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CEO helps men and women coming home from prison successfully enter the workforce. CEO's evidence-based model combines life skills education, short-term paid transitional employment, full-time job placement and post-placement services. Addressing the employment needs of people with criminal convictions through the CEO model reduces the likelihood of re-incarceration and helps participants build a foundation for a stable, productive life for themselves and their families.

Life Skills Education

-addressing behavioral and skills gaps related to finding and keeping a job and how to answer specific employer questions about past convictions.

Transitional Jobs

Transitional Jobs -providing immediate work (daily paycheck) as well as a work environment from which to evaluate participants' ability to be on time, communicate and be productive.

Placement Services

-providing assistance securing unsubsidized employment with appropriate private and public sector employers based on an participant assessment and skill levels.

Post Placement

Post Placement Services -offering ongoing support and incentives to encourage participants to remain employed as well as assistance with job upgrades or job replacement in the event of a layoff or other circumstance.

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CEO helps men and women coming home from prison successfully enter the workforce. CEO's evidence-based model combines life skills education, short-term paid transitional employment, full-time job placement and post-placement services. Addressing the employment needs of people with criminal convictions through the CEO model reduces the likelihood of re-incarceration and helps participants build a foundation for a stable, productive life for themselves and their families.

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By Felicia
Jourdain-Johnson

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13th Trailer: Ava DuVernay Investigates Mass Incarceration

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13th Trailer: Ava DuVernay Investigates Mass Incarceration

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Ranked Nonprofits: National Workforce Development 2013

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Ranked Nonprofits: National Workforce Development 2013

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The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) is dedicated to providing immediate, effective and comprehensive employment services to men and women with recent criminal convictions. Our highly structured and tightly supervised programs help participants regain the skills and confidence needed for successful transitions to stable, productive lives.

CEO's vision is that anyone with a recent criminal history who wants to work has the preparation and support needed to find a job and to stay connected to the labor force.

CEO's Theory of Change posits that if the employment needs of persons with criminal convictions are addressed at their most vulnerable point-when they are first released from incarceration or soon after conviction-by providing life skills education, short-term paid transitional employment, full-time job placement and post-placement services, they will be less likely to become reincarcerated and more likely to build a foundation for a stable, productive life for themselves and their families.

Based on our Theory of Change, CEO's program model provides a road map for participants to achieve a long-term goal of remaining attached to the legitimate workforce and maintaining their freedom.

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The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) is dedicated to providing immediate, effective and comprehensive employment services to men and women with recent criminal convictions. Our highly structured and tightly supervised programs help participants regain the skills and confidence needed for successful transitions to stable, productive lives.

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Racial and ethnic disparities at U.S. correctional facilities, 2005

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Racial and ethnic disparities at U.S. correctional facilities, 2005

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Prison Policy Initiative

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How many people are locked up in the United States?

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How many people are locked up in the United States?

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Prison Policy Initiative

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Bureau of Justice Statistics

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Bureau of Justice Statistics Reentry Trends in the U.S.: Highlights

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Introduction and highlights of Reentry Trends in the U.S.

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FOR PROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANTS
What is CEO?
What kind of long term jobs does CEO provide?
Why don't we use the term ex-offender?
How do you recruit program participants?
What does a CEO participant experience from start to finish?
Are there any fees for services?
How quickly will I get a job?
What if CEO appointments conflict with appointments with my P.O or any other programs mandated by parole?
If I join CEO, am I still eligible to receive benefits and other public assistance?
What happens if I miss one day of Life Skills class?
What kind of jobs are available at Transitional Job sites and what are the tasks involved?
Where are the TJ sites?
Will I be able to pick my own Transitional Job sites?
How can I get to the TJ sites?
When would I receive my first paycheck from Transitional Job sites?
Does CEO offer other services?
If I am laid-off from my full-time job, can I come back to CEO?

FOR PROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANTS-CEO ACADEMY
At CEO Academy, can I earn more than one trade certificate?
I am interested in CEO Academy! How do I enroll?

