Success Stories

Workforce program for troubled teens may lose federal funding
By Leslie Slape / The Daily News | Posted: Monday, March 28, 2011 11:00 pm

Jail to job-ready: Longview Goodwill trains those who need it most
Cheryll A. Borgaard / The Daily News | Posted: Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Cody Abel-Gipson has been in and out of Cowlitz County Jail since he was 18 years old, but he has a determined resolve to make a change.

"I've been in trouble my whole life," the 29-year-old Longview man said last week. "I was in for assaults, malicious mischief, drinking, fighting and causing a ruckus."

He says a worker retraining program through Goodwill Industries in Longview is helping him turn his life around. Abel-Gipson started the program in March while serving a 120-day stint at the jail for drunken driving. He was among the training program's first group of graduates last month.

This week, Goodwill will expand its fledgling program to reach low-income, high school dropouts ages 17 to 21 who've had run-ins with the law.

"We're looking to serve the neediest of the needy, the hardest to serve and the most desperate for services," said Madeline Loren, programs director at Goodwill in Longview. "It's an early intervention to stop them from heading down the criminal path."

Applicants undergo a rigorous interview process, Loren said. If accepted into the "Construction Skills Pre-apprenticeship Training," they attend classes to receive certification in flagging, first aid, aerial manlifts, fork lifts and workplace safety while also earning a GED or high school diploma. Participants get hands-on experience in construction while working on projects for Longview Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity and CAP self-help housing. They also work on decision-making skills and conflict resolution and must come up with a career plan, meet deadlines and work on resume and job interview skills, she said.

"These are not only to get the job, but to keep it and be a good worker," Loren said.

The program - one of only three Tacoma Goodwill offers in the 15 counties it oversees - also helps participants address barriers such as housing, transportation, child care, and time and finance management.

The program is difficult but rewarding, Loren said. Of the 20 people who started with Abel-Gipson, only half completed it - and all 10 who graduated either found employment or are receiving further training, Loren said. One graduate even landed a job as a crew foreman, she said.

"There's a lot of personal accountability because that's the way it is on the job and in the real world," she said. "There's more to it than ‘I'm out of work and I need a job.' "

Abel-Gipson said he dropped out of school when he was 16 to take care of his mother, later earning a GED while living in Seattle. Just the thought of applying to college was intimidating, he said, but he's now attending welding classes at Lower Columbia College.

"I didn't know what to do, where to go," he said. "They didn't hold my hand, but they pointed me in the right direction. All you got to do is ask questions, and they'll find the answers."

He's receiving financial aid, he said, and his grandfather, aunt and uncle are helping with finances because he's "just barely scraping by."

After completing the welding classes at LCC, Abel-Gipson may pursue certification as an underwater welder or consider enrolling in the college's diesel mechanic training program. He said he's glad Goodwill is expanding the program to include juveniles.

"If I hadn't done (the classes), I don't know where I would be," Abel-Gipson said. "The Goodwill program definitely kicked me in the butt to get going somewhere."

So far, three people have enrolled in the juvenile program, Loren said. She hopes to get at least 10 more participants in order to satisfy requirements of the $48,000 federal Workforce Investment Act grant Goodwill received for the program. While the adult program lasts about two months, the juvenile program will last a year, she said.

"Young people will need to be involved a longer time because they'll need more individualized attention to make a career plan," Loren said.

Classes run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays. Some class time is spent on case management, while other time is devoted to book work, guest speakers, videos and instruction.

It's called "Pre-apprenticeship Training" because it's designed to prepare participants for apprentice programs in the workforce, Loren said.

"The construction trade is one of the more forgiving (regarding a criminal record) and in demand," she said. "Apprentice jobs (in construction) are opening up," she said.

"From the very first interview, Cody said going back to his old lifestyle was not a choice," Loren said. "He really had to think of his family and turn his life around. Whether it's the young person or the older individual, they really have a chance to impact not only their lives, but their families and the community as a whole."

Tacoma Goodwill has similar programs in Tacoma and Yakima. To learn more about Longview Goodwill's Construction Skills Pre-apprenticeship Training for adults or juveniles, call 425-6929.

Many strands together
By Beverly Lionberger, WorkSource Kitsap County

Imagine a long rope attached to a life preserver ring flung across dark and stormy waters. Imagine a drowning man reaching out to grasp that ring, holding on and allowing himself to be rescued from the frigid water.
 
