The Offender WorkSource Development Specialists at the MCCF WorkSource American Job Center (formerly the Montgomery Works One Stop Employment Center) provide pre and post release job search and employment skills development; and quality coaching throughout the job search process upon release. Montgomery County, Maryland has enhanced its offender employment services as part of a larger “re-entry for all” initiative established by the County’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.  This re-entry program, initiated by a partnership of the county’s WorkSource Investment Board and Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, creates a direct link between the county’s correctional facilities and the American Job Center WorkSource system. 

This unique and innovative approach to facilitating offender reemployment creates an American Job Center within the walls of the Montgomery County Correctional Facility (MCCF) that is linked to the existing community-based American Job Centers. The Worksource Montgomery American Job Center at MCCF seeks to coach inmates in effective job readiness and job search skills through workshops and the use of resources that replicate those of the American Job Centers in the community.  The mission of the center is to provide a valuable return on investment for employers to meet their hiring needs and to support transformation in the lives of former offenders one person at a time.  This jail-based American Job Center raises the visibility and knowledge of career planning and the workforce services available to offenders, both during incarceration and when they return to their communities.

Like other American Job Centers elsewhere in Montgomery County and across the country, the satellite Worksource Montgomery American Job Center at MCCF includes an array of resources in a single location.  There are reading rooms with books and newspapers, work space, and a state-of-the-art computer lab where inmates can compose resumes, cover letters and applications.  The lab also affords access to extensive career and labor market information including on-line career videos in both English and Spanish.  There is also an area for viewing career development video tapes and a room for conducting mock interviews.  The interview room also houses equipment to create a legally-recognized identification card usable for 60 days post-release.

Partnerships are a key element of the American Job Center concept and of Montgomery County’s re-entry initiative as well.  Every relevant county social service provider and local community organization has been tapped to leverage and align resources from currently disparate worksource, corrections and human service systems to serve individuals in a more integrated and effective fashion.  Their efforts are further supported by a committed and active community and faith-based coalition whose volunteers play an integral role in extending American Job Center services to offenders both within the jail and at the  centers in the community.

Through integrating the services of the local public worksource system with the local correctional system, Montgomery County seeks to build a culture of stable employment as a cornerstone of successful re-entry into the community. By increasing offenders’ post-release employment success, not only will the inmates and their families be served, but the community at large through a reduction in crime, substance abuse, and the taxes spent to fight them.