Helping Justice-Involved Reenter Employment 2.0 Grant

The Helping Justice-Involved Reenter Employment 2.0 (HIRE 2.0) grant program, funded by the California Workforce Development Board, offers approximately $9.5 million to support employment opportunities for justice-involved individuals. This program focuses on training, reskilling, and supportive services to enhance job mobility. Exclusively available to existing HIRE 1.0 grantees and Network Spokes, it aims to improve workforce programming for the reentry population while fostering collaboration among local agencies and community organizations.

Purpose
The California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) is pleased to announce the availability of approximately $9.5 million in funding for the Helping Justice-Involved Reenter Employment 2.0 (HIRE 2.0) grant program. This funding builds on past and current investments in the reentry population. HIRE 2.0 extends the CWDB’s portfolio of investments for California’s reentry population and represents the second cycle of the HIRE grant program.
Description
HIRE 2.0 aims to increase employment opportunities and job mobility for justice-involved individuals by supporting training, supportive services, reskilling and upskilling, and needs-related payments. This funding builds on the CWDB’s past and current investments in workforce programming for the reentry population. HIRE 2.0 funding is available only to existing HIRE 1.0 grantees and Network Spokes (subrecipients). A HIRE 1.0 grantee is defined as an existing Network Hub or Independent project awarded grant funds to operate programming under HIRE 1.0. A subrecipient refers to a HIRE 1.0 Network Spoke that operated programming under a HIRE Network. The HIRE 2.0 grant program’s objectives are to:
Increase employment opportunities and job mobility for justice-involved individuals.Provide training, reskilling, upskilling, and supportive services to justice-involved individuals to improve employment opportunities and job mobility. Applicants must identify a single project type prior to applying. Organizations may only apply for one project type.
The CWDB has identified two different project types for the HIRE 2.0 grant program:
Independent HIRE Network projects Local workforce development boards, community-based organizations (CBOs), and other agencies areexpected to operate in a collaborative relationship for each project type to recruit and support participants, assess their needs, and provide supportive, direct, and needs-related payments to participants.
Award ranges for HIRE 2.0 will be determined by the designations established for large and small CBOs under HIRE 1.0. For example, a HIRE 1.0 grantee or subrecipient designated as a small CBO may apply only for the award range designated for small CBOs under HIRE 2.0.