Press Releases / November 29, 2011
For more information contact:
Brent Matthews at 317-532-1367 x25 or bmatthews@recycleforce.org
Ryan Puckett at 317-721-7221 or ryan@two-21.com
INDIANAPOLIS – The first participants in a new, federally funded transitional jobs program for individuals with significant barriers to employment have begun work at RecycleForce, a social enterprise that operates a recycling business while providing workforce training in a service-rich environment to ex-offenders. In June, Indianapolis-based RecycleForce and its partners received a $5.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help ex-offenders in Marion County receive job training and support.
RecycleForce is one of seven organizations selected from 80 applicants from across the county to participate in the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD) program. The non-profit recycler will put its social enterprise model to the test by demonstrating it can provide employment training and full-time job opportunities to ex-offenders. RecycleForce’s model also includes employee assistance services designed to help to secure permanent employment and keep ex-offenders out of the criminal justice system.
“Without training and necessary life skills, more than half of those individuals released from prison in Marion County will re-offend and be sent back to the criminal justice system,” said Gregg Keesling, president of RecycleForce. “Our program is designed to break that cycle.”
Program Details
One thousand ex-offenders will be referred to the Indianapolis ETJD program through the Marion Superior Court Probation Department. In addition to RecycleForce, New Life Developmental Ministries and The Changed Life will also receive ex-offender participants as part of the Indianapolis ETJD program. Five hundred participants will be randomly assigned to the ETJD program and assigned a four-month transitional work assignment. The other 500 participants will be randomly assigned to a control group and receive “services as usual” in the community.
The 500 participants with work assignments will receive an enhanced assessment and intensive case management services to help develop and implement individualized plans to address barriers to employment. RecycleForce will also work to place the participants in permanent jobs following the transitional period. Companies that are in a position to take on successful participants are encouraged to contact RecycleForce.
The grant covers a period of up to 48 months, including three months for initial implementation, two years for enrollment of participants, and 12 months of follow-up activity.
Keesling emphasizes that the goal of the ETJD program is for participants to experience that the world of work and civic responsibility pays off and translates to tangible rewards in the form of increases in hourly wages, the opportunity to learn other jobs within an industry, and access to a variety of supportive services.
“Ultimately, participants in the program will be well positioned to secure unsubsidized employment in high growth industries, especially the emerging green industry of electronics recycling,” added Keesling.
Additional partner organizations involved in the Indianapolis ETJD program are the City of Indianapolis’ Transitional Jobs Program, EmployIndy (Indianapolis WorkOne), Indiana Department of Child Service (Child Support Bureau), Marion County Prosecutor’s Office (Child Support Division), Marion Superior Court Probation Department, Keys to Work, Inc.; Forest Manor Multi-Service Center, Child Support Consulting of Indiana, Managepoint, Shipley Communications; Dyslexia Institute of Indiana; the Office of the Governor of Indiana; and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
About RecycleForce
RecycleForce, a 501(c)3 organization, is a social enterprise offering comprehensive and innovative recycling services around while providing life-changing workforce training to formerly incarcerated individuals. Taking the electronic waste and other recyclables provided by residents and corporate partners, RecycleForce deconstructs these items, recycles the materials and disposes of the waste safely and cleanly. The scrap metals and other reusable materials collected in this process are then sold to help pay for job training programs and employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated men and women in order to support their re-entry back into society.
For more information visit RecycleForce.org.
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