Section 830.50  Required Program Activities

 

The Program creates career training programming at select DOC facilities. The main objective of the Program is to increase access to, and opportunities for, education, training, and support services to help returning residents succeed in the labor market, generally, and in the clean energy sector, specifically. After participants complete training at DOC facilities, the Program will continue to provide support to participants after release from custody as they prepare for and transition into employment or to another training program.  Grantee teams must:

 

a)         Coordinate with DOC to recruit and assess the eligibility of Program candidates, utilizing application and intake procedures developed by DCEO to enroll and orient participants to the training program.

 

b)         Provide training, certification preparation, job readiness, and skill development to program participants, utilizing the Clean Jobs Curriculum Framework for Returning Residents (described in subsection (j)) to prepare participants for entry-level clean energy jobs. The training will consist of a bridge program (Illinois essential employability skills and clean energy basics) and job-specific training options, selected by each grantee and based on local clean energy workforce needs.  Training must lead to certifications or credentials that prepare participants for employment.  At a minimum, all successful Program graduates must receive from the grantee team a graduation certificate, plus proof of all certifications or credentials earned during Program participation.  Consistent with DOC facility requirements, Program delivery methods must be flexible and interactive to improve accessibility and help participants overcome barriers that stand in the way of their participation or success. The entities providing the Program training must be approved to provide training services by all appropriate accrediting bodies. 

 

c)         Work in partnerships with entities that provide clean energy jobs, including businesses, nonprofits, and worker-owned cooperatives, to provide access to employment training, work-based learning, and hiring opportunities.

 

d)         Provide access to wrap-around and other supportive services to mitigate challenges participants may face in completing the training while in DOC custody and in gaining employment upon release from custody. Grantee teams may provide these services themselves, where feasible, or connect participants to other CEJA programs or to other workforce training programs in the State for support services upon release.  Following participant release, grantee teams will be responsible for providing participants with assistance in connecting with other workforce support services as needed.  Grantee teams must identify at least one economic development region in Illinois (see https://dceo.illinois.gov/smallbizassistance/regionspecificassistance.html) or one subregion in the Northeast Illinois region (Cook County; Southern suburbs: Will and Kankakee County; West and southwest suburbs: DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Grundy, and DeKalb Counties; Northern suburbs: Lake and McHenry County) in which the grantee team will provide supportive services to returning residents once they are released from DOC custody.  At a minimum, grantee teams shall provide or refer participants to the following support services as needed:

 

1)         Wrap-around Support Services:

 

A)        Referrals for health care, substance use treatment, housing or other needed assistance;

 

B)        Vital document preparation (e.g., social security card, a State identification card and cost to obtain a driver's license);

 

C)        Transportation and childcare costs incurred to utilize post-release support services or participate in additional CEJA workforce training programs;

 

D)        Emergency bill payments; and

 

E)        Expungement and other legal supports.

 

2)         Student Support Services:

 

A)                Tutoring, including extra help with reading, writing and basic arithmetic;

 

B)                Make-up classes;

 

C)                Re-testing;

 

D)                Educational enrichment, including printed materials that can be reviewed if participants are on lockdown at a correctional institution or facility; and

 

E)                 Technology assistance, including digital literacy.

 

3)         Transition Support Services:

 

A)                Mentoring and coaching;

 

B)                Job exploration, search and placement services;

 

C)                Resume writing and mock interviews;

 

D)                Job fairs with clean energy employers;

 

E)                 Follow-up support services for at least one year after job placement, as needed;

 

F)         Education or training costs associated with entering an apprenticeship program or employment; and

 

G)        Other wrap-around supportive services needed to obtain or retain employment.

 

e)         Track outcomes and identify participant needs to facilitate job placement and retention. Grantees will be required to provide long-term follow-up to track participant outcomes for at least the duration of each grantee's award. All new grantees will assume all existing Program participant follow-up responsibilities.

 

f)         Ensure that the selected Program Administrator delivers the following Program components:

 

1)         Coordinate with DOC to recruit participants and administer the program. The Program Administrators will be the DOC facility liaisons and will supervise the grantee team's delivery of the Program in the correctional facility.  DOC shall ensure that the wardens or superintendents of all correctional institutions and facilities visibly post information on the Program in an accessible manner for committed individuals.  Program Administrators will work with other CEJA program grantees and the CEJA regional administrators to ensure that the CEJA programs across the State are consistent and coordinated, and to refer participants to other CEJA programs upon release, as needed.  [20 ILCS 730/5-50(h)(2)(ii)]

 

2)         Partner with community-based organizations approved to provide industry-recognized credentials or education institutions to deliver the Program elements.

 

3)         Assist DCEO in creating and publishing a guidebook for implementing the Clean Jobs Curriculum Framework for Returning Residents in correctional facilities, including resources for Program graduates.

