Spectrum Health Systems Awarded $40,000 Grant for Work & Community Ready Corrections Program in Maine

By Spectrum Health Systems, Inc.

Published: 05/26/2012

| Company Profile | CorrectSource

Article:
Spectrum Health Systems, Inc. has been awarded a $40,000 one-year grant from the Florence V. Burden Foundation to develop employment opportunities for female offenders housed at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.

The grant will fund the Work & Community Ready program, with a goal of reducing recidivism and strengthening Maine's workforce by providing rehabilitative, educational skills-based workforce training to women with a history of incarceration.

Graduates from the Work & Community Ready program will benefit by entering the job market with a head start -- a Work Ready credential, pro-social skills, a completed resume, skills-based training, job interview practice, placement assistance and a portfolio containing evidence of rehabilitation. With an added Community Ready portion of the class, women will garner information about housing, treatment programs, services and resources available in their respective communities to successfully advocate for themselves and reintegrate into society.

This program addresses the issue of ex-offenders who are unemployed or working in poorly paid or temporary jobs who often fall back into a life of crime. Spectrum Health Systems believes that one of the most effective, long-term solutions to this problem is programs like Work & Community Ready -- job readiness training coupled with placement assistance within the context of comprehensive, continuing support services.

Spectrum's Correctional Treatment Division was established in 1993 to provide specialized treatment to criminal offenders with a history of chronic substance abuse. Working in partnership with host institutions, correctional personnel and parole authorities, Spectrum's Correctional Treatment Division prepares program participants for maintaining a lasting recovery, thereby reducing the risk of relapse and recidivism over the long term.

About Spectrum Health Systems, Inc.

Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, Spectrum Health Systems, Inc. is a private, nonprofit substance abuse and mental health treatment provider. Spectrum operates over 100 institutional and community-based programs in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Georgia, Tennessee, Maine, Iowa and Washington State ---- serving more than 40,000 individuals each year.