LINCOLN- On Tuesday, six Nebraska organizations that help former inmates find employment and progress in their communities were awarded "microgrants" from the Platte Institute, a nonprofit aiming to remove barriers to growth and opportunity, especially in workforce development.

Institute CEO Jim Vokal said the grants are meant to underscore what the organization sees as a need for Nebraska's lawmakers, which is to adopt workforce licensing reform, particularly for universal recognition of licenses from out-of-state, along with a second chance component to remove the barriers that currently exclude some former inmates from state licensure in certain occupations.

Such legislation, according to Vokal, "will open our workforce to groups that have traditionally faced barriers to work and those impacted by burdensome overregulation." Awardees include the Heart Ministry Center, On The Inside, Omaha Alternatives to Violence Project; Bridges to Hope, Queens Butterfly House, and Nebraskans Unafraid.

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