Initiative will help states build pathways to quality jobs for people with records
BOSTON, Aug. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Jobs for the Future (JFF), a national nonprofit that transforms U.S. education and workforce systems, has received a $19.5 million grant from Ascendium Education Group to engage four grantee states in its Fair Chance to Advance initiative.
Launched in 2024 and led by JFF’s Center for Justice & Economic Advancement, Fair Chance to Advance is designed to address persistent barriers—including discriminatory hiring practices and legal restrictions, often exacerbated by misaligned systems—that limit economic opportunities for many of the more than 70 million people in the United States with records of arrest, conviction, or incarceration.
Fair Chance to Advance will support states’ efforts to scale high-quality postsecondary education and training programs in correctional facilities and ensure that more people leave prison with the credentials, skills, employer connections, and wraparound supports they need to succeed in today’s workforce. The initiative will also help states build data systems that track people’s post-incarceration educational and employment outcomes, creating the transparency and accountability to sustain long-term change.
“Fair Chance to Advance is a transformative effort to align states’ education, workforce, and employment systems to expand opportunities for people with records and build strong talent pipelines,” said JFF President and CEO Maria Flynn. “We’re grateful to Ascendium for supporting an initiative that’s rooted in the belief that every person, regardless of their past, deserves a fair chance to access education, quality jobs, and long-term career advancement.”
With Ascendium’s support, JFF will convene the inaugural cohort of Fair Chance to Advance State Action Networks. Over the next four years, each of the four states selected for the cohort will receive up to $2.1 million in funding, more than $1.8 million in technical assistance from JFF and the nonprofit Coleridge Initiative, and access to a national peer learning network to accelerate systems change efforts underway in their state. In each state, cross-sector coalitions—with representatives from the fields of corrections, workforce development, postsecondary education, and business and industry, including leaders whose lives have been directly impacted by interactions with the criminal justice system—will work together to remove policy barriers, expand learning and career training opportunities in prisons, and strengthen connections to fair chance employers post-release.
“The education, workforce, and corrections systems that should support people as they return to their communities often operate in isolation with little communication or collaboration” said Lucretia Murphy, vice president of JFF’s Center for Justice & Economic Advancement. “Fair Chance to Advance gives states the tools, resources, and partnerships needed to align those systems and create pathways to economic mobility and lasting change for people with records.”
“Ascendium is committed to helping learners with histories of incarceration receive meaningful credentials that lead to career pathways and economic advancement,” said Molly Lasagna, senior strategy officer at Ascendium Education Group. “JFF’s Fair Chance to Advance initiative will build the critical alignment among corrections, postsecondary education, workforce development, and reentry systems to create these opportunities for tens of thousands of learners.”
JFF is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) inviting states to apply to join the first cohort of Fair Chance to Advance State Action Networks. Proposals from states interested in this opportunity are due by October 14, 2025, and prospective applicants are asked to submit a nonbinding letter of intent to apply by August 26, 2025.
To learn more, prospective applicants can visit the FC2A webpage to access the full RFP, watch a recorded informational session in which JFF shared details of the initiative, or sign up to meet with members of the JFF team during office hours that will be offered throughout the application period. Questions about the initiative can also be emailed to FairChanceToAdvance@jff.org.
About Jobs for the Future
Jobs for the Future (JFF) transforms U.S. education and workforce systems to drive economic success for people, businesses, and communities. We do this by designing solutions, scaling best practices, influencing policy and action, and investing in innovation. jff.org
About the Coleridge Initiative
The Coleridge Initiative is a nonprofit organization working with governments to ensure that data are more effectively used for public decision-making. We achieve this by providing a secure platform to safely link confidential data within and across states and agencies, by providing data literacy training to agency staff, and by creating analytic reports and products to build the evidence base. Our work in the field of corrections focuses on building the data systems necessary to answer questions about the educational experiences of students while incarcerated and the educational and workforce outcomes of these students post-incarceration.
About Ascendium Education Group
Ascendium Education Group® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization driven by the belief that learning after high school gives people the power to build better futures. Our national philanthropy focuses on increasing opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds to achieve upward mobility through postsecondary education and workforce training. We partner with organizations whose objectives align with our core strategies to expand opportunity, support learner success, and connect and align systems. Our grantees include postsecondary education and workforce training providers, intermediaries, researchers, and media organizations from across the U.S. To learn more, visit ascendiumphilanthropy.org.
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SOURCE JOBS FOR THE FUTURE INC
