Advantages include well-documented backgrounds, high motivation
Source: Las Vegas Review Journal (click here for original story)
By Art Nadler
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, no one has to explain to someone who has a job that if they lose it, finding another one — any job — in this current economy would be nothing short of trying to win the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. And that’s even if you agree to buy a couple dozen of their magazines for the next five years.
Now how would you like to go up against those odds if you’re an ex-felon?
It’s tough finding a job right now, even if you have a clean record and tons of experience. And that’s why the Nevada Department of Corrections and several nonprofit organizations in Southern Nevada have stepped up to the plate to help shoulder those who have gone astray of the law to become dutifully employed individuals again.
The department’s Casa Grande Transitional Center, 3955 W. Russell Road in Las Vegas, opened its doors in December 2005 to house nonviolent, non-sex-crime inmates and parolees on their way to becoming mainstreamed back into society. The center is the focal point of job training for ex-felons.
Workforce Connections, a Department of Labor workforce investment board, currently offers a six-hour-day, four-week program to help ex-felons learn the necessary skills to find employment. According to Jeannie Kuennen, program coordinator, it has placed 71 individuals in jobs since last December with 41 currently on a waiting list.
“We have employers who are willing to give them a chance, but they have to adhere to a certain level of trust with us before we will help them,” said Kuennen of the ex-felons. “There is no time limit to find them employment once they enter our program. We saw the need because there are specific barriers for ex-felons.” Full story