CEO offers employment services to clients at their most vulnerable point - when they are first released from incarceration. By putting people to work, CEO is offering the foundation needed to address the complicated issues that arise from re-entry. After placing participants in transitional work, CEO then works with them to find long-term employment.
What kind of long term jobs does CEO provide?
In New York City and upstate New York, CEO has made a large percentage of placements in the service and retail sectors. The exception is Buffalo, where the lionshare of placements have been in warehousing, construction and light industry.
Why don't we use the term ex-offender?
At CEO, we believe that words matter, especially when it comes to how we talk about people. Sometimes people describe CEO's clients using words like: ex-cons, convicts, ex-inmates, ex-offenders, felons, or ex-prisoners. At CEO we believe that although our participants have a criminal conviction, it shouldn't define who they are and that they should be able to move forward positively in their lives. As an alternative, we suggest people use words like "formerly incarcerated individual," or something similar, to describe someone who has returned home from prison.
How do you recruit program participants?
We recruit program participants through referrals from parole and probation officers, as well as community based organizations.
What does a CEO participant experience from start to finish?
During the first week at CEO, you will participate in Life Skills Education (LSE) for five days in New York City (four days in our other offices). Throughout that week until graduation, you work in a classroom setting to develop skills necessary to level the playing field for your job search in a highly competitive market. Applications, mock interviews, proper attire, answering the conviction question, resume development, and presentation skills are some of the things that will be covered.

Following this, you can expect up to four days of work on our transitional worksites. These sites are located at various colleges, court buildings, city office buildings, highways and NYCHA locations around the five boroughs. For each day you work, you are paid.

The day you do not work on a worksite, or the day after for those who worked on a night site, are dedicated for job search days when you meet with a Job Developer or Job Coach. During this phase, you are assessed for Job Start Readiness (JSR). Once you are JSR, you are sent for job interviews with prospective employers.

Upon successfully being hired in a full-time job, you enter the next phase, Job Retention. For one year a Retention Specialist supports you to stay employed, and provides monthly incentives valued up to $1,000! (Rules, limitations and eligibility requirements may apply.)

We also provide new career opportunities for participants who have gained employment and wish to learn a trade in the electrical, plumbing or carpentry fields. At the CEO Academy there are classes in the skilled trades. These classes are conducted in the evenings and on weekends.
Are there any fees for services?
There are no fees for CEO participants!
How quickly will I get a job?
It depends on your efforts; however, in NYC over the last 2 years participants have been averaging 23 business days on a Transitional Job crew before finding a full-time job.
What if CEO appointments conflict with appointments with my P.O or any other programs mandated by parole?
Generally, your JD and/or JC may contact your PO to discuss scheduling conflicts if those conflicts are preventing you from starting a full-time job outside of CEO. While you are attending CEO and looking for a full-time job, your Job Coach and/or Job Developer will help you to develop an attendance schedule that works for you.
If I join CEO, am I still eligible to receive benefits and other public assistance?
The wages you receive at CEO will not disqualify you from receiving Food Stamps and/or Medicaid if you are otherwise eligible. Due to CEO's time commitment and the income received from transitional work, participants may experience problems with their cash and/or rent assistance. Therefore, it is not guaranteed that CEO participants will qualify to receive cash and/or rent assistance. CEO does not report participants' income to HRA. However, CEO reports all income earned to the IRS and HRA has the ability to search these records. Participants experiencing issues with their benefits may contact the Single Stop department for more assistance.
What happens if I miss one day of Life Skills class?
If you miss one day of class at CEO, you will have to start the class over again.
What kinds of jobs are available at Transitional Job sites and what are the tasks involved?
Grounds keeping, custodial and maintenance, working with the building and ground crews (for example, raking leaves), stripping and buffing floors (court houses), emptying out trash cans, etc.

