Since 2012, KRA has supported the DC Department of Human Services as a TANF Employment Programs (TEP) Provider, offering comprehensive Career Services—employing a 2-Gen approach to serving families so that parents and children can grow together—that provide effective pathways to self-sufficiency through:
- The Education, Occupation, and Training (EOT) Program equips our jobseekers with the workforce tools needed for sustainable employment, offering coaching, credentialing support, and hands-on workforce-services training that bridges education and opportunity, and
- The Job Placement (JP) Program helps work-ready customers transition from EOT (or other effective training program) into meaningful employment, providing personalized coaching, job-search assistance, and retention support to ensure the resources and confidence needed to succeed in the workforce.
To illustrate the real impact of these services, we highlight the inspiring journey of ShaDiamond Monroe. Her story exemplifies how EOT and JP Career Services can work in tandem to help jobseeker-customers achieve short-term success that can contribute significantly to long-term career aspirations.
When she enrolled in KRA/TEP in November 2024, ShaDiamond’s goals included educational and job-skills training to strengthen her ability to chart a career path in the Healthcare industry that would give her family financial stability.
Currently, through EOT, she is working toward her long-term goal of completing a CNA program as an entry-level opportunity to secure employment in the medical field. Anticipating enrollment in a program, ShaDiamond is preparing herself by reviewing everything she needs for acceptance into an accredited CNA program, which includes a background check, a drug screening, a physical exam, and proof of immunizations and a TB test.
Meanwhile, she is advancing in her current position, secured through JP participation, as a Paratransit Driver for We Drive You, Inc., where she aspires to become a Road Supervisor to earn more money until she can secure her coveted position as a CNA.
ShaDiamond shared with us, “No matter what life throws at me, I remind myself that my daughter is watching, and I want her to see that strength, faith, and hard work can turn dreams into reality.”
ShaDiamond’s words capture the heart of why we do this work. Her determination to build a better future, not only for herself but for her daughter, embodies the transformative power of opportunity. Her story inspires us to remain steadfast in helping every customer turn their goals into reality.