Father Matters Job and Training Institute Reentry Program works to improve educational and employment services to individuals incarcerated and releasing to Maricopa County, Arizona.

Father Matters, a Maricopa County non-profit agency, has experience providing mentoring, education, and support to inmates at the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation & Reentry (ADCRR) facilities. Our goal is to improve employment services and connections among incarcerated men and women by providing criminogenic needs and risk assessments, professional customer service education, job-readiness training, and transitional planning pre-release. Post-release credential testing, transition assistance, case management, and engage select business partners in an Employer Advisory role from emergent sectors with a record of providing high-quality jobs to people living in these communities. An outside evaluator will document performance measures for the program and participants. To qualify for priority consideration, the evaluator will also track employment outcomes.

The program will serve adult men and women 18 years and older, medium to high risk to reoffend, who will be releasing in 120 days to the high poverty communities (Phoenix, Glendale, and Mesa). We have partnered with ADCRR- Lewis, Yuma and Tucson facilities and MCSO Lower Buckeye jail to serve a total of 2,940 inmates within 36 months.

Our program will benefit the participants, their families and the other residents that live and work with the participants. Many of the individuals were arrested in high-poverty communities (Phoenix, Glendale, Mesa) and will be returning to them. By providing professional customer service certification training and job readiness training we will be able to impart skills that are relevant to every occupation, industry, and career pathway.

The deliverables include creating an action plan with input from BJA, providing in-person curriculum training, create transitional reentry plans to address needs, provide case management to promote effective transitional reentry plans, enable participants who complete the program obtain employment, demonstrate an increased collaboration between employers, community and faith-based organizations, corrections and other stakeholders, and creating a final report. Through this program   we believe we will be able to reduce recidivism and improve public safety.