The New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) and Starbucks are teaming up to equip inmates with practical job skills ahead of their reentry into society.

Run through a partnership with the coffee giant, the first-of-its kind program offers nine weeks’ worth of barista training from a local Starbucks manager to five incarcerated individuals from the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility.

The new job readiness program – which is part of the NJDOC’s Providing Access to Community Employment (PACE) initiative – recently celebrated the graduation of its first cohort and is expected to expand to other facilities, providing 30 to 40 additional incarcerated persons with the opportunity to participate each year.

In recent years, a growing number of jails nationwide, including Rikers Island in New York City, have launched barista training programs on the belief that the food and hospitality industry can help soften the blow of incarceration for former inmates by providing a critical link to employment.

In a statement, Chief of the Division of Programs & Reintegration Services Darcella Sessomes described the program as “an excellent opportunity for each participant to learn a new marketable skill in the coffee house industry.”

Besides gaining experience on making signature coffees, teas and cold brews, they learn customer service, teamwork and other transferrable skills, such as writing resumes and practicing mock job interviews, all of which are “critical to opening up doors for future employment as they return to the community,” Sessomes said.

All within 36 months of release, the new graduates were transported once a week from their facility to a café at the Mates Inn, a restaurant on the grounds of the NJDOC’s central office in Trenton where inmates are trained on culinary arts.

Program Coordinator Cher McCall said, “We believe that reentry programs are something that’s really important in ensuring individuals are provided the necessary tools and skills prior to their reintegration back to society. The barista training program provides real work experience in addition to existing programs that offer job readiness coaching, classroom instruction, and occupation-specific training.”

“The New Jersey Department of Corrections is at the forefront of providing reintegration services to individuals both during and following incarceration to help them succeed in the community,” added Commissioner Victoria Kuhn. “We are committed to providing incarcerated persons with real-world job skills and training to help them become productive and fulfilled members of the community.”

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