On March 1, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability of $48 million in funding for the Pathway 4 Home Grants, which provides training and employment services to incarcerated individuals before their release from county or local jails.

Authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Pathway 4 Home Grants fund reentry services for incarcerated people whose release is scheduled within 20 to 270 days from the time they enroll in the program. Serving adults convicted under federal, state or local law, the grants provide comprehensive services post-release, in addition to job training services.

DOL’s Employee and Training Administration (ETA) will award up to 15 grant projects – each ranging from $1 million to $4 million – to provide returning citizens with legal assistance, counseling, job search strategies and other foundational skills prior to release and to provide apprenticeships, occupational training that leads to industry-recognized credentials and supportive services once they return to their communities. These grants will have a 3- to 6-month planning period, a 24- to 27-month period of employment and training services, and 12 months of follow-up services for a total of 42-months grant performance period.

The design of the Pathway 4 Home Grants program is modeled off of findings of the Linking Employment Activities Pre-Release (LEAP) implementation study/pilot program. Launched in 2015, DOL awarded LEAP grants to 20 local workforce development boards to create jail-based American Job Centers to support the successful reentry of participants. While the initiative concluded in 2017, counties can reference DOL’s implementation study for lessons learned from the program.

Pathway 4 Home Grants are designed to help eliminate the time gap between release from prison and enrollment into a workforce development reentry program that leads to skills-based employment. Applications will close at 11:59pm on April 23, 2023. Counties can apply here.

Additional Resources

• Understanding the DOL Grant Process
• Guide to DOL Reentry Grant Opportunities
• Prospective Applicant Webcast for the Pathway Home 4 Reentry Grant Funding Opportunity Webinar