PROWD Grant
Partners for Reentry Opportunities in Workforce Development Grant
About the PROWD Grant
The Tennessee Office of Reentry (TOOR), which is housed within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD), has received the federal Partners for Reentry Opportunities in Workforce Development (PROWD) Round 2 grant. The PROWD grant for Tennessee is funded over four years with a total award of $6.7 million.
PROWD is a three-stage program funded jointly with First Step Act (FSA) funding from the Bureau of Prisons and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) fundingfrom the U.S. Department of Labor. FSA funds cover all costs during PROWD Stages 1 and 2, and WIOA funds cover expenses during PROWD Stage 3.
Grant Will Help Justice-Involved Individuals
This grant will provide services to justice-involved individuals in three categories: people who are incarcerated in the Tennessee Federal Correctional Institute (FCI), people who are housed in a Tennessee Residential Reentry Center (RRC), and people who are no longer in federal custody but living in Tennessee. This will be accomplished via a Community of Practice (CoP) model that will assess, train, and empower several state agencies, community-based organizations, and employers to achieve all project goals.
All activities will achieve the project goals:
I) To improve employment outcomes among program participants
II) To strengthen communities where grant programs operate by reducing recidivism among program participants; and
III) To increase the capacity of justice and workforce system partners
The unique appeal of the PROWD grant is that it allows for workforce and personal development at three distinct stages during a federally incarcerated person’s reentry journey. First, a PROWD participant can enroll in the program while still incarcerated at an FCI. Upon release from the FCI and assignment to a federal RRC, a PROWD participant can continue with workforce and personal development services. PROWD participants may also enroll in Stage 2 while assigned to an RRC. Finally, PROWD participants who were in Stages 1 and/or 2 can have continuity of services in Stage 3 via contracted services.
The following graph details the three working stages of the PROWD grant.
The three working stages of the PROWD grant
Tennessee Office of Reentry Staff Tours Facilities, Holds Meetings
TDLWD is currently in a six-month planning process during which staff is identifying program parameters and meeting with FCI, RRCs, and other community partners. TOOR has conducted meetings with the Federal Correctional Institute staff. In these meetings, TOOR has performed an academic inventory of current course and vocational offerings and toured the facility for instructional space and scheduling. TOOR staff has also toured the Memphis area Residential Facility to assess the facility’s programming and instructional space.
TOOR is currently planning a virtual interest meeting for all community-based organizations that are interested in providing personal development, educational, and vocational services to participants. The interest meeting will be followed by a posted Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP, which will target for-profit, nonprofit, faith, and community-based organizations that seek to serve as training providers to program participants, is forthcoming. The RFP will provide a formal, equitable process for organizations to provide structured, evidence-based programs and services for program participants in the FCI and the RRC.
FAQ ABOUT THE TENNESSEE PROWD GRANT PROGRAM
The Tennessee Office of Reentry, housed within the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, is responsible for the Tennessee PROWD grant. All inquiries should be sent to reentry@tn.gov. Please include “PROWD Inquiry” in the subject line.
You can submit your interest and a summary of your organization, its services, and geographic location to the Tennessee Office of Reentry (TOOR) at reentry@tn.gov. Please include “PROWD-COP” in the subject line.
The PROWD grant Stages 1 and 2 activities will occur at the Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) in Memphis and the four Residential Reentry Centers (RRCs) in the Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga areas. Stage 3 activities will occur across the state and will be directed by local American Job Centers in areas where program participants reside.
PROWD grant participants will be those persons who are currently incarcerated in the Memphis-area FCI, the four RRCs, or who have been released from another PROWD-serving state’s FCI or RRC and now reside in Tennessee.
The competitive PROWD grant is federally funded by First Step Act funds from the U.S. Department of Justice and Reentry Employment Opportunity funds from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development will serve as the contracting Grantee of all activities in the Memphis area. The Northern Middle Workforce Development Board will serve as the contracting agency in the Nashville area. The East TN Human Resource Association (ETHRA) will serve as the contracting agency in the Knoxville area. The Southeast Tennessee Development District (SETD) will serve as the contracting agency in the Chattanooga area.
To perform work in the Memphis area, please complete the registration as a vendor with the state of Tennessee. Then submit a proposal to be a sub-recipient to the Tennessee Office of Reentry (TOOR) at reentry@tn.gov. Please include “PROWD-Subrecipient” in the subject line. To perform work in the Nashville, Chattanooga, or Knoxville area, please apply to the local workforce development board’s Eligible Training Provider List.
The AJCs will serve as a part of the CoP and will be the first point of contact for all Stage 3 participants.