Congresswoman Barbara Lee Announces 900K Youth Re-entry Grant
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2013
Contact: Katherine Jolly (510) 763-0370
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Announces 900K Youth Re-entry Grant
Oakland, CA – Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) announced a $895,950 federal Face Forward-Serving Juvenile Offenders grant through the U.S. Department of Labor to Safe Passages, an Oakland community organization. These funds will be used for Safe Passages’ Elev8 Law and Social Justice Career Pathway Project which aims to improve employment opportunities for youth transitioning out of the criminal justice system.
“I am pleased that Safe Passages was selected for this competitive funding to provide comprehensive re-entry services to young adults,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “These types of investments in our youth are critical to breaking the cycle of violence and crime by providing young people tools to build productive and prosperous lives. I am committed to continuing the fight to bring all federal resources available to address crime and improve public safety here in Oakland and in the East Bay.”
Today’s announcement is part of $26.6 million in 28 Face Forward-Serving Juvenile Offenders grant awards of up to $1 million. The purpose of these grants is to improve the long-term labor market prospects of court-involved youth prior to adjudication. These grants will focus on giving youth a chance to succeed in the workplace by evading the stigma of having a juvenile record using diversion and/or record expungement strategies. The Face Forward grants give organizations the opportunity to implement programs that address this issue while developing skills and opportunities for youth.
Safe Passages will provide diversion and/or expungement case management, mentoring, education, training leading to industry-recognized credentials for in-demand industries and occupations in the state or local area, service-learning, workforce activities, and post-program support and follow-up services.
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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee is Chair of Democratic Whip Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity, Co-Chair of the Out of Poverty Caucus, and Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on Poverty and Economy. Her “Half-in-Ten” legislation HR 2182 seeks to halve the number of Americans living in poverty through inter-agency collaboration and increased Congressional oversight.