Fed grant to help female Indiana ex-cons

An Indianapolis not-for-profit is receiving a $1.5 million federal grant to provide job training and support services to girls or women who formerly were incarcerated.

The U.S. Labor Department said Thursday that Volunteers of America of Indiana Inc. is among nine not-for-profits across the country receiving the grants to help the woman make the transition back to their communities after they've done their time

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports show women accounted for 25 percent of all arrests in 2010, including 20 percent of arrests for violent crime and 38 percent of arrests for property crimes. Over the past 10 years, arrests of men declined by 7 percent while arrests of women increased by 10 percent.