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Last April, Google launched Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry, a program created in partnership with nonprofits to offer job readiness and digital skills training for formerly incarcerated individuals. As a part of an expansion, Google today announced that it\u2019ll invest just over $8 million in organizations helping \u201cjustice-impacted\u201d individuals, including the formerly incarcerated, enter the workforce.<\/p>\n
Continuing its work with nonprofits including The Last Mile, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), Defy Ventures, Fortune Society and The Ladies of Hope Ministries, Google says that $4 million of the new roughly $8 million it\u2019s investing will go toward Grow with Google Career Skills, aiming to help people impacted by the justice system develop career specializations. Nonprofits with which Google hasn\u2019t previously collaborated will be able to apply for up to $100,000 in grants to \u201coffer Google\u2019s reentry skills training to their community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Google.org, Google\u2019s charitable arm, will provide $4.25 million in grants to assist state governments in reducing barriers to employment with Code for America\u2019s Clear My Record tool, which uses an open source algorithm to review records and produce clearance motions. Other grants from Google.org will focus on connecting \u201cjustice-impacted\u201d people with jobs through the National Urban League\u2019s Urban Tech Jobs Program and Columbia University\u2019s Justice through Code.<\/p>\n
In an email interview with TechCrunch, Maab Ibrahim, racial and criminal justice lead at Google.org, said that it was always Google\u2019s intention to bring the Career Readiness for Reentry program to scale. \u201cThere\u2019s a real urgency to this work \u2014 more than 640,000 people are released from prison each year in this country, and nearly all of them could benefit from the digital skills and job readiness training we\u2019re offering through our partners,\u201d he added. \u201cWe co-created the program with five nonprofits who have a track record of successfully developing and delivering high-quality job training to returning citizens. After implementing the program in 2021 and getting partner feedback, we saw what works really well and how we can have more impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
The formerly incarcerated community faces many challenges, including a lack of digital skills. Inmates can go well over a decade without access to technologies like smartphones and only limited familiarity with the internet. For example, U.S. Department of Education data from 2014 showed that 62% of correctional educational programs in the country didn\u2019t allow prisoners access to the internet.<\/p>\n
Searching for jobs or making a resume using web tools is beyond the knowledge of some former inmates. According to a recent University of Kansas study<\/a>, many women coming out of prison struggle with basic skills like protecting their online privacy. This lack of literacy, too, hinders ex-prisoners\u2019 ability to take advantage of government services, which often require online applications.<\/p>\n Ibrahim asserts that programs like Career Readiness for Reentry can make a difference with a curriculum that\u2019s designed to be integrated into the programming of nonprofit partners. \u201cGiven Google\u2019s technological expertise, one of our focus areas is helping people learn digital skills,\u201d he said. \u201c[W]e believe that companies, nonprofits, and government working together can be a powerful force for good. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to facilitate here.\u201d<\/p>\n