For more information please click here.
Where are the TJ sites?
In NYC, all throughout the five boroughs, for both day and night shifts. Upstate, Tulsa and California locations are also close to the CEO offices.
Will I be able to pick my own Transitional Job sites?
That depends on the availability of sites when you call. We usually try to offer you sites within your own borough or a borough near you.
How can I get to the TJ sites?
You can always call Data's Direct Line to get directions to any TJ site, which are usually easy to reach via public transit. Directions are also listed in your Passport to Success (PTS) book. For certain sites CEO provides a hub-a meeting spot for CEO participants where a van will pick you up and bring you to the site.
When would I receive my first paycheck from Transitional Job sites?
If you work a day site, you will get paid that day. If you work a night site, you will get paid the next day.
Does CEO offer other services?
In NYC we also have programs for parents. Please click here for more information. Participants may also take advantage of Single Stop, for help navigating the public benefits system and other services to help break down the barriers to employment.
If I am laid-off from my full-time job, can I come back to CEO?
All participants are allowed to reapply for CEO. To ensure the best chances for reinstatement, it is advised to get in contact with CEO immediately after job termination. You can contact a JC, JD or retention specialist for help.
PROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANTS-CEO ACADEMY What trades can I earn certificates in?
Currently the CEO Academy offers certificates in the plumbing, electrical and carpentry trades.
At CEO Academy, can I earn more than one trade certificate?
Yes, it is possible to earn more than one certification, but you must concentrate on one trade at a time.
I am interested in CEO Academy! How do I enroll?
First, you should make sure you have the proper qualifications to enroll: You must be able to demonstrate that you have been working an unsubsidized job for at least 90 days by providing a pay stub. You have to pass a reading and math test at or above 7.6 grade level. More importantly, you must be legally eligible to work in the US and you have to be able to make an eight-ten month commitment to the training two days a week in the evenings in the Bronx.

You may then contact CEO Academy at 646.393.4400 to discuss more details.

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FOR PROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANTS What is CEO? What kind of long term jobs does CEO provide? Why don't we use the term ex-offender? How do you recruit program participants? What does a CEO participant experience from start to finish? Are there any fees for services? How quickly will I get a job?

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The Smart Way to Help Ex-Convicts, and Society

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The Smart Way to Help Ex-Convicts, and Society

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By Robert E. Rubin 6/3/16

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Op-Ed Contributor

I RECENTLY gave a talk at the state prison in San Quentin, Calif. At the event, a former inmate said, "I don't understand why over the 18-year period of my incarceration, over $900,000 was paid to keep me in prison. But when I was paroled, I was given $200 and told 'good luck.' "

He's right. For our economy to succeed, we need to equip every American to be effective in the national work force. But the more than 600,000 people who leave prison every year are not getting the support they need. That fails them and fails the economy for all of us.

To prepare for my talk at San Quentin, I spoke with some of the people incarcerated there. I was trying to understand what I had to offer them in a speech - and I discovered how much they had to offer me. They are individuals - with a whole range of strengths, weaknesses and, yes, contributions still to make. And while there's been a rightful focus on ending mass incarceration, there has been little public discussion of how we reintegrate this growing population.

Criminal justice reform is not just about being fair to the individuals who will be most directly affected, but it's also about doing what's right for our nation's well-being. A 2009 study estimated that the official poverty rate would have declined by 10 percent for the years 1980 until 2004 had it not been for our incarceration policies. And while there hasn't been a large-scale study of the economic effects of criminal-justice reform, most experts in the field agree that preparing people for life after prison is a critically important public investment that would alleviate poverty and increase worker productivity.

In California, incarceration policies have already changed, and the San Quentin inmates I spoke to said that the increased chance of freedom has changed the way they behave in prison. They said they were more focused on increasing their chances of parole and preparing for life after San Quentin by trying to learn the skills and behaviors that can lead to productive and meaningful lives outside.

