Fayette County Pennsylvania Reentry Education Program

Fayette County Community Action Agency (FCCAA) requests funding to establish an Improving Reentry Education Outcomes Program designed to serve incarcerated individuals at the newly constructed Fayette County Jail in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The jail is a county-owned and operated facility that houses up to 333 individuals awaiting trial, those serving a sentence of two years or less or those who violate terms of their parole or probation; as of submission, 206 incarcerated individuals were residing at the jail. The new jail has reinvigorated reentry planning in Fayette County, a county plagued by generational poverty and imprisonments; the Community Reentry Coalition (CRC) has been relaunched with FCCAA as a key partner helping to lead strategic planning and programming efforts focused on connecting individuals to fair chance opportunities.
The proposed new program is designed to serve an average of 200 (16.6 per month) individuals each year. These individuals will meet with a proposed Career Pathways Counselor at least one time to determine interests in developing the career-focused aspects of their reentry plan; 150 (12.5 new per month) of these individuals will engage in career-focused reentry planning; 50 (4.16 new per month) of these individuals will meet the 12-hour enrollment threshold in the proposed Adult Education Program; 75 (6.25 new per month) of these individuals will engage in additional educational activities.
These activities will be supplemented by existing jail reentry educational programs that include evidence-based IGNITE® (Inmate Growth Naturally Intentionally Through Growth Education) sponsored by the National Sherrif’s Association along with two jail contractors who offer basic certifications in custodial work and food preparation and safety.