Signed into law in April 2008, the Second Chance Act supports government agencies and non-profit organizations in their efforts to reduce recidivism, which has declined 23% nationally since passage of the legislation, and to improve employment outcomes for individuals returning from incarceration.
Each April, we celebrate Second Chance Month, a nationwide effort to raise awareness of the employment, healthcare, housing, etc. challenges faced by people with criminal records, and to promote second-chance opportunities for becoming productive members of society.
Thus, April is the ideal month to highlight two extremely critical, KRA second-chance initiatives under the auspices of the California Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and Los Angeles (LA) County. In concert, both programs address the multiple barriers confronting justice-involved individuals when it comes to finding and holding a job.
Through the DEO, the KRA/Rancho Dominguez American Job Center of California (AJCC) holds a Centers of Excellence (CoE) designation to strengthen support for the justice-involved population across LA County’s AJCC system. CoE status requires dedicated staff to ensure specialized focus, deep expertise, and consistent delivery of best practices, requiring specialized positions, skills, and reporting structures.
As the CoE for LA County, KRA is responsible for identifying and employing best practices in support for justice-involved jobseekers and maximizing the impact that can be accomplished to support the workforce needs of this priority population. A pivotal KRA responsibility is to educate the LA County AJCC system about the employment-related challenges and obstacles faced by justice-involved individuals, best practices and replicable service models, and successes that can be accomplished and addressed through system-wide collaborations.
The overarching resource available to the AJCC network is the INVEST program, launched by the LA County Probation Department, in collaboration with the Office of Diversion and Re-Entry. INVEST creates employment opportunities for adult probationers, coordinating probation-supervision programs with the DEO’s workforce-development system to provide training and support for entering the workforce on a meaningful career path.
INVEST uses evidence-based training—streaming videos, publications, and resource links—from the National Institute of Corrections to equip AJCC staff, supporting justice-involved program operators stay informed about the best practices and research in the field on risk assessment, supervision strategies, and program evaluation.
JaVette Adams-Pettaway, Program Director, commented, “We are extremely proud to be serve as the Center of Excellence for Justice-Involved in LA County, and to deliver the INVEST program in the Ranch Dominguez region. Our staff are dedicated and excited to support those experiencing reentry, and committed to their success by encouraging local, regional, and County businesses to become KRA second-chance employer-partners.”
Please visit the KRA Career Center to apply for one of the exciting CoE positions still available.
Los Angeles County Second-Chance Partners, Programs, and Resources
- Reentry Integrated Services Project (LA CRISP)
- Skills and Experiences for the Careers of Tomorrow (SECTOR)
- Developing Opportunities and Offering Reentry Solutions (DOORS)
- Youth Overcoming (YO!)
- Providing Opportunities for Women in Reentry (POWR)