When you witness the powerful effect the prospect of release has on changing behavior, it helps you realize how badly we are analyzing the effects of the current system on the outcomes we want for society. And when you analyze the economic effects of our current system, it becomes clear where it is failing.

How is giving a former inmate $200 and not much else - no suitable place to live, no help finding work, no help adjusting to life outside prison walls - preparing him for a productive life? Society imposes a stigma on former prisoners that makes all of that harder. All of this decreases the probability of success.

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Inmates at San Quentin. Credit Max Whittaker for The New York Times

There are five key areas where we could make a significant difference in improving the chance that individuals released from prison can make a successful transition to mainstream society.

First, we need to enhance educational opportunities for people inside prison and just out of it. Many prisons offer some level of basic education and G.E.D. preparation, but it is often inadequate, and higher education is almost entirely lacking. Fewer than one in 10 inmates has access to college-level classes. Inmates who are interested and qualified should have the opportunity to pursue a college education; it will only improve their chance to succeed when released.

Second, we should remove unfair barriers to employment. Many jobs now require professional certification, like being a barber in Connecticut or a truck driver in Texas, and state certification boards often bar former prisoners. We should eliminate those blanket prohibitions.

Third, we should support transitional assistance efforts across the country. For example, the New York-based Center for Employment Opportunities provides work in four states for people as soon as they are released, and couples those opportunities with skills programs, training and job placement. Efforts like these have proven records of success and should be deployed nationwide.

Fourth, we need to help the formerly incarcerated have access to secure and stable housing. Currently, many states ban former prisoners from living in assisted housing. We should instead give individual housing authorities discretion so they can protect the safety of residents but also offer housing to people leaving prison who are ready to start new, productive lives.

And finally, we should help people take advantage of health care coverage for which they are already eligible. Twenty-eight states expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, and while most people just out of prison are eligible for it, too many are unaware or need assistance enrolling.

Of course, these investments cost money, but come with a significant return. Because efforts to help people make a successful transition back to mainstream society both reduce recidivism and equip former prisoners to be effective parts of the work force, it will help our economy over the long term.

Solving this problem begins with people outside prison recognizing the humanity of people inside prison. As one man incarcerated at San Quentin said to me: "Nobody is just the crime they committed. We are all much more than the worst thing we have done."

People in prison are part of America, as are those who have been released. They are part of our society. And we have a powerful stake in their success.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A23 of the New York edition with the headline: How to Help Former Inmates Thrive. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

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Opinion | The Smart Way to Help Ex-Convicts, and Society

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Op-Ed Contributor I RECENTLY gave a talk at the state prison in San Quentin, Calif. At the event, a former inmate said, "I don't understand why over the 18-year period of my incarceration, over $900,000 was paid to keep me in prison. But when I was paroled, I was given $200 and told 'good luck.'

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A New Investment Opportunity: Helping Ex-Convicts

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A New Investment Opportunity: Helping Ex-Convicts

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By Alana Semuels 12/21/15

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A New York program asks outsiders to fund a promising initiative to reduce recidivism. If it gets results, they get a payout.

Rich Pedroncelli / AP

Every year, the government spends billions of dollars on programs designed to help America's neediest citizens. In many cases, whether these programs work is anyone's guess.

Less than $1 out of every $100 of federal government spending is "backed by even the most basic evidence that the money is being spent wisely," wrote Peter Orszag, the former head of the Office of Management and Budget, and John Bridgeland, the former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, in a 2013 piece in The Atlantic.

In their article, Orszag and Bridgeland advocate for a "moneyball for government," arguing that an era of fiscal scarcity should force Washington to become more results-oriented.

A new partnership among New York State, 40 private investors, and a nonprofit called the Center for Employment Opportunities seeks to apply this sort of thinking to an area of policy that has been particularly resistant to interventions: lowering the recidivism rate in an era of growing prison populations.

