Maryland's Second Chance Desktop User Specialist Career Technology Program

The Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199) provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of incarcerated adults and juveniles who are released from prison, jail, and juvenile residential facilities and returning to communities. The Second Chance Act will help ensure that the transition individuals make from prison, jail, or juvenile residential facilities to the community is successful and promotes public safety. Section 115 of the Second Chance Act authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to make federal awards to states, units of local government, territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes to provide technology career training to persons confined in state prisons, local jails, and juvenile residential facilities.

The goal of the Second Chance Act Technology Careers Training Demonstration Projects for Incarcerated Adults and Juveniles is to increase the post-release employability of offenders in related technology-based jobs and career fields. The objective of the program is to establish and provide technology career training programs to train incarcerated adults and juveniles during the 3-year period before release from a prison, jail, or juvenile facility.

The grantee will use Second Chance Act funds to implement a Desktop User Specialist training program for incarcerated offenders. Funds will also be used to provide each student with effective follow-up services, including but not limited to, promoting job placement services, measuring employment outcomes, and, when possible, internships that provide offenders a way to transition from the institution to the community of work.

CA/NCF