 

4)         Assist Program participants in achieving employment and oversee transition services for program graduates, helping them attain and retain employment. To accomplish this goal, the Program Administrator shall organize at least one job fair at the relevant correctional institution or facility; engage in job placement discussions with clean energy employers, including those that have not formerly hired returning residents; establish partnerships with Illinois solar energy businesses and trade associations to identify solar employers that support and hire returning residents; and involve State agencies in finding employment in the clean energy and related sector industries for participants and graduates.

 

5)         Assist DCEO in creating, publishing and updating, as required by DCEO, an employer "Hiring Returning Residents" handbook. 

 

6)         Assist the grantee team to engage with potential employers. The focus will be to:

 

A)        promote company policies that support hiring and retaining returning residents; and

 

B)        facilitate job placement.

 

7)         Engage in Program data tracking and reporting to DCEO on performance measures. Program Administrators will also use this data to evaluate the Program and engage in continuous improvement.

 

g)         Collaborate and coordinate with DCEO as well as the grantees and administrators of all programs created by CEJA, including, but not limited to, the following programs created by CEJA:

 

1)         Energy Transition Navigators Program [20 ILCS 730/5-35];

 

2)         Illinois Climate Works Pre-apprenticeship Program [20 ILCS 730/5-40];

 

3)         Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program [20 ILCS 730/5-20];

 

4)         Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program [20 ILCS 730/5-45]; and

 

5)         Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program [20 ILCS 730/5-55].

 

6)         Grantee teams may establish a shortened Program training, with prior approval from DCEO, to prepare and place Program graduates in the Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program or the Illinois Climate Works Pre-apprenticeship Program following the Program graduate's release from commitment.  Returning residents who meet the eligibility criteria, shall be prioritized for placement in a Clean Jobs Workforce Network training program or the Illinois Climate Works Pre-apprenticeship Program in accordance with the requirements of these programs.

 

h)         Coordinate with local and regional workforce entities, regional administrators and organizations delivering other CEJA workforce training to provide services to returning residents, as needed and to address any barriers that participants may encounter. 

 

i)          Use a program model that upholds the core values of diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and equity. These core values must inform all aspects of the program, including, but not limited to, recruitment, partnerships, training, transition services, and barrier reducing supportive services.

 

j)          Follow the requirements and guidelines provided in the Clean Jobs Curriculum Framework for Returning Residents (incorporated by reference) ("Curriculum Framework"), developed by DCEO and its partners through a stakeholder process, to identify the career pathways and training curriculum needed for participants to be skilled, work ready, and able to enter clean energy jobs. The Curriculum Framework includes requirements for training and training instructors, certification preparation, job readiness, and skill development, including soft skills, math skills, technical skills, certification test preparation, and other development needed.

 

k)         Work cooperatively with DOC, the entities administering other CEJA training programs and other local workforce training programs to implement a system to collect and track participant data elements required by DCEO and report this information to DCEO quarterly, or as requested by DCEO.  Grantee teams shall collect and disaggregate data by race, ethnicity, gender, age, category of crime(s) of conviction, facility location and geographic location of residence returning to in order to evaluate and ensure Program and participant success. DCEO will publish an annual report containing these performance metrics.  Published data may be disaggregated by institution, discharge or residence address of Program participants and other factors.  The information collected will be shared with other State agencies and will include, but not be limited to, the following:

 

1)         The number of returning residents who enroll in the Program;

 

2)         The number of returning residents who were accepted for enrollment into the Program;

 

3)         The number of returning residents who applied for and were denied enrollment into the Program;

 

4)         The number of returning residents who complete the Program;

 

5)         The number of returning residents who did not complete the Program;

 

6)         The number of returning residents who enrolled in the Program and were removed;

 

7)         The reasons for removal;

 

8)         The total number of returning residents discharged;

 

9)         The demographics of each entering and graduating class (e.g., age, race, ethnicity, gender and geographic residence returning to);

 

10)       The percentage of graduates employed at 6 and 12 months after release;

 

11)       The recidivism rate of Program participants at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years after release;

 

12)       Program graduates' interview and hiring statuses;

 

13)       Continuing education and certifications gained by Program graduates;

 

14)       Program graduates' employment status, such as hire date, pay rates, whether full-time, part-time, or seasonal, and separation date;

 

15)       The number of returning residents who graduated from the Program and remained employed in the clean energy industry within 1 year and 3 years after release.  If practicable, DCEO will consult with the Illinois Department of Employment Security to also provide this data for 5, 7, and 10 years after release;

 

16)       The number of returning residents who graduated from the Program and changed employment in the clean energy industry within 1 year and 3 years after release.  If practicable, DCEO will consult with the Illinois Department of Employment Security to also provide this data for 5, 7, and 10 years after release; and

 

17)       The number of returning residents who graduated from the Program and separated from employment in the clean energy industry and received employment in another industry within 1 year and 3 years after release.  If practicable, DCEO will consult with the Illinois Department of Employment Security to also provide this data for 5, 7, and 10 years after release.

 

l)          Cooperate with external evaluation efforts, as directed by DCEO.