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$3.5 million awarded to Midwest Urban Strategies to support the expansion of services in three of its member areas: Wichita, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh— Midwest Urban Strategies (MUS) and its partnering workforce development boards will receive a portion of the $64,395,062 awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor in Pathway Home grants which went to 20 recipients serving 15 states.
“Midwest Urban Strategies is proud to lead this regional strategy to assist in the transition of justice-involved adults back to the workforce. Our partners in Kansas City (Full Employment Council), Pittsburgh (Partner4Work) and Wichita (Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, Inc.) are all leaders in providing services to this population and each has a demonstrated track record with reconnecting returning citizens to employment,” said MUS executive director Tracey Carey.
“The regional collaboration we put together for this grant is modeled after several of our partner boards that have had success working with the American Job Center Network and their region’s correctional facilities.”
“As Chairman of Midwestern Urban Strategies, I am extremely enthusiastic about this opportunity to execute this ‘Public Workforce Systems Focused’ evidenced based workforce strategy in working with returning citizens through our local and state correctional facilities partners,” said Clyde McQueen, CEO of the Full Employment Council Kansas City, Missouri.
“We are excited to illustrate how systems oriented/outcomes and focused partnerships with the public workforce systems successfully enable returning citizens to become skilled workers and engaged citizens in our communities.”
Pathway Home grants help fund reentry services to improve employment outcomes for adults involved in the criminal justice system. As part of the award, MUS partners will offer individuals a variety of services to help ease their transition back to society.
“The funding will allow our boards to provide a whole host of services, including education and training, job preparation, legal assistance and assistance connecting to other important social services,” said Keith Lawing, CEO of the Wichita based Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas.
“This additional funding aligns with MUS’s role of creating regional strategies for workforce development. We are pleased to bring additional support and resources to the region’s returning citizens and help them on the path to sustainable and meaningful careers,” said Earl Buford, CEO of Pittsburgh-based Partner4Work. MUS is currently managing more than $20 million in DOL-funded programs to advance access to quality jobs.
About Midwest Urban Strategies
Midwest Urban Strategies represents a coordinated effort on behalf of 13 Department of Labor urban workforce development boards to marry traditional workforce development practices with economic development. Through intentional collaboration, leveraging stakeholders and efficient and creative use of resources, our strategy is to retain and grow local talent and generate a greater return on investment for our employer partners and the workforce system. For more information visit us online at midwesturbanstrategies.com or follow us on Twitter @midwestworkers.
