S 1643: Establishes a job fair pilot program for certain residents of correctional facilities in the Wende and New York City correctional facility hubs.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1643 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to establishing a job fair pilot program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 201 of the correction law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 16 to read as follows: 3 16. (a) The department shall establish a three-year job fair pilot 4 program to assist incarcerated individuals who are within six months of 5 release to community supervision or who are otherwise within six months 6 of their release date in finding employment. Such job fairs shall be 7 held no less than three times per year in the Wende and New York City 8 correctional facility hubs and shall be implemented by the commissioner 9 in cooperation with the commissioner of labor. The commissioner shall 10 appoint a coordinator for such job fair in each prison where such fairs 11 are held. Eligible incarcerated individuals who reside in correctional 12 facilities in the Wende or New York City correctional facility hubs 13 shall be offered the opportunity to attend the job fair and, if they 14 elect to attend, must be escorted or transported to the site of such job 15 fair. Individuals shall not be shackled during the job fair. Incarcerat- 16 ed individuals who would otherwise be eligible to participate in the 17 pilot program but who reside in Albion, Taconic or Bedford Correctional 18 Facilities shall not be included in the job fair pilot program but shall 19 be offered enhanced job search opportunities for the duration of the 20 program as practicable. Job fairs shall provide incarcerated individuals 21 with help in resume preparation, internet employment searches, interview 22 advice and other relevant job skills. Potential employers and industry 23 representatives shall be identified by the commissioner in cooperation 24 with the commissioner of the department of labor and shall be invited to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03728-01-5 
 S. 1643 2 1 such job fairs in order to assist incarcerated individuals in finding 2 employment upon release. 3 (b) The commissioner shall conduct evaluations of the program annually 4 with a summary evaluation at the end of the pilot program. Such evalu- 5 ations shall include recidivism statistics for job fair attendees, as 6 well as number of attendees, employers attending, the number of jobs 7 offered to such attendees prior to the end of their period of incarcera- 8 tion and other relevant information on the efficacy of the job fairs. 9 Such evaluations shall be reported to the public and the legislature by 10 December thirty-first of each year of the pilot program, with recidivism 11 statistics reported for an additional three years after the pilot 12 program has ended. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 14 law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any 15 rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its 16 effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such 17 effective date.