Reintegration of Offenders Program

The Department of Labor receives funding from Congress annually for programs targeting both adult and youthful offenders. The adult-targeted program, entitled the Prisoner Re-entry Initiative (PRI), is designed to strengthen urban communities through an employment-centered program that incorporates mentoring, job training, and other comprehensive transitional services. This program seeks to reduce recidivism by helping former inmates find work when they return to their communities, as part of an effort to build a life in the community for everyone. In the thirty cities served through this initiative, faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) provide comprehensive and coordinated services to ex-offenders. As well, through a complimentary set of grants with the initiative’s partners at the U.S. Department of Justice, the 20 Departments of Corrections located in states that have DOL PRI grants are providing pre-release services and referrals to soon-to-be released offenders so that there is an easier transition from incarceration to the home community. The youthful offender program, entitled the Responsible Reintegration of Youthful Offenders, received funding beginning in 1998 to conduct demonstration projects serving this population. Appropriations for these activities currently total roughly $50 million a year. The Department has used these funds to support projects aimed at both young offenders and at-risk youth mainly ages 14 to 24. We have supported projects aimed at both youth in the juvenile justice system and young adults in the adult criminal justice system. •Local youth offender projects in high-crime communities aimed both at providing re-entry services to youth returning home from confinement and preventative efforts for at-risk youth; •Grants to state juvenile justice agencies directed at improving academic and workforce preparation components in one of the their youth correctional facilities; •Inter-agency transfers of funds to the Department of Justice to help support the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative; •Non-competitive grants to national community-based organizations for multi-site projects serving particular target groups of youth offenders and at-risk youth; •Grants to encourage local coordination of the workforce, juvenile justice, and education systems to assist youth offenders enter high-demand occupations; •Grants to school districts to reduce involvement of youth in gangs and violent activity.