Get Grants: Boost Employment for Returning Citizens

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, the Department, or we), announces the availability of approximately $82.5 million in grant funds authorized by Section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which authorizes research and evaluations to improve the management and effectiveness of workforce programs and activities. Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), ETA seeks to enhance both adult and young adult reentry strategies through collaboration with the field to identify and respond to emerging or chronic reentry challenges. This FOA provides the opportunity for organizations to build customized projects.

Applicants must propose evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions, new interventions that theory or research suggests are promising, or a combination of both that lead to increased employment outcomes for their target populations. The Department is especially interested in program models that offer apprenticeship opportunities. These apprenticeship opportunities include registered, industry-recognized, and pre-apprenticeships. Another focus of this initiative is to assist communities in planning and implementing comprehensive "reentry" programs to address the full range of challenges involved in helping formerly incarcerated adults and young adults who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice system make successful transitions back to the community.

The intent of this initiative is to protect community safety by ensuring that these individuals:• Become productive, responsible, and law-abiding members of society;• Are provided with positive opportunities to engage in pro-social activities, such as employment and/or education;• Maintain long-term employment;• Sustain a stable residence; and• Successfully address their substance abuse issues and mental health needs, as applicable, through partnerships with local programs.These projects will serve either young adults between the ages of 18 to 24 who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice system, including high school dropouts, or adults ages 25 or older who were formerly incarcerated in the adult criminal justice system and released from prison or jail within 180 days of enrollment. Applicants may submit up to two (2) applications in response to this FOA, a maximum of one (1) to serve adults and a maximum of one (1) to serve young adults. Each application may only propose to serve one target population, and applicants may not serve young adults and adults in the same program. Applicants may be selected to receive up to two (2) grant awards.

In addition, eligible applicants must choose to apply as either an intermediary organization (IO)(for the purpose of this Announcement, intermediary organizations are defined as organizations that have an affiliate network or offices in at least three communities and across at least two states) or as a non-intermediary organization (NIO) (for the purpose of the Announcement, non-intermediary organizations are those with single sites or multiple sites within one state). Finally, all projects must serve high-crime, high-poverty communities.