Prison to Employment 2.0 (P2E2)
The Prison to Employment Initiative, through the California Workforce Development Board, awarded grant funding to integrate workforce and reentry services to connect formerly incarcerated individuals to high demand employment in the labor market. The primary goal of the funds is to decrease the recidivism rate of reentry into the jail systems. Riverside County WDD, alongside our regional partner San Bernardino County WDD and local service providers, were successful in helping 917 individuals during the first round of P2E funding. The Counties will continue working together with service providers in the area to assist the justice-involved population in: job readiness training, employer incentives to train individuals while they are employed, and in-depth case management whereas case managers will work one-on-one with customers to develop an employment readiness plan. Funds will also be utilized to break down barriers often times associated with unemployment, such as lack of transportation, housing, and digital literacy, in order to provide customers with every service needed to aid them in gaining permanent employment. This grant term is January 2023 to December 2025
Slingshot 4.0/5.0
Through the Regional Plan Implementation (RPI) or Slingshot Initiative, we work hand in hand with our regional partner, San Bernardino County WDD, to collaborate with partners to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and build the talent needed to increase income mobility and regional prosperity. The counties work with supply-side partners, businesses, and industry champions to ensure the efforts align with the needs of each industry. Through this initiative, we are defining what a “good job” means in the Inland Empire and developing benchmarks to track progress toward an equitable and qualitative workforce. In the shared targeted industries, healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation/logistics, career pathways have been and are currently being developed to enrich working conditions and provide livable wages to residence throughout the region. The grant term for RPI 4.0 is June 2021 to December 2022. The grant term for RPI 5.0 is January 2023 to June 2024.
Regional Equity and Recovery Partnership (RERP)
The Regional Equity and Recovery Partnership is an accelerated deepening of the RPI efforts in which the region will support five projects that align with the four-year Regional Workforce Development Plan. This plan provides a “high-road” set of economic and workforce development strategies designed to: improve job quality and job access, including for women and people from underserved and underrepresented populations; meet the skill and profitability needs of employers; and meet the economic, social, and environmental needs of the community. Through partnership with local community colleges, the following five projects will be funded through this grant: truck driving, machine and equipment maintenance, EMT/paramedic training, construction apprenticeships, and credit for prior learning. This grant term is from December 2022 to September 2025.
State Apprenticeship Expansion, Equity, and Innovation (SAEEI) Grant
The region’s plan entitled, “Inland Empire Designing Equitable Apprenticeships” (IEDEA) was funded to develop new and expand on existing apprenticeships in non-traditional occupations including IT & Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Public Sector, and Transportation/Logistics. Through the help of LAUNCH and local community colleges, we will create opportunities for apprenticeships for underserved populations such as women, veterans, justice-involved, youth, people with disabilities, communities of color and unemployed individuals who were impacted by COVID-19. The grant term is July 2022 to June 2025.