In this rescue story, the strands of the rope are made of many employees of WorkSource Kitsap County, the Department of Corrections (DOC), Peninsula Work Release Facility and the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). The man who was in danger of drowning is Paul Fuller (not his real name). And this story is one of success because the rope was strong and Fuller knew when to grab it.
 
“The key to anyone’s success is knowing how to use the many resources available and asking for help,” he said.
 
On Dec. 16 last year, Fuller walked into WorkSource Bremerton and met with Joan Schiftner, WorkSource specialist. While Schiftner assessed Fuller’s skills and abilities, she observed him struggling to complete his registration form. 
 
“I remember watching him trying so hard to control the uncontrollable shaking of his hands,” Schiftner said.
 
As Schiftner and Fuller talked, he told her that the shaking of his hands was caused by Parkinson’s Disease. He also told her how strongly he identified with his past occupations in logging and forest firefighting. Plus, he disclosed that he had a felony conviction.
 
Based on all she had heard, Schiftner referred Fuller to the Reentry Orientation Workshop led by John Greenway, Offender Employment Services (OES) specialist at WorkSource Kitsap.
 
“I could see a glimmer of hope in his eyes,” as Fuller said goodbye, Schiftner said. Hope was what Fuller needed, but he had realized that before coming to WorkSource.
 
“I could have continued to make the wrong decisions and not take a real look at . . . the truth about me,” Fuller said. “Five years ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. As my body changed and as the new struggles emerged, which include massive bouts of depression and feelings of hopelessness, [it all] weighed heavily on my shoulders.
 
“But I was the only one that could make the changes that needed to be made,” he said. “I took every class that was offered and always showed my appreciation.”
 
Less than a week after meeting with Schiftner, Fuller returned to WorkSource to attend the workshop for ex-offenders. Afterward, he and Greenway discussed his skills, potential barriers to employment and Fuller’s support system.
 
Fuller told Greenway about his conviction history, how long he had lived in the work- release facility and about the symptoms he suffers because of the Parkinson’s disease. 
 
“I . . . started to fall apart as I watched my mom dying of the same disease that I was diagnosed with,” Fuller told Greenway. “I ended up at the bottom of a bottle.”       
 
Because his previous work had been in physically demanding occupations and because the Parkinson’s causes tremors in his hands, Greenway and Fuller puzzled over where he would find employment. For an ex-offender residing in a work release facility, employment is a serious concern because residents risk being sent back to prison if they fail to seek and find a job.
 
“The anxiety that he was experiencing clearly demonstrated his desire to succeed,” Greenway said.  “Paul was determined and came in to see me regularly to check in and problem solve.”
 
Greenway looked to Margaret Hess, administrator at WorkSource Kitsap, for help in encouraging Fuller.
 
“I see him filling the role as a mentor for ex-offenders through sharing of his personal testimony in overcoming and persevering through great adversity. He is already having a meaningful impact on residents of the Peninsula Work Release,” Hess said.
 
Greenway also consulted regularly with Greg McCool, Fuller’s counselor at Peninsula Work Release and a constant source of support, Greenway said.
 
“Fuller, Hess, McCool and I covered such topics as effective job search strategies, ways to discuss felonies with employers, bonding, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program available to employers, résumés and working on improving his self-confidence,” Greenway said.
 
“Paul had worked in the prison law library during his incarceration. To his credit, he had decided to market his transferrable skills, and informed me that he had been interviewed for a paralegal position.”
 
Greenway could see that Fuller was encouraged by the interview and, later, Fuller was offered and accepted the position. Greenway followed up with the law office.
 
“They were clearly impressed with him,” he said. Greenway also discussed with the law office how to obtain assistive technology that Fuller would need to function in the position. That’s when DVR stepped in. Tina Hill, Jenna Dalesky, Jody Axtell, Jan Smith, vocational rehabilitation specialists, and Donald Ferrell, their supervisor, helped the firm get the equipment Fuller needed. The office was ready for him.
 
But Fuller was not ready for the office. He needed specific training for the job. For this, Greenway put Fuller in touch with Frank Carlson, WorkSource specialist at WorkSource Bremerton. Carlson was able to direct Workforce Investment Act funds for Fuller’s training costs.
 
Fuller also needed suitable attire. Jan Chrey, Title V Program coordinator at WorkSource Bremerton, connected him to the YWCA, who gave him some business suits. Chrey personally presented Fuller with a gift bag containing several men’s ties.
 
