ERA assists incarcerated females in their successful reintegration into the community by assessing their barriers to successful reentry; connecting them to appropriate services to address those barriers; helping them prepare for, find and remain in jobs; and providing them with female volunteers who serve as their Life Guide or Mentor both pre-release and post release from prison. ERA provides the following post release services to program participants:
Employment counseling: Initial orientation sessions are held with each client to discuss program requirements,
to evaluate the need for additional training and educational assistance, and to collect demographic and other pertinent data.
Follow-up sessions are held as needed to review strengths and discuss areas for improvement and to connect clients with
valuable resources and referrals.
Document preparation: A resume and Letter of Explanation (LOE) are developed for each ERA client. Following the initial
employment counseling session, additional face-to-face or telephone meetings are held with each client to finalize resumes and
other documents that are needed before a job search begins.
Employability skills training: Attendance at a 30-hour group workshop is required for each ERA client. The workshop includes
both informational and interactive modules on job readiness skills and strategies needed to apply and interview for jobs,
strategies for job retention and tools for career
advancement.
Post employment support: Following a job placement, each ERA client is evaluated on six dimensions of behavior related to her
job performance at periodic intervals for one year post employment.
Mentoring support: Each ERA client is assigned to a mentor who provides one-on-one mentoring for at least eight months post
release.
Life skills training: ERA currently offers the following life skills workshops to enable its clients to develop healthy life
skills: Computer Training; Finanicial Economic Empowerment; and Social Interactions and Conflict Resolution
|
|