About Reentry Works
Evidence continues to demonstrate critical links between employment and successful reentry of justice-involved individuals into our community. Reentry Works invests and innovates in evidence-based solutions to best serve the justice-involved population by providing pre-release employment and training services, links to jobs and post-release employment services, earn and learn opportunities, supportive services (such as transportation, housing and access to technology) and community-based connections.
To hear about how Reentry Works helped turn participant Windy Ortiz’s life around, watch her testimonial below.
Job Centers in Jails
The San Diego Workforce Partnership collaborates with the San Diego County Probation and Sheriff’s departments and other key organizations to run career centers within the East Mesa Reentry Facility and Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility.
Outcomes:
- State Average Recidivism Rate = 65%
- Our Participants Recidivism Rate = 18%
- Average Job Placement Rate = 80%
Prison to Employment
The latest addition to Reentry Works is Prison to Employment (P2E), a three-year, $37 million grant to integrate workforce and reentry services across California. The goal is to serve justice-involved individuals by creating a systemic and ongoing partnership between rehabilitative programs within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the state workforce system. The program goal is to serve 250 individuals through post-release employment services.
For more information, contact hello@workforce.org or call (619) 319-WORK (9675).
Learn about how these reentry programs have opened doors for others
Reentry Works helps participant with life ‘on the outside’
First job fair in a jail connects inmates and employers
More Reentry Works Stories
Who else can advance your journey?
The Workforce Partnership has created a reentry resource matrix—a list of organizations that support justice-involved individuals. Whether you are a client looking for services or a provider looking for referrals, we encourage you to use this list to identify organizations you can partner with.
Who It's For
- Age 18+
- Experience in the justice system
This program offers help:
- Deciding what career is right for me
- Finding a temporary job or internship
- Finding a long-term job
- Learning new job skills
How to Apply
This program is currently accepting referrals only. For more information, contact hello@workforce.org or call (619) 319-WORK (9675).
Read about participants’ experiences with the program:
After graduating JRT, Juan enrolled at City College, works at the shipyard and looks forward to a career in HVAC. He also has reconnected with his mom, his sisters and his grown son, who now proudly tells his father, “I can talk to my friends about you!”
Windy Ortiz had been involved in the justice system and got connected to our Reentry Works program, Prison to Employment. We connected with Windy to hear about her personal experience and what advice she’d give to others who are interested in the program.
At just 15, United was sentenced to 50 years to life and spent two decades in a maximum-security prison before accessing therapy and rehabilitative programs at a lower-security facility. Through self-awareness and support from initiatives like the San Diego Workforce Partnership Reentry Services, he transformed his life. Now a case manager at Restoring Citizens, he helps others reintegrate after incarceration.