Corrections – Workforce Partnership & Prison to Employment Initiative

California releases approximately 40,000 people from the state prison system each year, many of whom have received in-prison job-training services such as Career Technical Education (CTE) training or have participated in programs operated by the California Prison Industry Authority (CalPIA). Concurrently, California manages federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds through its State Plan, developed by the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) and implemented by local workforce development boards across the state.

As part of efforts to improve California’s criminal and juvenile justice systems and reduce recidivism through increased rehabilitation, the CWDB, CDCR, and CalPIA finalized a partnership agreement which has been included in the state’s 2020-2023 Unified Strategic Workforce Development Plan.

The Corrections-Workforce partnership agreement links education, job training, and work experience in prison to post-release jobs by fostering a system of coordinated service delivery to a population that faces a variety of barriers. It serves as a blueprint for building local and regional partnerships to improve labor market outcomes and reduce recidivism.

The partnership agreement informs policies specific to California’s 15 Regional Planning Units, 45 Local Workforce Development Boards, and 200 contracted America’s Job Centers of California (AJCCs), and how they can serve the state’s formerly incarcerated and justice-involved population.

P2E Grant Administration Guide

Webinar
P2E 2.0 Orientation

• P2E 2.0 Orientation – Video Recording
• P2E 2.0 Orientation – Presentation Slides

CWDB State-Funded CalJOBS Data Guide (includes P2E projects)

Data Reporting Office Hour Sessions

• Grant Rollout Q&A as of June 14, 2023

Webinars
P2E Data Reporting Webinar – September 27, 2019

• P2E Data Reporting Webinar – Presentation
• P2E Data Reporting Webinar – Audio
• P2E Data Reporting Webinar – Q&A

P2E Data Reporting Webinar – January 16, 2020

• CALPIA Webinar Presentation
• CALPIA Webinar Presentation (accessible)

P2E CalJOBS Trainings

• P2E CalJOBS Part 1 (accessible).pdf
• P2E CalJOBS Part 1.pdf
• P2E CalJOBS Part 2A (accessible).pdf
• P2E CalJOBS Part 2A.pdf
• P2E CalJOBS Part 2B (accessible).pdf
• P2E CalJOBS Part 2B.pdf
• P2E CalJOBS Part 3 (accessible).pdf
• P2E CalJOBS Part 3.pdf

In 2018, the California legislature appropriated state general funds for the Prison to Employment Initiative (P2E) to be administered by the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB). Workforce service providers across California use P2E funds for the integration of workforce, reentry services, and supportive services, paving a pathway towards employment and away from recidivism for the formerly incarcerated and justice-involved population. 

As of April 2022, P2E funds have been used to serve over 5,730 formerly-incarcerated and justice-involved individuals statewide.

In the summer of 2022, CWDB announced the availability of another round of implementation to continue to serve the formerly incarcerated and other justice-involved individuals in California by providing training, education & career opportunities and supportive services to ensure individuals receive the necessary resources & supports for success in attaining permanent employment.

The California Workforce Development Board is pleased to announce the awards for the Prison to Employment (P2E) 2.0 initiative, funded by the California State general funds.

See See full announcement here

The interim report for Evaluation of Prison to Employment Initiative (Round One) is available at the following link: Prison to Employment Interim Report.

Secretary of the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency, Natalie Palugyai’s opening remarks at the 2022 Prison to Employment Summit.

On Tuesday, March 1, 2022 the California Workforce Development Board hosted the Prison to Employment Summit. The digital summit brought together a diverse group of practitioners from across California, including representatives of local workforce development boards, state agencies, and community partners, who shared and discussed lessons learned from the first round of state investment in serving the formerly incarcerated Justice Involved population.

Prison to Employment Summit Page

Data Sources for Corrections-Workforce Plans

As part of the Corrections-Workforce Partnership and Prison to Employment Initiative, Regional Planning Units are being asked to include information about the size and demographics of the formerly incarcerated and justice involved populations in their region. The data sources below provide a useful baseline for better understanding the make-up of these populations at the state, region, and county levels.

*Arrests are a distinct metric from justice-involved population counts and the two datasets do not necessarily correlate to one another; however this data can be used to approximate demographic breakdowns if RPUs are unable to obtain more detailed demographic data from their corrections partners.

Corrections-Workforce Research Library

The CWDB has compiled the below publications and studies for workforce professionals seeking additional resources on how to serve the formerly incarcerated. These publications are authored and published by external organizations and are provided for reference purposes only.

The CWDB issued draft Regional and Local Planning Guidance spelling out new planning requirements in the spring of 2018, and final guidance was issued through WSD18-01 on July 27, 2018.”