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Participants are enrolled in the program in a computer lab in Edna Mahan prison. When they begin their release process, they continue the program at the Bo Robinson assessment center and then at the Kintock half-way house. While in the corrections system, participants are taking courses related to the Work Readiness Credential, digital literacy, career skills, and basic education.
When they are fully released, participants will be directed to the One Stop Centers in the board area they will be moving to. The workforce board will issue an ITA for the Home-Based Distance Learning Project to continue their progress in the Prison to Communities Program. Upon confirmation of the ITA, Business Access will arrange for an orientation with each participant and upon completion issue them a laptop and Internet access.
While enrolled in the Home-Based program, participants will take courses related to work retention, personal planning, financial literacy, and career advancement. Participants also have access to adult basic education and GED courseware.
Information about participant progress, including weekly work hours reports and course completion notifications will be emailed to the participant's one stop case manager. A personal mentor from Business Access will maintain contact with the participant to ensure that they are progressing in the program and reporting work and wage information. Business Access technical support will provide "help-desk" support for any (and all) technical issues.
Description of the Home-Based Distance Learning Project:
The Home-Based Distance Learning Project is a self-sufficiency development program taken via a computer and Internet installed in the participant's home. The program is built around an online learning community created specifically to move participants in government programs from dependency to self-sufficiency.
The program blends the informational, resource and social aspects of online communities with structured goal setting/monitoring, self-constructed learning plans, successful-behavior modeling, self-efficacy and self-esteem building activities, and contextual learning. Mentors provide personal contacts for guidance and oversight. The combined efforts of the program are designed to motivate, convince, inspire and sometimes cajole participants into believing that they can and will succeed.
The system automatically tracks activities and milestones for each participant. As they reach milestones, the system will send auto-notifications via email to the case manager registered for the participant. Case managers also receive consolidated reports regarding all of their participants through email. Training completion, "I got a Job" and self-reported weekly work hours are also automatically sent to case managers.
At any time, a case manager or other administrator can log into the online community to see reports regarding their participants. Case managers only have access to their own clients, administrators can see all clients in an "office," super-administrators can see multiple offices.
The Home-Based Distance Learning Project has been utilized in 92 workforce development programs throughout the country since 2000. Participants have spent more than 900,000 hours online, taken 77,946 courses and have shown consistent success in job acquisition, retention and wage increases. U.S. DOL TEGL 17-07 refers to several examples of the program including the specific mention of New Jersey's program on Page 9.
New Jersey Program Results (Since 2000): (as reported by NJDOLWD)
| Six months after exit: |
84% employment |
| One year after exit: |
92% employment, 91% retention |
| Two years after exit: |
67% employment, 70% retention |
Computer Security:
The computers distributed by Business Access include extensive security mechanisms to monitor and control their use. These mechanisms allow Business Access to inventory machines (including their geographic locations) on a regular basis, review what has been downloaded onto the machines for support and control purposes, to force contact with Business Access before continuing use of the machine and (if necessary) to disable the use of the machine until it is returned to Business Access. When the participants report 60 days of employment retention, they will earn ownership of the computer - at which time Business Access will turn off the security mechanisms and release the computer from its inventory control.
ITA Goals and Milestones:
1. Orientation complete (25%)
When the classroom-based orientation is complete, workforce board will be invoiced for the first payment milestone of $1,062.50.
2. Computer installed (25%)
When the personal use of computer is verified through log-in, the workforce board will be invoiced for the second milestone of $1,062.50.
3. Computer literacy/Career skills demonstrated (30%)
When the participant demonstrates computer literacy by passing a computer literacy curriculum and/or testing out of the computer literacy curriculum or completes another online curriculum (as listed in the New Jersey's Guide to Training and Education Programs), the workforce board will be invoiced for the third payment milestone of $1,275.
4. Employment retention (20%)
When the participant is employed for 60 days, the workforce board will be invoiced for the final milestone of $850. Participant earns ownership of the computer when this milestone is met.
Business Access Contact Information:
For more information, please contact Kim Bunting, kbunting@business-access.com, 214-556-5374 or Daylan Beamon, dbeamon@business-access.com, 972-345-5191
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