FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (25-10)

CONTACT Dayne Urbanovsky, Director of Strategic Communications

OFFICE 402-479-5799 | dayne.urbanovsky@nebraska.gov

March 20, 2025 (Lincoln, Neb.) – The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) is accepting applications for Vocational and Life Skills (VLS) training programs that provide key services to bridge the transition from incarceration to community reentry.

Priority will be given to community colleges, federally or state recognized Native American tribes, and community-based organizations who offer programs, services or training related to career pathways, safe and affordable housing, health and wellbeing, life skills, family connections, and economic mobility and stability.

“The VLS program is a key part of the TRANSFORM Nebraska framework to prepare people to be successful as they re-enter their communities,” said NDCS Deputy Director Dawn-Renee Smith. “The partners who are part of this program are committed to holistic personal development and community reintegration.”

VLS provides community-based opportunities for adults who are incarcerated, discharged from prison within the past eighteen months, or serving a period of supervision on parole or probation. Services offered through VLS are available at no cost to participants.

Funding for this VLS program originates from LB 907, passed by the Nebraska Legislature in 2014, with the intent of addressing barriers to employment and increasing reentry success. This grant cycle, which is one of several that NDCS administers, will begin on July 1, 2025, and run through June 30, 2027. The entire annual allocation of $3.5 million is available each year of this two-year grant period, subject to appropriation.

NDCS works with the Nebraska Center for Justice Research (NCJR) at the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) to ensure all of the VLS programs address the needs of participants and deliver the desired outcomes.

The application is available here: https://corrections.nebraska.gov/about/rehabilitation/vocational/life-skills-programs. For questions about the application process, contact Trisha Larkin, Vocational & Life Skills program manager at (402) 657-2780 or trisha.larkin@nebraska.gov. Applications and all required documentation must be submitted by April 7, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.

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