Kaptur Praises $1.3 Million in Job Training Funds to Toledo’s Goodwill Industries of Northwest Ohio
July 1, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC– Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) praised the recent announcement by the federal Department of Labor that Toledo’s Goodwill Industries of Northwest Ohio will receive $1,359,812 in ‘Training to Work’ funds. These funds will provide local area residents released from incarceration and in a state or local work-release program the education, training and workforce skills-training, to produce skilled workers who meet the needs of local employers.
Toledo’s Goodwill Industries was one of sixteen programs selected nationally.
“The ‘Training to Work 3- Adult Reentry’ grant is a solution to the growing economic problem of poverty and recidivism in Northwest Ohio,” said Bob Huber, President and Chief Executive Officer of Goodwill Industries of Northwest Ohio, Inc. “Through this investment, Goodwill will collaborate with local employers, training providers, and workforce development organizations to empower returning citizens with vocational training with in-demand professions in the region.”
The goal of the ‘Training to Work’ program is to reduce the high rate of recidivism of those who serve time in state or federal prison. Currently, four in ten inmates return to prison within three years of release. A 2013 comprehensive study by the Rand Corporation reported that “prison inmates who receive general education and vocational training are significantly less likely to return to prison after release and are more likely to find employment than peers who do not receive such opportunities.”
“This has all the potential of a win-win-win,” said Kaptur. “By providing job and skills training this program has the potential to reduce the high costs of incarceration, reduce future criminal activity, and offer those who served their time a second chance become active members of their communities.”
The 2013 Rand Corporation report offered promise for job training programs, such as the Toledo Goodwill Industries program: “Employment after release was 13 percent higher among prisoners who participated in either academic or vocational education programs than those who did not. Those who participated in vocational training were 28 percent more likely to be employed after release from prison than who did not receive such training.”
Kaptur is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, which has oversight over the federal Department of Labor and its job-training programs.
Background from the federal Department of Labor (https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20160624) :
Training to Work
The program will award grants totaling $21.2 million to 16 organizations to serve individuals in high-poverty and high-crime areas, including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-designated Promise Zones, which have a large proportion of citizens returning from incarceration and typically experience high rates of recidivism. These grants offer returning citizens in a state or local work release program an opportunity to participate in a career pathway program that defines and maps out a sequence of education, training and workforce skills training resulting in skilled workers that meets the needs of local employers. Additionally, these programs will provide services such as case management, mentoring, and follow-up services.
| Training to Work Grantees | City | State | Amount |
| The Dannon Project | Birmingham | Ala. | $1,360,000 |
| Volunteers of America of Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Calif. | $1,360,000 |
| OIC of Broward, dba OIC of South Florida | Ft. Lauderdale | Fla. | $1,360,000 |
| Tampa Bay Academy of Hope Inc. | Tampa | Fla. | $1,360,000 |
| Emerson Park Development Corp. | East St. Louis | Ill. | $1,357,275 |
| Workforce Inc. | Indianapolis | Ind. | $1,360,000 |
| Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids Inc. | Grandville | Mich. | $1,200,000 |
| Fathers` Support Center Saint Louis Inc. | St. Louis | Mo. | $1,359,872 |
| Foundation for an Independent Tomorrow | Las Vegas | Nev. | $1,360,000 |
| Structured Employment Economic Development Corp. | New York | N.Y. | $1,360,000 |
| PathStone Corp. | Rochester | N.Y. | $1,000,000 |
| Greater Durham Workforce Development Board | Durham | N.C. | $1,360,000 |
| The RIDGE Project Inc. | McClure | Ohio | $1,360,000 |
| Goodwill Industries of Northwest Ohio Inc. | Toledo | Ohio | $1,359,812 |
| TRWIB Inc. (Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board) | Pittsburgh | Pa. | $1,358,939 |
| SER - Jobs for Progress of the Texas Gulf Coast Inc. | Houston | Texas | $1,359,995 |
Background: