Government Grants and Scholarships For Felons. After serving a long term in prison, many felons leave the jail reformed. They are fully ready to serve society. However, most employers and organizations are unwilling to felons. This is because of their records. It is a fact that there are various reasons why a felon commits any crime. Once they pay the debt to the government and society, felons should get a chance to live a dignified life. They have the right to live like the other members of the community.
The federal government offers various grants to felons. These grants are for helping them and preventing them from getting back to crime as well as meeting their needs. These grants are for the felons and give them another chance. It provides opportunities to go back to school, be a business owner, or work for the government with an extensive range of possibilities.
Unfortunately, most of the felons are unaware of these government grants for felons. They find themselves stranded once they get out of prison. So, here we have made a list of various government grants and scholarships that are available for felons.
Scholarships And Government Grants For Felons
The federal government and some private institutions help felons transforming their life after prison by offering various grants. Here, you can intimately know about the grants that ex-criminals can get from the government –
Educational Pell grants for felons
Education or training is the best way to start a new career. However, education is not possible for everyone because of the financial crisis.
Pell grants for felons allow ex-convicts to complete their education without much hassle. These grants are not for any particular skill or field. They hold the motive of offering high-quality education to all.
However, it is essential to keep in mind that these grants are only for educational purposes. Besides, no one can incarcerate when felons are receiving a Pell grant. This implies that felons can apply for the grant while being in any prison, but will have to wait till they get released.
Unlike other crimes, serious crimes related to sex and drugs can prevent criminals from receiving Pell grants. Felon convicted of a drug offense has to complete a drug treatment program to be eligible for the grant. The felon can also regain eligibility after passing two drug tests by any certified doctor. However, felons convicted for drug sales do not fall into this category. There is a restriction of their eligibility that is indefinite.
How to apply for Pell grants –
Being a felon, it requires great determination along with a genuine desire to get a Pell grant and go back to school. To apply for this grant, it is essential that you find out everything about the involved paperwork and then follow all the application procedures diligently.
First, it is vital to submit a duly filled FAFSA form. It should be accessible through the internet. Submitting the form online is a much faster process, but filling the form in paper format is also available in many locations. This form will require details and essential information about the financial status of the felon’s family and the intended educational programs.
There are several factors on which the amount of the Pell grant depends. These factors include the family’s expected financial contribution, the cost of tuition for the grant, considering and if the felon is attending any enrollment program (full-time or part-time).
Department of labor
The department of labor also offers various grant programs to felons out of prison. These grants give a better landing to prevent felons from getting re-engaged in criminal activities. The grants include:
Workforce Innovation and opportunity act (WIOA)
To improve the government’s role in solving the problem of the reintegration of criminals into society, WIOA holds the responsibility to help them along with other displaced workers. The function of this grant is to design and coordinate with the American Job Center, and here, ex-culprits have a chance to explore career opportunities, and find training.
Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO)
Authorized by WIOA, REO is responsible for researching along with the evaluation for justice of the formerly incarcerated fellows. It focuses on developing strategies and partnerships for the implementation of effective programs, which are capable of improving labor outcomes.
Also, every state has a labor department office that is to coordinate benefits for employers. There are benefits for employers, such as incentives for them to employ felons on a full-time basis. For example, in New York, the department of labor extends bonuses of up to $10,000 through its federal program, and employers who qualify have to offer full-time employment to felons.
As listed above, applying for government grants for felons needs you to have all the resources and information related to the application procedure.
Some of the other funding opportunities for felons include:
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Workforce Data Quality Initiative
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National Dislocated Workers Reserve Grants
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Fidelity Bonding Demonstration Grants
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State Apprenticeship Expansion
Scholarships for felons –
Felons get various scholarships for education. Just like the grants, there is no need for repaying these scholarships. The only difference between scholarships and grants is the provider as the federal government offers grants, and education institutions usually provide scholarships. These scholarships differ when it comes to benefits in paying part of the educational fees and other tuition costs. The fact that these scholarships are immensely competitive, it is always a smart choice to apply many of them.
The conclusion –
Nothing can be worse than going back to prison after serving a long period. So, if you are an ex-culprit, we advise you to make the best use of all the advantages offered by the government through various grants and scholarships. These government grants for felons are for them to lead a better life of dignity.
Read Also : How to get Government Grants for Convicted Felons
