Opportunity, are pleased to announce the availability of a Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP seeks an organization to develop, implement, and manage the New York City (NYC) Justice Corps, a civic justice corps project serving New York City youth living in three target areas who are returning from jail or prison or serving probation sentences. Working in conjunction with community groups, the NYC Justice Corps will place participants in paid Transitional Jobs in their home communities for 6 months and provide mentoring, case management, job placement, and retention services.

When fully operational the program will serve at least 360 youth each year. Long-term, the College and sponsors expect participants to stay employed or in school, or both, and to stay out of jail and prison. The contract amount of $2,713,420 will be available the first year the contract is in effect; the contract amount of $3,712,780 will be available the second year. The project will be rigorously evaluated through a separate evaluation contract. If successful, the NYC Justice Corps could have national implications for criminal justice and workforce development policy.

Click here for more information on the RFP and how to request a copy.

Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2007 Reintroduced
In June, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) reintroduced the Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2007 (S. 1626) to the Senate as a bill to amend Title XIV of the Social Security Act. It was referred to the Committee on Finance for review.

Demonstration grants for the development of Transitional Jobs programs for youth, persons with criminal records, and persons experiencing homelessness are included in the bill. This is a critical piece of legislation for the continued development of TJ programs for hard-to-employ populations across the country.

The Green Jobs Act of 2007
The Green Jobs Act of 2007 (H.R. 2487) amends the Workforce Investment Act to train more workers to support the country's developing green economy. Sponsored by Representatives Hilda Solis (D-CA) and John Tierney (D-MA), this legislation would establish the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program within the Workforce Investment Act. The program would award grants to eligible entities to carry out training leading to economic self-sufficiency and to develop an energy efficiency and renewable energy industry workforce with priority on workers earning less than 200% of the federal poverty line.

The Transitional Jobs strategy is included in the legislation as an allowable use of funding and would assist TJ programs in strengthening and expanding to serve populations of veterans, youth, and persons with criminal records across the country.

Click here to learn how you can advocate for this legislation.

The Ella Baker Center, TWA, AFL-CIO, Center for American Progress, and the Apollo Alliance have been working together on this legislation. Click here to learn more about Community Jobs in the Green Economy.

For more information or updates on any pending legislation visit the Library of Congress at THOMAS.

The role of the job developer is critical to building a strong foundation through which the hardest-to-employ participants can obtain jobs and successfully transition into the workforce. Job developers may go by several different titles (employer liaison, corporate account manager, workforce developer, etc.) but their duties typically include:

• Identifying and recruiting new employers
• Creating successful matches between program participants and employers
• Maintaining lasting relationships with employers

The role of the job developer is not easy given these multiple responsibilities. It is further complicated by the dual role of serving both employers and participants. Job developers must learn to balance participant outcomes with meeting the needs of businesses.

To help strengthen the current practices of job developers, the NTJN collected a variety of tips from workforce trainers and TJ programs. Please forward this newsletter on to your job developers!

Identifying & Engaging Employers

• Any good prospecting begins with research; click here for tips for researching prospective employers from the June NTJN newsletter.
• The following resources are traditionally used to identify new job leads: newspapers, online search engines, job fairs, and social networks.

• You are always building your client base; approach everyone you meet as if they are a potential employer.
• Always be ready; develop a one-minute sales pitch to have on hand when an unexpected opportunity to build relationships presents itself.
• Do not limit yourself to large corporations; the majority of businesses that employ TJ participants have 11-50 employees.

  • Offer human resource tools (assessments, drug testing, background checks); market these services to small businesses without an HR department.
  • Target individual stores and managers; they are the ones making day-to-day hiring decisions.
• Always exchange contact information; if possible, set up a time to meet in-person with the employer.
• Ask employers to think creatively about hiring requirements and ex-offender policies; don’t let blanket policies dissuade you from approaching individual managers.

Making A Good Participant/Employer Match

• Be selective in your employers; it’s not worth it in the long run to develop a relationship with an employer who is not willing to invest in skill development.
• Engage the employer in a conversation about their specific needs.
• Don’t assume anything; listen carefully to employer needs and have ready responses to potential arguments and questions.
• Set clear expectations and responsibilities for what you, the employer, and the participant will each provide.
• Don’t rush a placement for the sake of either the employer or the participant.

Communicating Effectively with Employers

• Understand your audience; use the language of employers .

  • Research the industry’s terminology (qualified pool of applicants, bottom line, return on investment).
  • Avoid using nonprofit terminology (use challenges instead of barriers, retention instead of supportive services)
• Elicit as much information as possible about the job itself, hiring procedures, and employer expectations to promote your participant’s success.

• On-going communication is necessary to keep the employer engaged.
• Needs may change; following through and following up with employers is important.
• Rejection isn’t always rejection; continue to be in contact and send literature as the employer’s needs might change.

These tips were gathered with the help of job developers at Heartland Human Care Services and trainers at the Chicago Jobs Council (CJC). For regular training opportunities at CJC, please contact Cheryl Hester.

Click here to listen to a conference call in which Danny Woodson, Workforce Development Coordinator at the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), provided tips for TJ providers.

For additional Job Developer training tools and publications from Public/Private Ventures click here.

Email us your Transitional Jobs program technical assistance
questions to be featured in the newsletter:
ntjn@heartlandalliance.org

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The NTJN is hosted by Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights
4411 N. Ravenswood
Chicago, IL 60640
Phone: 773.728.5960 x.6286 Fax: 773.506.6649