Persevere Works: Improving Reentry Education and Employment in Tennessee

Persevere Works is a collaborative endeavor between Persevere, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), and a variety of public agency, nonprofit, and employer partners focused on reducing recidivism and transforming reentry employment outcomes and transitional support.

Over a 36 month period, Persevere Works will provide expanded services for 130 individuals in Persevere’s technology employment preparation and placement program at Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center and Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, providing both pre- and post-release services with a dual emphasis on technology employment placement and retention and the provision of a coordinated continuum of services. Project components include: 1) Individualized and coordinated reentry case management (pre- and post-release), focused on addressing assessed criminogenic needs, including needs associated with job success, coordinating with existing services, and integrating processes to eliminate duplication and maximize success; 2) Career readiness and essential skills instruction and mentoring (pre- and post-release), incorporating job readiness assessments and targeting skills specifically related to employment in the technology industry as well as general career readiness skills; 3) Job placement and support (post-release), including transitional jobs, such as on-the-job training (OJT), work experience, pre-apprenticeships, and apprenticeships; 4) Access to alternate pathways to employment (post-release) for those who need a non-technology route; 5) Employer engagement and support (pre-post-release); and 6) Long-term (at least 1 year) support and follow-up (post-release).

Persevere Works seeks priority consideration for Priority 1A, documented on pages 15 and 15 of the proposal narrative, and all four of the Category 2 program specific priorities. These are addressed in the narrative on the following pages:

Provide an assessment of local demand for employees in the geographic areas to which incarcerated individuals are likely to return, and job-training grants that look at the local labor markets – Pages 1, 4, 13, 16
Conduct individualized reentry career planning – 4, 6, 8, 16, 19
Connections to employers in the local community – 5, 7, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20
Track and monitor employment outcomes – 7, 9, 10, 17, 20