WATEP works with courts to help with employment, skills assistance

A new employment program – the Western Arkansas Transitional Employment Program (WATEP) – began Monday (Oct. 28) in Fort Smith to help people in difficult situations learn the skills needed to get into the workforce.

WATEP received $375,000 in funding through the Office of Skills Development, a division of the Arkansas Department of Commerce, to start the program that will work to educate and work with qualifying participants in order to help them find permanent employment, said Miles Crawford, regional development and operations manager for DPI Staffing in Arkansas who is involved with WATEP.

The program is a collaborative employment program that partners with the Western Arkansas District Court, Restore Hope/100 Families, DPI Staffing, and area non-profit organizations.

WATEP is designed to provide comprehensive, wrap-around support for participants that leads to sustainable, competitive employment, information from the program states. It focuses on employment and career planning; adult education and skills training; case management support; access to network service providers; and competitive employment upon graduation.

The program, which is funded through June 30, 2025, pays participants $15 an hour for 40 hours a week. That 40 hours is split into three areas – working for an area nonprofit; adult education or skills training; and working with a case worker to accomplish tasks specific to each participant, Crawford said.

“For some with food insecurities, that involves applying for benefits. For some, it could be getting a suspended drivers license reinstated. It will be different for each person. They will work with their case worker,” he said.

Case management will be handled by Restore Hope/100 Families. Participants will also work on education needs, which will be specific to individual participants and can include getting a GED, classes on specific skills or other things needed for the type of employment they are hoping to find, Crawford said.

“Our goal is to ensure participants not only secure competitive employment after graduation from the program but also receive the support needed to overcome challenges that have held them back so that they can achieve lasting long-term success,” information on the program states.

Western Arkansas District Court judges refer participants to the program, Crawford said. The participants are then interviewed. Because funding limits the number of participants, not all who are referred will be admitted into the program, he added.

“These are from district court. No one has a felony. They are all misdemeanor offenders,” he said. “The judges are really positive about this. They know who would be a good steward of the program.”

By going into the program, participants will be rehabilitated rather than punished, and it will help with jail overcrowding, Crawford said.

A percentage of the wages each participant earns will automatically go toward any outstanding fines they have with the court through payroll deductions, he said. After graduation, case workers will work with participants to help them set up a schedule to pay back any remaining fines with pay from the employment they are able to get.

When it comes to employment after graduation, WATEP is working with area companies. The program does not ask anyone to sign any contract saying they will hire its graduates. Rather, they ask employers to sign up and agree to interview graduates who fit the skills they need for a position, Crawford said.

While the program has some employers on board for the program, it is hoping to partner with many more in the area, he said. Having employers sign up with the program is important, he said, because it gives participants more options of what type of work they want to set as their goal. The more companies who agree to partner with the program, the more chances there are for successful graduates.

Program participants will take classes and learn skills that are specifically required for a job they want. While in the program, participants will work for partner non-profit organizations in whatever capacity needed.

“This is great help to the non-profits especially in times when there are budget cutbacks,” Crawford said.

It also serves the purpose of getting the participants employed while in the program and learning both job and life-skills needed to be employed and stay employed after they graduate. It is expected that it will take approximately three months for participants to complete the program, but that time depends on the person, Crawford said.

“Some may finish in 30-60 days. Others might take six to eight months. It depends on what they need to accomplish first,” he said.

The program has funding for 15 participants each in three segments before the end of the funded pilot period for a total of 45 graduates by June 30. If the pilot is a success, there is a chance for continued funding, Crawford said.