Safer Foundation

EMPLOYMENT PREPARATION AND PLACEMENT FOR PERSONS WITH ARREST AND CONVICTION RECORDS.

EMPLOYMENT SERVICES IN ILLINOIS AND IOWA DESPITE THE DAMAGING IMPACT OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC, SAFER FOUNDATION (SAFER) SERVED 3,603 CLIENTS DURING FY22. 1857 CLIENTS SUCCESSFULLY SECURED EMPLOYMENT AND 159 RECEIVED EDUCATIONAL/VOCATIONAL CREDENTIALS. INDUSTRIES OF EMPLOYMENT INCLUDED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, CONSTRUCTION, SOLAR, TRANSPORTATION/DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING/LOGISTICS, FINANCE/BANKING, HEALTHCARE, FOOD SERVICES/HOSPITALITY AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING. OUR APPROACH TO BUILDING TALENT PIPELINES INCLUDES WORK-BASED LEARNING PROGRAMS. OUR PRE-APPRENTICESHIP AND APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE REENTRY POPULATIONS ACCESS TO APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS IN THE SKILLED TRADES. IN ADDITION TO ACHIEVING PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT (WITH OVER 290 EMPLOYER PARTNERS), SAFER SUPPORTS MEN, WOMEN, AND YOUTH IN BUILDING BETTER LIVES, STRONGER FAMILIES, AND SAFER COMMUNITIES. OUR ASCEND CLIENT SERVICE MODEL UTILIZES A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO DELIVERING SERVICES TO PARTICIPANTS AND ADOPTS EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES ACROSS ALL SAFER SITES. THESE SERVICES INCLUDE ACCESS TO CASE MANAGEMENT, EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT TRAINING, FINANCIAL LITERACY, TRANSITIONAL AND PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, SUBSTANCE USE AND MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING (WITH 372 CLIENTS RECEIVING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES), AND OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES REFERRAL. ASCEND ENCOMPASSES A SET OF PRACTICES THAT ARE CLIENT-CENTERED AND THAT SUPPORT STAFF WITH ONGOING TRAINING, CONTINUOUS LEARNING AND SERVICE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT. SAFER HELPS PEOPLE THRIVE AND BUILD A FUTURE THEY NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE.

BASIC SKILLS/EDUCATION IN ILLINOIS AND IOWA SAFER FOUNDATION'S BASIC SKILLS PROGRAM IN ILLINOIS AND IOWA FOCUSES ON THE LITERACY IMPROVEMENTS OF TEENAGE YOUTH AND ADULTS WITH AN ARREST, OR CRIMINAL HISTORY IN THEIR BACKGROUND AS A BARRIER TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY. SAFER SEEKS TO INCREASE THE SKILLSETS OF PARTICIPANTS IN READING, MATH, AND WRITING. DEVELOPMENT OF THESE SKILLS LEADS TO IMPROVED OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENTERING EMPLOYMENT WITH HIGHER WAGE- EARNING POSSIBILITIES. LONG-TERM, SAFER SEEKS TO FURTHER THE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY OF PARTICIPANTS THROUGH ATTAINMENT OF A HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY DIPLOMA (HSED), AND/OR TRANSITIONS INTO POST-SECONDARY OR CREDENTIALING TRAINING PROGRAMS. SAFER DELIVERS EDUCATION SERVICES THROUGH DIRECT INSTRUCTION, TUTORING, AND DIGITAL PLATFORM PROGRAMMING. TO FACILITATE LEARNING SUCCESS AND PARTICIPANT CREDENTIALING; SAFER USES REMOTE LEARNING OPTIONS AND SERVES AS A PEARSON VUE EXAMINATION CENTER FOR CREDENTIALING OF HSED PARTICIPANTS. THESE SERVICES ARE OFTEN FUNDED THROUGH COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS OF STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS SUCH AS WIOA TITLE I - IV, LWIB, DOJ, CCDOC, IDOC, AND OTHER MUNICIPALITIES AND CBOS.

SAFER FOUNDATION, AS A NONPROFIT PRIVATE AGENCY, OPERATES SECURE RESIDENTIAL WORK RELEASE CENTERS FOR THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. OUR TWO ADULT TRANSITION CENTERS (ATC'S) ARE WORK RELEASE FACILITIES WHICH ALLOW INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS TO SERVE THE FINAL 30 DAYS TO 30 MONTHS OF THEIR STATE PRISON SENTENCES IN A COMMUNITY-BASED SETTING. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE SELECTED PARTICIPANTS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSITION INTO THE WORKFORCE, RECONNECT WITH FAMILY, AND REINTEGRATE INTO THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS BEFORE RELEASE, ULTIMATELY INCREASING THEIR CHANCES OF BECOMING SUCCESSFUL, LAW- ABIDING COMMUNITY MEMBERS. THE TWO ATC'S HAVE A COMBINED RECIDIVISM RATE OF 16.7%, WHICH IS THE LOWEST AMONG PRISONS & ATC'S IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. REDUCING RECIDIVISM DIRECTLY IMPACTS CRIME RATES. SERVICES OFFERED AT THE ATC'S INCLUDE SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT, MEDICAL ASSISTANT TREATMENT, SAFER SKILLS TRAINING (SST), MENTORING, HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY TESTING, AND DEMAND SKILL VOCATIONAL TRAINING. IN ADDITION, NURSES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS HEALTH CENTER ARE AVAILABLE AT EACH FACILITY. IN FY22, OVER 400 CLIENTS WERE SERVED AT THE TWO ADULT TRANSITION CENTERS. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE ONGOING COVID PANDEMIC RELATED IDOC DIRECTIVES, THE MOVEMENT OF NEW RESIDENTS FROM IDOC TO SAFER ATC'S WAS LOWER THAN NO-PANDEMIC YEARS. ON AVERAGE, 100 HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCIES ARE COMPLETED EACH YEAR, AND ATC RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE IN-DEMAND SKILL TRAINING PROGRAMS TO EARN INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CREDENTIALS. EMPLOYMENT IS A SIGNIFICANT FOCUS FOR BOTH CENTERS' PROGRAMMING OFFERINGS, WITH A HIGH SUCCESS RATE OF 89% FOR ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS GAINING EMPLOYMENT. EMPLOYED RESIDENTS EARNED $4.7 MILLION IN NET PAY DURING THE CURRENT YEAR TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES. THEIR EARNINGS POSITIVELY IMPACTING THE LOCAL ECONOMY, WITH $400K IN FEDERAL & STATE TAXES PAID AND $656K IN DEPENDENT SUPPORT PAYMENTS. BOTH CENTERS HAVE CONSISTENTLY ACHIEVED OUR 30-DAY EMPLOYMENT RETENTION GOAL OF 80%. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY, SAFER HAS SUCCESSFULLY OPERATED ITS EXISTING FOCUS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ON CHICAGO'S WEST SIDE SINCE 2007. THIS 10-UNIT RESIDENTIAL BUILDING AT 165 N. CENTRAL AVE IN CHICAGO IL. PROVIDES MEN WITH ARREST OR CONVICTION RECORDS WITH PERMANENT HOUSING AND CUSTOMIZED SERVICES SUCH AS EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE, TRAINING, JOB PLACEMENT, SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT, HEALTHCARE ACCESS, AND INTENSIVE CASE MANAGEMENT.