CALIFORNIA, STATE OF - WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD

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Prison to Employment Initiative Direct and Supportive Service Grant Orange Regional Planning Unit Narrative I. Statement of Need Since the inception of Assembly Bill 109 (AB 109) Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, the Orange Region Planning Unit (ORPU) has seen an accelerated number of justice -involved individuals. The Orange County in -custody prison population is the sixth largest in the State, accounting for 6,555 t. or 5% of the total prison population. In 2017, Orange County had the fifth highest number of parole releases with 964 or 5.3%, and had a total of 2,6802. parolees. The Orange County Probation Department (OC Probation) oversaw a total supervised population of 10,542?. probationers as of September 2018. The Orange County Sheriff s Department (OCSD) had 56,726 ^ releases in FY 2017-2018. Barriers for the Supervised Population are extensive and unique; many times include basic requirements, such as food, clothing, and shelter, which creates challenges beyond employment and training services. The needs for these individuals to become self-sufficient are varied and range from lack of job training difficulties with education, family law issues, immigration, and child support debt. The ORPU will maintain collaboration and conduct outreach to future partners to ensure that resources are available to assist this hard to serve population. Since July 2016, WIOA Title I programs have served over 339 justice -involved individuals. Of those served, roughly 50% obtained employment in the OC Region. In addition, the OC and correction partners implemented the Linking to Employment Activities Pre -Release (LEAP) programs and Forward Focus/Supervised Population workforce training programs. These projects focused on effective strategies within the jails and continue post -release: LEAP 1 LEAP 2 • Total Enrolled Pre -Release: 140 • Total Enrolled Pre -Release: 96 • Enrollment in Training Post -Release: 46 i Enrollment in Training: 22 Pre -Release; 10 Post- • Entered Employment Post -Release: 52 Release , • Entered Employment Post -Release: 24 Forward Focus/Supervised Population (Post -Release) • Total Enrolled: 94 • Entered Employment: 45 • Enrollment in Training: 59 • Retention in Employment 6 months: 27 • Completion of Training: 52 • Placement in Post -Secondary Education: 4 • Attained Industry Valued Certificates: 37 • Placement in State -Approved Apprenticeship: 1 The ORPU identified several collaborative strategies to reverse the trend of criminal recidivism in hopes of making a meaningful impact in the region. Pre- and post -release services must be implemented to assist justice -involved individuals in examining societal and self-imposed barriers to work and life adjustment and community reintegration. The provision of pre-release services, such as workforce co -location in jail, allows for a smooth transition that increases post -release success. In addition, the need for workforce staff co -location at key sites (jail release centers, parole and probation reporting centers) increases accessibility to employment and supportive services for successful reintegration into the community. With a successful partnership between workforce and supervision, increasing the quality of employment opportunities, those providing a livable wage, will have a significant impact on recidivism_' IL Partnerships Partner Roles (see Partnership Agreement/Letters of Commitment) .Local Workforce Development Boards•. The Orange County Community Investment Division/Orange County Development Board (OCDB), Anaheim Workforce Development Board, and Santa Ana Workforce Development 'CDCR Offender Data Points Offender Demographics For the 24-month period, ending December 2017 'CDCR Offender Data Points Offender Demographics Forth e 24-month period, ending December 2017 'OC Probation Department Research Division, September 2018 40C Sheriff's Department, Fiscal Year 2017-2018 'Schnabel T. Kevin. Good Jobs and Recidivism, August 2016