This brief is one in a series describing the Pathway Home grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) which required grantees to provide specific pre-release, post-release, and transition services. This brief concerns grants awarded in 2021, with a focus on grantees’ six-month planning period and first year of enrollment. The brief describes the types of organizations funded, their locations, staffing structures, partnerships, and the services provided. Key findings include the following:  

The 2021 Pathway Home grantees provided services across the country, spanning rural, urban, and suburban areas. More than half (53 percent) of grantees were nonprofit organizations and 28 percent were workforce development boards. Other types of organizations that received grants included government agencies, institutions of higher education, industry or commerce organizations, and for-profit businesses. Almost all grantees had extensive prior experience in reentry services and in working with a variety of partners.

Nearly all grantees offered pre-release education, employment services, supportive services, and 90 percent offered transition services for discharge planning and re-entry. Post-release education, employment, and supportive service offerings were, however, more varied across the grantees. Further, most but not all grantees (89 percent) reported that participants were served by the same case manager before and after release, which was a key feature of the Pathway Home service model. Grantees used various types of case management approaches, including Motivational Interviewing, Trauma-informed Care, Cognitive-Behavioral approaches, and Positive Youth Development. Similarly, grantees varied in the types of employment service models, and offered employer-focused services, sectoral training, individual post-employment supports, and training on soft skills and job search skills.

Other briefs in this series describe initial implementation of services in correctional institutions and post-release services.