The investors, including private philanthropists and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, have put up a total of $13.5 million to fund an expansion of the work that an organization called the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) already does with people coming out of prison. CEO's model is simple: It prepares people who have criminal records for the workplace, gives them up to 75 days of temporary employment, and then helps them find jobs of their own. With the $13.5 million, CEO will work with an additional 2,000 clients, targeting the highest-risk people.

More From Our Partners

But the expansion of the program isn't charity: The project is a so-called "Pay for Success" initiative, modeled after social-impact bonds, which were first used in the United Kingdom five years ago. The basic idea is that investors fund a program that has a promising approach, putting in place extensive data-collection points so that they can track the program's results. The investors are betting on the idea that the program can do a better-and less expensive-job of providing a given service than the status quo. If they're right, and the program meets certain expectations-in this case the benchmarks for success are to reduce recidivism by eight percent and increase employment by five percent-the government will have saved money in less prison spending. The government then pays back the investors with its savings. If the program succeeds, investors can earn a return. If it exceeds those goals substantially, investors can get a bigger return, which in this case is capped at 10 percent. The state at no point spends more money than it would have spent incarcerating the 2,000 individuals anyway.

The Pay for Success strategy isn't just a way to test CEO's model. It's a way to bring careful, data-based monitoring of a program's effect into government spending.

* * *

There are dozens of programs that seek to help people re-enter the community once they're released from prison. They provide job training and housing assistance and college-preparation classes and counseling. But a lot of people still end up back in prison. About 700,000 individuals are released from prison nationally each year; the national recidivism rate is about 40 percent.

CEO can make a dent in this, its backers say, because it gives its clients something more: a job. Clients come in, go through a week of job-readiness training, and then get a pair of steel-toed boots and a spot on one of CEO's five-to-seven-person crews. The crews rotate through the city, cleaning courtrooms and performing maintenance on community-college buildings and public-housing properties.

Getting clients back into the workforce, even temporarily, is a key part of CEO's program, Sam Schaeffer, the executive director of CEO, told me. People who have never worked, or who haven't worked in decades find themselves furnished with a metro card, a place to be every morning, and a supervisor to report to.

"You're earning a daily paycheck, and all of a sudden you're getting on the subway, with that metro card that you couldn't afford two weeks ago and you're reading the paper, and you're sort of like, 'Yea, I can do this,'" he said.

Charles Russell was released from prison 14 months ago, after serving 25 years for murder in the second degree. It wasn't his first time in prison-he'd previously served four years for drug-related charges. When he was released last year, Russell says it took some time to adjust to the strange changes in society: the people walking down the street who appeared to be talking to themselves but were actually on Bluetooth devices, the people engrossed in their cellphones as they walked. He tried a few re-entry programs when he first got out. None helped him find a job.

Before coming to CEO, Russell had been a finalist for an interview and had been asked about his conviction. When he told her he'd been convicted of murder in the second degree, he said, the potential employer backed off and said her supervisor wouldn't let her hire him.

A criminal record "is like an elephant in the room, it constantly haunts you," he told me. When I met him, Russell was dressed in a gray suit with a green striped tie, looking more like a grandfather than someone who had committed a Class A felony. CEO helped him become more confident, he told me. It trained him for job interviews, and helped him figure out how to talk about his conviction, emphasizing his accomplishments and behavioral record in prison, rather than what put him in there. Being back at work after so long "is humbling," he said. "It keeps you out of trouble and gives you some money to eat with."

The crews are made up of five to seven people at once, so members can encourage each other and learn from the supervisor, who rates them on how well they cooperate with co-workers, whether they're on time, how they present themselves, and the effort they make at their jobs. Clients begin by working four days a week, receiving a paycheck at the end of each day, and meet with a counselor every fifth day to talk about their job search and what they need to do to get ready to join the workforce.

Clients receive fewer days of scheduled work after they put in 30 days of work, and top out at 75 days-CEO wants them to know there's an end date and that they need to find their own job eventually. But it also helps them during that time period. At first, they are counseled to buy some slacks with their first paycheck, and then a tie, and then a button-down shirt, so they have an outfit that they can use for interviews, said Terry Ellis, an account manager at CEO who works directly with clients on their job searches. He coaches them on how to sell themselves and tells them whether they're using too much slang in interviews.

