Department of Labor awards over $56M in grants to help justice-involved people get needed job training, prepare them for return to communities

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $56 million in grants to help reduce recidivism and assist people in re-entering their communities after being incarcerated.

The award of Pathway Home 5 grant funding will build on the findings of the Linking Employment Activities Pre-release pilots and implementation study, which highlighted the value of close partnerships between jails and workforce system partners to achieve participant success. 

Authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the grants provide funding for justice-involved people to complete training for skills most valued by local employers. Today’s awards follow the department’s Feb. 8, 2024, funding opportunity announcement.

“The Pathway Home grants we announced today will allow justice-involved individuals to get the training they need to secure good jobs as they re-enter their communities following a term of incarceration,” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training José Javier Rodríguez. “The Biden-Harris administration recognizes that our communities are safer when formerly incarcerated Americans have access to good jobs. These grants enable participants to begin skills training before their release, better preparing them to start their new lives.”

Directed by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, Pathway Home grants help eliminate gaps between release from prison or jail and enrollment in a workforce development program. Grantees must partner with a state correctional facility or local or county jail for the project to have access to participants before their return to their communities. 

Pathway Home grantees will leverage their employer and union connections to inform program curricula and ensure the training provided is appropriate for available jobs in local industries.  

The department awarded Pathway Home grants to the following recipients: