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Arbor Oregon xOUT: Part One

By Jamie M. Barnes

Arbor E&T’s xOUT program is a “full immersion employer/ex-offender work readiness partnership,” according to Arbor’s Project Director, Jim Maris, who helped begin the program as a collaborative effort between Arbor; Enterprise for Employment and Education; and Worksource Oregon.  Begun just this month, xOUT is off to a great start and has already received accolades from the participants, employers, and local communities.  The program is designed to give young ex-offenders an opportunity to learn job readiness skills, build confidence, and give the participants a better shot at landing a sustainable job in the future.

Working in partnership with community leaders, area businesses, members of the justice system and partner programs, ex-offenders currently enrolled in the year around WIA program will be invited to join xOUT’s full-immersion cohort program that centers on the principals of trust, respect and commitment.  Youth who contract to participate will be offered opportunities to earn modest incentives while advancing in the program initially designed to last up to three months.

The xOUT cohort will participate in weekly skills development that includes but is not limited to the following:

  • Completion of 3 industry recognized certifications
  • Weekly job search activities combined with résumé and portfolio reviews
  • Completion of 2 targeted industry skill development suites in the Arbor Skills Lab with post test scores of 90 or higher
  • Participation in mandatory community service and/or volunteer projects
  • GED completion
  • Participation in peer support groups
  • Attendance at all speaker engagements
  • Leadership training and weekly activities
  • Completion of computer literacy training
  • Completion of cohort support activities, such as: progress journaling and attendance at required speaker engagements
  • Internship opportunities
  • Restitution monitoring and budget activities

Throughout the program, speakers from the collaborative network of businesses; judicial representatives; politicians; educators; mentors; service agencies and others will be invited to address the cohorts.  Additionally, Arbor expects to find opportunities for both internships and employment for ex-offenders completing the program.  Efforts are in motion to secure Fidelity bonds and promote tax incentives to participating employers.  The fledgling program is already giving the participating youth a positive learning experience, and according to Mr. Maris, xOUT is “designed to be easily replicable,” so the program can be easily expanded to new communities or to serve more participants in the future.

Arbor will follow-up with xOUT in April after the first cohort completes the program.

 

 

 

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