The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (NCDAC) was selected to receive up to $2.1 million from a nonprofit called Jobs For the Future (JFF) as part of an initiative to “expand high-quality postsecondary education and workforce pathways for individuals with histories of incarceration.”
A press release said that North Carolina, Kansas, Maine, and Oregon will each receive the funding, which includes $1.8 million in technical assistance from JFF and the Coleridge Initiative, over the next four years.
“States will gain access to a secure data-sharing platform to improve coordination between partner agencies and participate in a national learning network designed to accelerate reforms across corrections, postsecondary education, workforce development, and fair chance employment,” the release said.
Sign up for Awake58, our newsletter on all things community college.
North Carolina and the other states are part of the inaugural cohort of JFF’s Fair Chance to Advance initiative (F2CA), whose website describes its mission as “removing systemic barriers and creating clear, connected pathways to education, employment, and economic mobility for people with histories of incarceration.”
The NCDAC press release uses the term “justice-impacted” to describe the population that will be served by the grant. Recently, North Carolina agencies have moved towards that term, or the term “justice-involved,” in an effort to include a wider group of people, including people who may have been charged with crimes but not convicted, or convicted but not imprisoned. That was one point discussed at a November meeting of the governor’s Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships, when crafting language for workforce strategies and goals.
JFF chose North Carolina from more than 30 applicants in part because of its existing efforts to expand economic mobility for individuals with criminal records, according to the NCDAC press release. JFF said North Carolina has shown a commitment to bringing together a range of leaders across state agencies and a clear articulation for how participating in the cohort would catalyze long-term change in the state.
“The Fair Chance to Advance initiative will significantly expand North Carolina’s capacity to support currently and formerly incarcerated learners by aligning and scaling our education, workforce, and reentry systems,” NCDAC Senior Deputy Secretary for Rehabilitation and Reentry George Pettigrew said in the release. “Through this grant, we will establish a coordinated, statewide approach that ensures people have access to high-quality education and career pathways — both during incarceration and post-release.”
Bipartisan push for workforce development and apprenticeships
Workforce development for justice-impacted individuals is just one branch of a wider bipartisan push in North Carolina for the expansion of workforce programs and apprenticeships.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order in 2024 that joined North Carolina into Reentry 2030, a national initiative coordinated by the Council of State Governments that aims to “dramatically improve reentry success for people exiting prison and for those under community supervision.”
The General Assembly has also put funds toward expanding apprenticeships and workforce development initiatives.
Last year, the Governor’s Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships — which includes stakeholders from the N.C. Community College System (NCCCS), the General Assembly, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), and other agencies — approved strategies to meet the state’s four-year goals.
Those goals include ensuring 2 million North Carolinians ages 25-44 will have earned an industry-valued credential or degree, and doubling the number of registered apprentices. The council’s vision statement says that the purpose of the state’s education and workforce continuum is to “ultimately to prepare all learners and jobseekers, including, but not limited to, people in rural communities, justice-involved people, people with disabilities, and veterans and their families, to prosper throughout their lives.”
“When North Carolinians leaving incarceration have access to education and job training, they are far more likely to succeed and give back to their communities rather than return to crime,” Gov. Josh Stein said in the NCDAC release. “This investment from JFF will help North Carolina open doors to good jobs, strengthen our workforce, and prevent crime. People returning home will have a real opportunity for a second chance, and that benefits us all by making our communities safer and stronger.”
According to the release, “Mathematica will serve as the third-party evaluator to document lessons learned and share insights with the field. Throughout the initiative, the FC2A State Action Networks will closely engage people with histories of incarceration as advisors and co-designers.”
An application to join North Carolina’s five-person directly impacted advisory board is open through Jan. 25, the release says.
Recommended reading
