| |
| Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #495 |
| Jobs for FLDOC Vo-tech Trainees (Pilot Program) |
| |
| Requester: |
John L. White & Scott Molitor |
Organization: |
The Next Step, Inc. / Protocol Marketing, Merritt Island |
| |
| Project Title: |
Jobs for FLDOC Vo-tech Trainees (Pilot Program) |
Date Submitted |
1/13/2006 9:27:35 AM |
| |
| Sponsors: |
Haridopolos |
| |
| Statewide Interest: |
| The Florida DOC releases 2200-2300 felons back into communities across our state who have been vo-tech trained while in custody at taxpayer expense. As the statute stipulates, this service is one of "statewide interest" in that every community in Florida shares the challenge of working to provide decent employment for this pool as an issue of:
► public safety;
► to help ensure that the taxpayer money spent on training these felons is well
spent;
► to foster effective programs to help control the immense economic and social
costs of recidivism.
|
| |
| Recipient: |
The Next Step, Inc |
|
Contact: |
John L. White |
|
| |
255 N. Sykes Creek Parkway |
|
Contact Phone: |
(913) 307-0403 |
|
| |
Merritt Island 32953 |
|
Contact email: |
jwhite@thenextstep99.com |
| |
| Counties: |
Brevard, Indian River, Orange, Osceola, St. Lucie |
| |
| Gov't Entity: |
|
Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): |
Yes |
| |
| Project Description: |
| Using our innovative and high-tech approach, we can provide top-notch job links to all of these. We have broad experience in this specialized field, and the pilot we propose will utilize it toward:
� Providing released FLDOC felons with a genuine opportunity for decent post-custody employment, making maximum use of the effort and money you've spent trying to get them "work ready."
� Including an effective job-placement component in your education/vo-tech programs makes enrolling in them more desirable to the inmates, and that interest translates to these programs being more useful to corrections staff as a management tool.
� Gathering the information and preparing the paperwork required to qualify candidate as eligible for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit ("WOTC") (P.L. 104-88);
� Issuing a WOTC certification to be mailed to candidate before candidate leaves custody or to wherever candidate or FLDOC directs. This explains the WOTC to all potential employers.
� Assisting employers considering our candidates with the steps necessary to gain the WOTC money benefit for being willing to take the chance on an ex-offender.
� Placing the candidate's name, date of work availability, and WOTC eligibility status in a database that is marketed directly to employers in the geographical area to which candidate is returning.
� Substantially reducing the overall costs of operating the FLDOC.
� Making Florida a better state for all concerned:
►citizens and taxpayers;
►both in-custody and post-custody corrections staff (parole/probation);
►ex-offenders and their families.
We have developed approaches that enable us to link thousands of employers doing business in Florida-employers willing to consider hiring ex-offenders, particularly those with identifiable skills or training such as those coming out of your vocational education courses. These are employers whom the ex-offenders or corrections and probation and parole staff will simply never be able to reach.
Our ideal scenario is to start with a three-year pilot program including all of the FLDOC vocational education graduates which will provide us with a large enough pool of candidates to offer the essential advantages of scale. With the size of your pool, the cost per candidate is approximately $450.00 , in exchange for which:
We will establish the work skills, availability and suitable employability of the candidate in advance of their release .
We will guarantee 3-5 minimum quality interviews , six viable leads , or a combination of both for each Florida offender released into the program. The interviews and leads will be tied (via Zip Code and/or Area Code) to the ex-offenders' locale, date of availability, skills, experience, and interests, with employers willing to consider hiring the ex-offender despite the felony conviction. Moreover, in all cases we commit to following-up with all potential employers to maximize the candidate's chance of being hired, and counseling client on mistakes and how to improve their presentations to successfully land the opening.
Other features:
Per your request and directions, the interview schedule can also be provided to the probation and parole staff before the offender is released as an early aid to supervision tool.
If requested, our job placement specialists will be available for conferencing and interfacing as needed with post-custody supervisory staff (parole/probation) on the nettlesome problem of helping ex-offenders find work. We'll take care of all the communications and reporting needs on the vital issue of an ex-offender's job search after release, a great help to the burdened supervisory staff faced with high levels of incarceration and the inevitable high levels of post-custody releasees.
We are offering a unique and consummate program that could be a major benefit to Florida. If you implement this solution to one of your most difficult problems, you will need to defend its cost-effectiveness. We understand that requirement and will work with you toward that purpose.
|
| |
| Is this a project related to a federal or state declared disaster? |
No |
| |
| Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
| Our pilot is committed to effectively assist vo-tech trainees with potential employers, and to credibly and understandably report its results. This commitment includes but is not limited to reporting:
� The numbers of job placements successfully accomplished, including income and job longevity;
� The nature and types of jobs actually obtained by candidates;
� Depending on the availability of the data, we can track Florida taxes, fines, restitution and even child support paid by those in the program to help underwrite its financial efficacy;
� Depending on the availability of the data, we will provide percentages of re-offenses/recidivism committed by the pool of those served under the agreement, and compare them to Florida's overall released felon recidivism rates to provide an accurate and businesslike costs/savings analysis for each year of the pilot.
|
| |
| Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$1,000,000 |
| |
| Total cost of the project: |
$1,000,000 |
| |
| Request has been made to fund: |
Operations |
| |
| What type of match exists for this project? |
None |
| |
Cash Amount |
$ |
|
| |
| Was this project previously funded by the state? |
|
No |
| |
| Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
|
Yes |
|
Amount: |
$1,000,000 |
To Fund: |
Operations |
| |
| Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
|
Yes |
| |
Agency |
Corrections, Department Of |
| |
| Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
No |
| |
| Is there a documented need for this project? |
Yes |
| |
Documentation: |
FLDOC included the 52 Transitional Service Officers in their FY 03-04 request |
| |
| Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
|
Yes |
| |
Hearing Body: |
Brevard County Delegation |
| |
Hearing Meeting Date: |
11/30/2005 |
| |
| Is this a water project as described in Section 403.885, Laws of Florida? |
|
No |
