E2E Program Assists Incarcerated Californians Pending Release

One of the biggest hurdles for those incarcerated when they get out of prison is finding a job. Without work, many who have been behind bars for years face significant challenges to successfully transitioning back into society. A new program called "Entry to Employment" inside California state prisons is working to change that.

The E2E network – which has been a partnership effort between the California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA), the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and the California Employment Development Department for the past two years – connects incarcerated individuals with employers and helps them to secure employment before they are released from prison.

Piloted at California State Prison-Solano, the program officially kicked off in December and has already expanded to eight other institutions, including Central California Women’s Facility, Valley State Prison, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center and Avenal State Prison. According to Rusty Bechtold, CALPIA’s Assistant General Manager over Workforce Development, the program will be expanded to 13 facilities by November and will be instituted at all state facilities by 2025.

The E2E network provides incarcerated individuals with access to EDD’s second-chance employer list, job opportunities available through CalJOBS, and other popular employment websites as well as the private business sector, to help connect skills learned behind bars to career in a variety of fields, including wielding, optical, computer coding, underwater welding, and healthcare facilities maintenance.

Individuals with approximately 180 days left on their sentence and who are part of CALPIA’s job training program are eligible to participate in the E2E program. While in the program, members are assisted with not only work skills, but “soft skills” as well, including computer skills, writing and distributing a resume, the importance of showing up on time, how to handle conflict and appropriate interactions with manager and coworkers, and more.

Robert Castaneda, formerly incarcerated at California State Prison-Solano, worked through CALPIA’s optical program while serving a 20-year sentence and was able to obtain a optical technician certificate before earning a state license when he got out of prison. He is now a homeowner working for an optical company, while raising a family with his wife. Although the E2E program was not in place when he was incarcerated, Castaneda said a program like this is crucial for other incarcerated individuals because they have been removed from all of society’s regular practices while incarcerated.

“I had no life experience on the outside,” said Castaneda. “I had never had a driver’s license, I didn’t know how to use a computer. I was a bit clueless. I just didn’t know where to start. This can help the guys stay away from those frustrations, which could lead to anger and get them in trouble.”

Read the press release from CALPIA about the Entry to Employment Program --->>> CALPIA’s Entry to Employment Network Paves the Way to Employment for Incarcerated Individuals

Watch the E2E program featured on CBS13 - Sacramento --->>> New California prison program allows inmates to land jobs from behind bars pending their release