WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced nearly $7 million in funding for reentry training and employment programs in Newport News and Roanoke.
$6,999,632 has been granted in federal funding for the Hampton Roads Community Action Program and Total Action Against Poverty in Roanoke Valley to provide training and career counseling services to inmates so that they are prepared for employment opportunities and able to successfully transition into the workforce following their release.
“By expanding employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated Virginians, we can help them successfully transition back into the community, reduce recidivism, and strengthen our neighborhoods,” said the Senators. “This federal funding will help individuals find employment and stay on the right track.”
$3,999,633 will go to the Hampton Roads Community Action Program, Inc. in Newport News and $2,999,999 for Total Action Against Poverty in Roanoke Valley, Inc. in Roanoke.
The grants were awarded through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA)’s Pathway Homes program, which works to improve employability outcomes for adults during the reentry process from incarceration.
In 2018, Warner and Kaine voted to pass the First Step Act, which reauthorized grant funding for state and local reentry programs that reduce recidivism. In 2015, Warner and Kaine successfully urged Obama to “ban the box” on federal job applications to help ex-offenders.
