PHOENIX, July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Televerde Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides personal and professional development opportunities to incarcerated women so they can attain meaningful and rewarding careers upon release, officially announced the graduation of the inaugural class of their three new Career PATHS Workforce Development Centers within the Indiana Department of Correction. One center resides within the Indiana Women’s Prison, the second within the Rockville Correctional Facility, and the third within the Madison Correctional Facility. Construction of the Indiana centers was made possible by support and sponsorship from Aventiv Technologies, a leading technology company driving efforts to bridge the digital divide with technologies that support rehabilitative justice, and a U.S. Department of Labor Federal Pathways Home 3 Grant. Aventiv Technologies has been a longtime Televerde Foundation partner and Televerde client, providing career opportunities to incarcerated women in Indiana since 2020. Through these partnerships, Aventiv helps to accelerate professional and personal opportunities for justice-impacted women.
“We’re excited to expand Televerde Foundation’s Career PATHS Workforce Development Centers in the Indiana Department of Correction and replicate our success in Arizona. Thanks to Aventiv Technologies’ generous donation and the company’s ongoing commitment to second chances, reentry, and rehabilitative efforts, we could do this much sooner than we expected,” said Michelle Cirocco, CEO of Televerde Foundation. “Each year, our Career PATHS program will provide 150 women in Indiana with a combination of best practice models and outcomes in education, certified and accredited curricula, and reputable life skills and business training to enable them to realize their full potential; take care of themselves, their families, and their children; and never go back to prison.”
Televerde Foundations’ Career PATHS Workforce Development Centers give women the skills needed to join the professional workforce, eliminating one of the most significant barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals when they return home. Career PATHS is a robust prison-to-workforce reentry program that provides end-to-end wrap-around services for currently and formerly incarcerated women. The women participating in this program are less than 12 months from their release dates and at a critical point to start preparing for reintegration into the community. The foundation’s first Career PATHS Workforce Development Center opened in May 2021 inside the Arizona Department of Corrections Perryville. To date, 450 women have participated in the Foundation’s Career PATHS and Reentry program, with 97 percent earning employment within 29 days of release with average starting salaries of $41,664.
“We chose to partner with Televerde and work alongside the foundation because we know how vital reentry resources are to planning for a successful second chance and empowering individuals and communities for better futures. We are pleased to work with Televerde to boost the impact of their programs for incarcerated women and expand the tools they provide to overcome the many systemic barriers that impact reentry outcomes,” said Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies. “Aventiv is proud to support the Televerde Foundation and is thrilled to see three Career PATHS Workforce Development Centers now available to help incarcerated women in Indiana find employment opportunities and develop the professional skills they need to succeed and thrive in their communities.”
The opening of the new Indiana Career PATHS centers will be celebrated with a formal graduation ceremony, official presentations by the graduates, and testimonials from program partners and community leaders emphasizing the importance of education and workforce development in reducing recidivism.
Supporting Quotes
“Programs like this provide incarcerated individuals the opportunity to gain valuable work experience while in prison which increases their chances of being successful when they are released.” — Christine Blessinger, deputy commissioner of Re-Entry and Youth Services
About Televerde Foundation
Televerde Foundation’s mission is to provide women impacted by incarceration with the personal and professional development programs necessary to join and advance in the global workforce successfully. We seek to enable women to break the cycle of poverty and recidivism by becoming financially independent, positive role models for their children and families, thereby changing the lives of future generations and building stronger communities. Learn more: https://www.televerdefoundation.org/.
About Aventiv Technologies
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Aventiv Technologies serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement, and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America. Aventiv is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.