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More States Consider Automatic Criminal Record Expungement

Kristian Hernández

May 25, 2021 |

Stateline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

At least 11 states have enacted laws that automatically seal certain criminal records, to help people find jobs and housing without long-ago mistakes posing unfair obstacles. Pennsylvania's 2019 law has helped an estimated 1 million people. Debates and criticisms focus on safety concerns; whether to grant law enforcement officials access to sealed records; and the limits of such protections based on types of crimes and how long ago they were committed. When expungement isn't automatic, the cost and complexity of applying for help can be so daunting that few manage to win a second chance.

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Clubhouse Atlanta: Combatting Unemployment Through Community-Based Approach

Mia Watson

April 08, 2021 |

Grady Newsource |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

Clubhouse Atlanta provides "transitional employment" services to people whose mental health poses obstacles to finding and keeping a job. Clubhouse staff serve as intermediaries with employers, not only asking employers to hire Clubhouse members but also learning the job requirements in order to train the members themselves. Staff also fill in for members if they are out sick. By relieving employers of the risks of an unreliable or hard-to-train employee, the Clubhouse has helped members find jobs that can lead to a more stable, productive life.

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What one county agency is doing to keep its employees whole

Cheryl Splain

March 26, 2021 |

Knox Pages |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Knox County, Ohio

To help address burnout for child welfare workers in Knox County, Ohio, Knox County Job & Family Services has launched a two-pronged approach that aims to offer wellbeing services to employees. Although the Covid pandemic impeded the rollout of these self-care services and resources, feedback has been positive.

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Hopeworks expands its outreach to support small businesses and fight regional poverty

Courtney Duchene

March 17, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Camden, New Jersey

Hopeworks is providing a paid job training program along with internship and employment opportunities in any of three businesses owned by the nonprofit. Hopeworks also provides living arrangements in a residential program where students, alumni, and interns can all live together. The nonprofit adopted a trauma-informed approach that allows participants to learn healthy coping mechanisms.

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How unemployed Californians launched new careers in a pandemic with 9 weeks of training

Jeong Park

February 02, 2021 |

Sacramento Bee |

Multi-Media |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Sacramento, California

Digital Upskill Sacramento is providing 9-week paid training sessions to participants who want to enter the tech industry. The program is allowing people who didn’t have the time, resources, or opportunity before to get hands-on training in addition to potential employment opportunities. This initiative is a result of a collaboration between several organizations and funding from the city. The funds were allotted for job training in growing industries, especially as the pandemic resulted in the loss of many jobs.

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How Tulsa Is Reconnecting Immigrants and Refugees to High-Skill Careers

Kristi Eaton

December 22, 2020 |

Next City |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Skilled immigrants are better able to capitalize on their education and work experience with some help. Initiatives in Massachusetts and Oklahoma aim to help immigrants and refugees navigate complicated higher education systems to better match their previous education with credits in American universities. These programs also help them recognize cultural differences that could affect their job search in addition to increasing “cultural competency” for employers.

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Could matching skilled immigrants with employers help fill the gaps in Sweden's workforce?

Léopold Salzenstein

December 07, 2020 |

The Local |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Sweden

MatchIT helps prepare skilled immigrants for jobs in fields where Sweden has a shortage of labor. Highly educated immigrants are provided with a 22-week training in programming skills, Swedish language classes, and 10-week internships. The program is aimed at filling a need in Sweden while helping immigrants better integrate into a xenophobic society.

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From prison to star employee

Jo Mathys

November 17, 2020 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Frustrated by a tight labor market, two locally owned Grand Rapids employers discovered the virtues – economic, not just moral – of hiring formerly incarcerated people, whose gratitude for an opportunity translated into excellent performance and less risk of adding to rapid turnover. The employers helped guarantee success by paying for support services that made post-prison transitions easier. The employers then talked hundreds of other local employers into doing the same. Besides providing a business advantage, the program changes lives and is evidently contributing to much lower rates of recidivism.

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Bus Stop Shakespeare

Dorota Salus

October 26, 2020 |

Transitions Online |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Poland, Gdansk

A program at the Gdansk Shakespeare Theater in Poland is creating job opportunities for people with Down syndrome after partnering with the city and a local foundation that supports job training and coaching for special-needs individuals. The project has not just benefited the participants – patrons of the company as well as other businesses are realizing "that people with Down syndrome who have the appropriate skills can prove themselves at work."

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Brokering peace on the South Side

Antonia Hylton

September 28, 2020 |

NBC News |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Outreach workers with CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny) in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood are paid under a city grant to de-escalate and mediate disputes among the same gangs that some of the workers once belonged to. Able to win the trust of people who distrust the police, CRED's violence prevention workers also provide therapy to trauma victims and job development help, in order to address the underlying causes of violence in a neighborhood where a lack of hope can breed a lack of respect for others' lives. Fatal shootings in Roseland are down by one-third while up elsewhere in Chicago.

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