Partners Employment Program

The purpose of this proposal is to improve employment outcomes by serving  individuals during incarceration and throughout their reentry into the Anchorage, Palmer, Wasilla, Eagle River, Seward and Kenai/Soldontna-area communities. This application proposes a suite of activities, programs, and transitional supports to accomplish this goal. The first objective is to identify and enroll incarcerated adults pre-release and begin service provision and case management while they are still incarcerated. Through a contracted agreement with the state correctional authority, the applicant organization will have access to the institutions and access to incarcerated individuals. Next, existing services will be expanded, including linking participants to employers, access to job readiness trainings, assessments, and individualized career planning. Another activity will be the provision of subsidies to participants while they are in job readiness training or certification programs. The applicant will also provide customized transitional support services including housing, recovery assistance, peer mentoring, support groups, culturally responsive programming, and other evidence-based practices. The applicant will work to remove barriers to employment like transportation and identification by providing bus passes, work clothing, and assistance obtaining State/Federal identification. Data will be collected in real-time in order to adapt and improve case management. The expected outcomes are that recidivism is reduced among those who participated, that the number of individuals attaining and retaining employment increases, and that more participants complete the program. The service area includes Anchorage, Alaska, the Mat Su Valley and the Kenai Penninsula. The intended beneficiaries are primarily those incarcerated or previously incarcerated individuals who participate.