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Chicago-based Safer Foundation,
began operating in 1972 and is
nationally known for its efforts to reduce recidivism through job
readiness training, placement and retention of persons with criminal
records. Safer provides clients with a range of direct
service supports to that enhance their capacities to find and retain
employment.
The Safer Foundation is a core member of the Fathers, Families and
Healthy Communities collaborative that the Egan Center has been
facilitating over the past six years. For its Job Preparation and
Community-based Job Placement Initiative, Safer has contracted the
Egan Urban Center to conduct an environmental scan of 15 Illinois counties in
three regions (Central, Southern and Northern). The primary goal is to identify the resources
available to serve the needs of the formally incarcerated and their families. The Scan will inform Safer’s effort to design
and deliver a statewide post-release job-related initiative. The Scan Analysis
includes but may not be limited to:
- Employment
sources: geographic locations, types of jobs available and
skill level requirements, industry hiring practices, promising
industrial sectors for ex-offenders, opportunities for
self-employment
- Employment
barriers: transportation, affordable housing, hiring
policies
- Job training
providers
- Supportive
services: mental health, substance abuse counseling, family
counseling, cooperating service provider networks
Safer will compare
this information with the employee characteristics it gathers to
help match employee's skills and employer's needs, to inform content of the job readiness initiative.
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