County Probation Launches Prison to Employment Program

Source: Santa Barbara County Probation Department

On Tuesday, October 6, 2020, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved a contract to provide employment development and subsidized employment services to justice involved individuals on probation.  The Santa Barbara County Probation Department has partnered with the Workforce Development Board (WDB), Department of Social Services (DSS), and Goodwill Industries to increase employment opportunities through the Prison to Employment (P2E) program.

The WDB and Probation entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a public/private collaboration to address the employment needs of unemployed and underemployed adults who are under probation supervision in Santa Barbara County.  Through grant funding provided by DSS and WDB, Probation will enter into an Agreement with Goodwill Industries to implement the P2E program.

The P2E program will strengthen linkages between the state workforce and corrections systems in order to improve the process by which formerly incarcerated and justice-involved individuals reenter society and the labor force by providing direct and supportive services.  P2E services are targeted to individuals reentering our communities from local jails and state prisons and are intended to improve employment outcomes and reduce recidivism for the supervised populations through the creative and effective alignment of training, education, and other services, with the industries and employers driving regional employment.

Clients will be identified at the Probation Report and Resource Centers, complete a job readiness class, and referred to the P2E program.   Program operation will include outreach, intake assessment, enrollment, subsidized employment and intensive career coaching (case management), often need for justice involved individuals to move towards self-sufficiency.