Diversion Hub Workforce Support Program

Oklahoma County Diversion Hub is partnering with Oklahoma County Detention Center and the Oklahoma County Public Defender’s Office to create a Workforce Support Program (WSP), which will improve long-term employment outcomes for individuals reentering the community from incarceration. The project will create a Fair Chance Opportunity pathway that uses evidence-based interventions, reduces recidivism, and promotes success and well-being in individuals impacted by incarceration. The WSP will serve 500 individuals during the grant period and reduce recidivism among program participants by one third over the countywide jail rebooking rate of 45%. Grant funds will be used to hire an Employment Coordinator, Employment Navigator, and Assistant Public Defender. The primary subrecipient is the Public Defender’s Office, with additional funds dedicated to annual evaluations. The service area is Oklahoma County, Oklahoma (population 808,866).
    Primary activities will include the development and implementation of a comprehensive employment pathway for justice-impacted individuals reintegrating into the community; the use of market labor analyses to guide employment; the development of community employer relationships; the implementation of best practices from the Employer-Driven Employment Model for Justice-Involved Individuals; and the reduction in legal barriers, including the resolution of warrants, that prevent individuals from obtaining and maintaining stable employment. Participants will concurrently receive wraparound case management while working with the employment team to identify realistic and in-demand career tracks, develop their job skills, and find long-term employment that pays a living wage.
    In addition to the creation of an Action Plan, project deliverables include 500 clients served with employment navigation and 250 clients placed into career-focused employment, with outcomes tracked at intervals of 3, 6, and 12 months; 250 clients served with assistance resolving legal barriers to employment; 250 clients federally bonded; Letters of Intent garnered from community employers; and a written team manual that incorporates workforce analyses into employment navigation services. The WSP will reduce recidivism by at least 15%, generating cost savings, increasing public safety, and improving life outcomes for individuals reentering the community from a period of incarceration in the county jail.