Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the U.S. Department of Labor is awarding Coastal Counties Workforce Inc. (CCWI) a $500,000 grant to bolster pre-release employment programs for Maine inmates, providing them with constructive opportunities as they transition back into the workforce.  With this grant funding, CCWI will establish an American Job Center at the Cumberland County Jail, the largest jail in the state, in order to provide pre-release employment and career services to inmates.

“Too often, our system does not adequately address the barriers that inmates face as they reenter society,” said Senator Collins and King in a joint statement. “To help former inmates have a chance at success, we must be proactive and ensure that those in prison are given the right tools to return to our communities as productive members of society.  By establishing this Pre-Release Employment Project (PREP) at the Cumberland County Jail, CCWI will take a crucial step in developing inmates’ commitment to hard and honest work, while strengthening our skilled labor force and improving our employment rate in the process.”

In May, Senators King and Collins wrote a letter to the Department of Labor  expressing their support for CCWI’s grant application to establish PREP at the Cumberland County Jail.  The project is part of a broader funding initiative through Department of Labor’s “Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release” or “LEAP” program.  The goal of LEAP is to integrate correctional facilities and workforce development programs to create a support system for transitioning offenders and point them towards constructive careers.

CCWI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that oversees workforce system services for York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Waldo, and Knox counties.

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