• SAVE THE DATE: The 2006 National Transitional Jobs Network Conference: "Strengthening Communities. Building the Workforce of the Future. Transitional Jobs Work." will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, October 12-13, 2006. More information on online registration will be provided in an email alert in late May.
  
  
• Transitional Jobs - Helping TANF Recipients with Barriers to Employment Succeed in the Labor Market: an audio conference call co-hosted by the Center for Law and Social Policy and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities will take place on Tuesday May 23, 2006. The following TJ experts and NTJN Steering Committee Members will be speaking on the conference call:
  • Jan Mueller, Co-Chair of the National Transitional Jobs Network and Director of New Workforce Program Development, Lifetrack Resources (MN).
  • Richard Greenwald, President and CEO of the Transitional Work Corporation (PA).
  • Linda Nguyen, Planning and Program Development Director, Takoma-Pierce County Workforce Development Board (WA).

This is a critical time for the Second Chance Act (HR 1704; S 1934). The Second Chance Act specifically designates Transitional Jobs programs as an allowable use for demonstration grant money. Passage of the bill has the potential to infuse both existing and newly forming Transitional Jobs programs with new and additional funding through demonstration projects.

The Second Chance Act aims to:

• Reduce recidivism;
• Increase public safety; and
• Help communities better address the growing population of prisoners returning into their communities.

As the congressional session comes to an end, October 6th, 2006, it is pertinent that you contact your senator or representative as soon as possible. Look to the NTJN Website for expanded information on the Second Chance Act.

The following news article, Charting a path to a better life when the prison gates open, Larry Fehr - Seattle Times, examines the problems that ex-offenders face during reentry. The article cites the Second Chance Act as a means to improve ex-offender reentry.

Americans Abandon "Punishment Only" Attitudes in Effort to Reduce Crime, Zogby International. Public opinion research group, Zogby International, finds in a national survey that there is "striking support" for services for persons with criminal records. The survey also reveals overwhelming public support for the Second Chance Act. Details regarding the status of the Second Chance Act can be found on the NTJN website and in the Policy Alert section of the newsletter.

Implementing the TANF Changes in the Deficit Reduction Act: 'Win-Win' Solutions for Families and States - Center for Law and Social Policy and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Report provides state officials with an in-depth look at a broad range of strategies that can help states to improve the effectiveness of their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and to increase their work participation rates. The report outlines how the Transitional Jobs program strategy can be effectively used for TANF recipients with multiple barriers for employment.

Packed Prisons Brace for New Crush, Jennifer Warren - Los Angeles Times. Article in the Los Angeles Times examines California's growing prison population. The article also outlines implications for the growing population on inmate rehabilitation, recidivism, and public safety. California's growing prison population reflects the need for Transitional Jobs programs to assist persons with criminal records entering into communities.

Ex-offenders need tools or they end up back in prison, Rhonday Shipley - Indianapolis Star. Article in Indianapolis Star provides research that individuals leaving prison must have access to housing, employment and transportation in order to be able to successfully reenter society. Workforce, Inc., in Indianapolis, IN works to provide individuals with criminal records the tools for successful reentry through the Transitional Jobs program model.

The "American Grants and Loans Directory 2006 Edition" is now available. This publication contains more than 1,500 financial programs, subsidies, scholarship, grants and loans offered by the US federal government. The CD version of the directory is $69.95, and the print version is $149.95. To order, call 819-322-7533.

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 and Human Rights
4411 N. Ravenswood
Chicago, IL 60640
Phone: 773.728.5960 x.6286 Fax: 773.728.4907