The success of NVTI's Incarcerated Veterans' Training Program (IVTP) last year has spawned a new NVTI training course - Job Coaching for Offender Populations, or JCOP, a one-day training designed to assist placement/retention specialists with the numerous barriers that offenders face as they attempt to reintegrate back into their communities.

Many employers express reluctance to hire applicants with criminal records and that presents its' own challenges. "JCOP will provide a broad based understanding for not only DVOPs, but also other workforce agency staff that are tasked with finding suitable employment opportunities for the formerly incarcerated," said Bret Anderson, IVTP project lead trainer. "Taking into account that more and more placement specialist are seeing the formerly incarcerated at their desks, we felt the content of how to write resumes, how to fill out job applications, and how to answer interview questions is a core knowledge base for these folks," Anderson added.

Offenders face several barriers as they reintegrate back to their communities. The two most difficult of these barriers is their lack of secure housing and their lack of knowledge about the work world. The reality of more ex-offenders leaving prison in the coming years is going to play a significant factor in the job market of the future. Helping them find gainful employment will help to keep them working and out of prison for good.

Since 1987 the number of offenders being released from prison has risen sharply. In fact, between 1987 and 1999 the rate of offenders being released from prison has doubled from approximately 290,000 in 1987 to almost 600,000 in 1999. (Bureau of Justice)

Resources:
JCOP Course Description