Agency Description Mayor Kenney created the City’s first Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, (“CDIEO”), and created the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). A primary duty of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is to make recommendations over the long term that work to build a more inclusive City workforce related to race, ethnicity, disability status, gender, and sexual orientation. As Philadelphia’s neighborhoods continue to grow and evolve

Agency Description Neighborhood Resource Centers: Philadelphia is launching a citywide network of Neighborhood Resource Centers (NRCs), replicating a successful national model that seeks to reduce recidivism and incarceration rates while also providing services to justice-involved Philadelphians, their families and loved ones, and community members. NRCs aim to reduce probation/parole violations by removing barriers and meeting people where they are and delivering critical pr

Samantha Melamed - February 27, 2020 Sentenced to prison as a teenager, Abd’allah Lateef lost his right to vote for the 31 years he spent in a state prison in rural Greene County, more than 300 miles from home. But he was counted in the U.S. census as a resident of that county — and remains so today, almost three years after returning home to North Philadelphia. “As a formerly incarcerated person, coming into that knowledge and the understanding of that, to me in many ways wa

Philly SHRM Webinar There is a disconnect between regional job vacancies and skilled labor who can fill those jobs. (otherwise known as the skill gap). Many companies have begun tapping into new populations of talents including returning citizens (formerly incarcerated). This webinar will highlight national and local employers and business leaders that have committed to hire workers with criminal backgrounds. Claudia De Palma, an employment attorney who works with job seeker

The Institute for Community Justice is beginning a Family Reunification program. This program will consist of free weekly family mediation sessions that last five weeks for people in re-entry and their chosen family (can be any important person that has been supportive or whom a participant wishes to communicate with better). The goal is to provide a safe space for families to work through stressors related to incarceration. We would like you to send anyone our way who woul

Transformation Yoga Project is excited to announce the dates for our next 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at State Correctional Institute - Chester, located in Chester, PA. This is a unique opportunity to learn alongside people who are currently incarcerated within Pennsylvania State Correctional Institutes. If you, or someone you know, is committed and justice-oriented then we'd love to invite you to deepen your connection to self, create community and learn about liberatory

Applications are open for the next manufacturing boot camp sponsored by the Southeastern PA Manufacturing Alliance and held at PA CareerLink® Philadelphia Suburban Station. The 7-week program meets from 7:30am-11:30am M-F from April 6-May 22. An application process is necessary. Individuals can apply online or in-person. Applications Accepted Until April 6, 2020 Program Details 6-week training boot camp, 4 hours per day, Monday – Friday. Mock interviews, resume and cover lett

Samantha Melamed - February 26, 2020 When Naomi Blount was sentenced to the State Correctional Institution Muncy in 1982, there were maybe 300 or 400 women there, and she had a cell to herself. “Then as the years passed by and the population stated growing, that’s when they started doubling us up — and then quadrupling us up," said Blount, a former lifer who received commutation after 37 years and now works for the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons. What she witnessed firsthand w

Alyn E Waller and Andrea E. Custis Six months before his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in South Philadelphia. He advised, “Don’t allow anybody to make you feel like you are nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.” Under the spotlight of Black History Month, the upcoming election, and the recent conclusion of film and mus

The US Supreme Court ruled to allow implementation of the Department of Homeland Security’s new public charge rule. Starting February 24, 2020, the new public charge rule will be used to make public charge determinations in the U.S. But many immigrants can still receive public benefits without risk to their immigration status. If Public Charge Does Not Apply to You, You Can Receive Any Public Benefits You Qualify for Without Any Risk to Your Immigrant Status U.S. Citizens: I