At this time, Fuller continues to live at the Peninsula Work Release Facility, but is walking down a new career path with the promise of a new life.
 
“The last time I saw Paul he was dressed in a business suit and beaming with confidence,” said Greenway.
 
This story is one of success – for Fuller and for the community of organizations involved. If one strand of this rescue rope had unraveled, if the rope had not stretched far enough, or if Fuller had not chosen to reach for the lifeline thrown to him, this story might have had a very different, less positive ending.
 
“We must remember that all things in life that are worth having will take hard work, and only you can make that happen,” Fuller said.

Tina Hill (left) and JennaDalesky (both DVR)

Having a Past Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Have a Future – Finding Jobs for Offenders in Work Release
By Joseph L. Mitchell, DOC Communications Office

“The biggest barrier I faced in finding employment was being a felon,” said Anita Perry, a former offender from the Longview Work Release facility. “What helped me to overcome that obstacle was being honest with potential employers and sharing my plan for how I would succeed – what steps I was taking toward becoming a productive member of society again.”

Perry works as a guest service agent at the Comfort Inn in Kelso, a position she was able to secure less than a week after entering work release in November 2008. Her fiancé, Vance Baldwin, works across town as a welder fabricator supervisor at Fabricast Valve, a company that builds industrial valves and does custom design welding.  Baldwin was also able to gain employment shortly after entering work release. He will celebrate his one year anniversary with Fabricast on September 22.

Anita and Vance are both former clients of Vocations Unlimited, a program operated by Goodwill Industries to help individuals overcome barriers to employment. The program has been serving reentry offenders since 2002 with vocational training and education, job placement and employment assistance, and life skills training.

“We work with anyone who comes through our door,” said Madeline Loren, the Offender Reentry Program Manager. “Clients who come to us have many barriers.  Our mission is to change lives by helping people with disabilities or disadvantages go to work, and having a criminal conviction is certainly a disadvantage.”

The program offers a three hour class for new clients each Monday that includes a skills and personality assessment, a discussion about barriers to employment, and instruction on social and soft skills – how to fill out an application, the proper way to approach employers, and interpersonal communication.

“It’s like taking a big mound of clay and molding it into a new creation,” said Jerry Hastings, a job developer trainee for Vocations Unlimited who teaches the class. “In many cases, we’re taking someone who has never been in the workforce and helping them integrate into a whole new world.”

Hastings says that he tries to teach people in the class to be aware of the impression they are making on employers and how to handle rejection.

“We help them learn pro-social behaviors to deal with employers who have a negative view of work release and who won’t accept their application,” said Hastings, who also works with employers to hire program clients. He says that employers have to balance their desire to hire his clients with community issues, and that some are concerned with how their business could be impacted because of bias against offenders. 

“There are incentives available to companies who are willing to offer employment to offenders on work release, like tax credits and a free bonding program that provides state funded insurance coverage of up to $25,000,” said Hastings. “But the biggest incentive to hire people on work release is their dependability. Work release rules require offenders to be on time for work every day and the facility does random drug testing to insure that offenders in the program remain drug and alcohol free.”

The positive job performance of offenders from Vocations Unlimited over the past few years has helped to increase the number of employers who actively participate in the program from three to seventy. The program enjoyed a 97 percent employment rate among offenders at Longview Work Release in the past year.

“Employers should recognize their moral obligation and duty to society to help people come back and make a contribution,” said Syed Pasha, who owns and operates the Comfort Inn hotel where Perry works. “I hired Anita because I saw her potential and that she was trying to get back to a normal life. She learned her lesson and wanted to move forward, so we gave her a chance. She has turned out to be a good one.”

“Just because someone has a past doesn’t mean they don’t have a future. Most everyone has a past,” said Fabricast Valve Superintendent Steve Norby.  “Vance has a lot to offer, that’s why we hired him. He started out on the floor – the lowest man on the totem pole. He lit up and shined for us. He brought a lot to the table. He has a great mechanical aptitude and he’s proven himself to be a good leader.”

Anita and Vance met while serving their sentences at Longview Work Release. They began dating after they were released, and plan to marry later this year.

Longview Work Release houses both male and female offenders. Programming opportunities include chemical dependency and sex offender aftercare. Additional services are available in the community, including mental health, parenting, and anger stress management classes.