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ERA was designed to serve the needs of women with conviction records or women fleeing abusive situations by offering supportive services surrounding job training and placement. The goal of ERA is to serve women in such a way that they are empowered to seek, obtain, and maintain gainful employment. A key aspect of the program is to become a significant part of the local service community by providing one of a myriad of services that at-risk females (i.e., females with a conviction history or female victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking) need as they safely and successfully re-enter society.
ERA provides the following services:
Employment counseling: Initial orientation sessions are held with each client
to determine program eligibility, 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), if
applicable, is 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 20-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.
Mentoring support: Following completion of the required employability
skills training workshop, each ERA client is assigned to a mentor who
provides at least monthly one-on-one mentoring prior to and for a minimum
of 6 to 12 months following a job placement.
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.
Life skills training: ERA offers a wide array of life skills workshops to enable
its clients to develop healthy life skills. See the LIfe Enrichment and Self
Empowerment (LESE) program for a current list of the workshops offered.
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ERA by the Numbers
(as of 6.30.11)
Years of Program Service: 4.5 years
Number of Client Intakes: 210
Number of Clients Lost to Follow-up: 58 (28%)
Nunber of Clients Terminated due to Noncompliance: 46 (22%)
Number of Clients Released after One Year
without a Job Placement: 18 (9%)
Number of Clients Released Following a Job Placement: 60 (29%)
Number of Active Clients: 28
Cumulative Number of Job Placements: 72
Cumulative Job Placement Rate: (72/106) 68%
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