Project Reconnect

The Workforce Development Board’s Reconnect project will provide education and training to inmates at the Oneida County Jail in Central New York State with a focus on underrepresented and historically underserved populations, by beginning an aggressive continuum of education and training activities at the Oneida County Jail to increase the employment success for individuals at the jail (sentences under 1 year). Through this project, offenders will leave the facility with an educational plan that leads to a career pathway to provide good-paying entry jobs and careers in high-growth sectors. Reconnect is designed to connect offenders at the Oneida County Correctional Facility with training and employment opportunities that allow offenders to move seamlessly into jobs and programs that can link them to manufacturing and technology sector careers. This project embraces the Fair Chance philosophy by giving individuals who are under-represented in the manufacturing sector – regardless of their justice system interaction – a start at the education needed to enter the region’s growing manufacturing sector, while also allowing offenders to choose other paths that may suit their career preferences. This project meets both public safety and economic development needs in Oneida County,  NY, a region with strong advanced and metals manufacturing clusters in an overall struggling economy.
The WDB will partner with Mohawk Valley Community College, which has experience offering jail and prison programming, to provide instruction at the jail in programs that lead to fast attachment to the workforce. Instruction will link to existing Cognitive Behavioral Intervention programs the WDB offers in the jail and case management for ex-offenders in the community. MVCC will adapt programs in which hands-on components are required so that inmates can complete academic portions of courses in jail and finish after release.
The project will screen 350 people and serve 250. Of the 250 people served, 240 will connect with the WDB's post-release programming to continue their re-entry journey, 225 will continue their education post-release, 200 will achieve a credential in their targeted program, and 190 will be employed. Of the 190 employed, 180 will be retained through 90 days of employment.