Grant Brings Jobs For Parolees
East Palo Alto parolees could go to work on state highways next year, thanks to a $1.1 million employment grant from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The grant … will add a much-needed service to the city’s existing parolee re-entry program, Police Chief Ron Davis said. Lasting 14 months and in partnership with the state transportation department, the program will employ 20 parolees for a 90-day session whose main task will be cleaning state highways. They’ll work five days per week, eight hours per day and earn $10 an hour. The grant will pay for two field supervisors at $25 per hour as well. Candidates must also be enrolled in the re-entry program and reside in East Palo Alto. “The first thing these guys say when they walk through the door is ‘I need a job,’” [Program Director Bob] Hoover said. “This program will allow us to get them employment immediately. It’s something I’ve wanted since the program started.”
The program is based at the local nonprofit Free at Last, where the participants report for counseling and life skills classes several times per week. Many of them have started job training programs at JobTrain in neighboring Menlo Park, about 10 are working With the new project, Hoover said participants will be able to search for jobs while they’re working and even apply to the state transportation department after their three-month stint with Caltrans ends.full time and a handful are in school. The police department also makes routine house calls to keep track of the participants. Since the program launched in January, it’s seen about 100 referrals from state corrections and succeeded in bringing recidivism down by 40 percent below the state average, Hoover said.
More on this program from the Palo Alto News.