Smart Justice Workforce Development Reentry Program

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

According to the Maricopa county Adult Probation Department (APD), more than 41% of the adult probationers in Maricopa County, AZ are unemployed. For an individual's successful reentry, research supports assessing criminogenic needs and targeting identified needs in treatment. Low levels of education, vocational and financial achievement are a dynamic factor that is correlated with criminal activity. People with justice involvement face multiple challenges when trying to establish stability to avoid re-offending. Furthermore, many employers are reluctant to consider a person with a criminal background due to the perceived risk of loss and lack of trustworthiness. So, you are justice involved. You have fines and fees to pay. You face multiple barriers in finding gainful employment. What do you do? The Maricopa County Human Services Department (HSD) created the HSD Smart Justice Workforce Development Reentry Program (HSD Smart Justice Program) to address these dynamic factors through training, education and targeted employment programing. Additionally, HSD has partnered with APD and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) to provide the services, at no additional cost, where the clients are: in jail and at probation sites. This HSD Smart Justice Program takes employment services where they are needed and advocates for a population that has long faced employment barriers.