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Society-Ready Graduates PHASE Program: Project for Homemakers in Arizona Seeking Employment Issue Women with barriers to employment include single parents, displaced homemakers, incarcerated and offender women, and women with substance abuse issues. They often don't know where to begin in finishing their education, finding a job, and building a career in general. As the economy continues to tighten, there is a greater need than ever before for strategies to assist people in moving from government dependency to self-sufficiency. What has been done? The PHASE program (Project for Homemakers in Arizona Seeking Employment) began in 1978 to assist low income women with their job search. The program provides career assessment; job search and nontraditional employment workshops; pre-apprenticeship training in highway construction; classes in basic and advanced computer skills and keyboarding; assistance with education/training; and job placement assistance. Impact Federal and local funders have recognized the importance of this program, which has an 84 percent training and/or job placement rate. PHASE has assisted more than 8,000 women in Pima County since 1978. Men comprise about 7 percent of the total number of clients served. Legislation enacted four years ago has allowed PHASE to add other special populations including incarcerated women and female ex-offenders. PHASE staff actually go into the local Southern Arizona Correctional Release Center (SACRC) to provide job readiness skills to those women who are within 30 to 60 days of being released. Based on a year's followup, there is less than a 7 percent recidivism rate for female offenders in the program. "I credit PHASE with the assistance I received in identifying my learning disability, assisting me with employment and training services, and rebuilding my self-confidence. I have never been happier." –displaced homemaker "I am writing to thank you so much for the tuition grant I received from you for Fall 2003 semester at Pima Community College. This has helped me get a great start on my future. I successfully completed my first semester thanks to your help. ...Your assistance has been instrumental in guiding toward my goal of becoming CAD drafting certified and a self-sufficient, single parent." –PHASE client Funding Pima County Community Services (Workforce Investment Act dollars), Arizona Department of Transportation Arizona Department of Education, Pima County Juvenile Justice CourtSchool of Family and Consumer Sciences, UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The West, Resource Exchange, Community donors Contact Julie Castro, Director PHASE ProgramThe University of Arizona 1230 N. Park, #209 Tucson, AZ 85721 Tel.: (520) 621-3902, Fax: (520) 621-5008 Email: phase@ag.arizona.edu Return
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