Wanda Velez, one of the few women going through the CEO program, told me that she practices interviewing in front of a mirror to make sure her shoulders aren't slumping, as her counselor told her they sometimes did when she got discouraged.

The average time to job placement is three months, Schaeffer told me. After 180 days, 61 percent of participants are still working full-time, after one year, 53 percent are.

But even some time at a paid job can be motivational, Schaeffer said. Charles Russell, for instance, made $15 every two weeks in prison. Now, he makes more than triple that every day. It reminds him that the real world, no matter how tough, is better than inside.

"My worst day out here is better than my best day inside," he told me.

Being on a crew of people going through the same difficulties as you are is helpful too, Bryant Mack, another client, said. Mack has been out of prison for five months, and is currently living in a homeless shelter. But he still tells people on his crews to keep going.

"Every day it's a struggle," he told me. "Some people sink into hopelessness; you have to give them hope."

A 2012 evaluation by MRDC, a group that evaluates social policies, found that CEO reduced recidivism by 16 to 22 percent and was particularly helpful for people with a high risk of recidivism.

* * *

The idea behind Pay for Success was launched in 2010 in the United Kingdom with the Peterborough social-impact bond. Five foundations invested 5 million pounds to fund intensive support work for people being released from Peterborough prison. Initial results showed the people who had received counseling had 8.4 percent fewer convictions than the control group, indicating that investors will receive a return when the program ends next year.

From there, areas including Massachusetts, New York, Salt Lake City, and Denver launched Pay for Success initiatives. There are currently 50 Pay for Success projects being launched in 10 different countries, said Tracy Palandjian, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Social Finance, a nonprofit that develops Pay for Success partnerships, including the one at CEO. Across the U.S., there are a total of eight projects, channeling almost $100 million to address issues including early-childhood education and homelessness.*

"It's been only five years since we've had this tool, yet it's gotten a lot of people excited about its potential," Palandjian said.

Investors aren't necessarily looking for a big payout-in many cases, they won't get one.

Their motivation is part philanthropy, part a push for government accountability, she said.

Investors want to show the government that it can track whether certain programs are successful, and that using data can lead to big results. "If Pay for Success as a tool could begin to orient the public system towards results, that would be a good thing," she said.

It may be strange to hear the idea of philanthropists talking about what they want out of an investment, but Palandjian says most philanthropists are looking for a closer evaluation of where their money goes anyway.

"I think there is a frustration that we are spending billions and billions of dollars trying to address social problems without obvious evidence of how the spending is moving the dial in outcomes," said Jeffrey Liebman, a Harvard professor who established the Social Impact Bond Technical Assistance Lab to help these projects move forward. "There is a hunger for approaches that would help us learn more rapidly evaluate what works."

CEO's Pay for Success program sets up a unique partnership between government and service providers that makes both more accountable, Liebman said. Traditionally, the government gives a grant to a non-profit such as CEO, and assumes it will do its job. The CEO project uses government data to evaluate whether the right clients end up at CEO's offices. If 80 percent of high-risk people coming out of state prison end up at CEO for a few weeks in a row, and then one week, only 65 percent do, stakeholders get on the phone and try to figure out what went wrong, Liebman said.

"I've never seen government work with a provider to use real-time data to make a program run better," he said.

Still, the track record of Pay for Success programs so far is mixed. New York City's first attempt at a Pay for Success program sought to reduce recidivism among adolescent inmates at Rikers Island. Launched in 2012 and scheduled to run four years, the program was shut down in August after an independent evaluator saw no tangible reductions in recidivism. Another program in Utah that targeted at-risk kindergartners was initially hailed as a success, but experts have since questioned the validity of the data.

Some observers have begun to question the premise of Pay for Success, wondering if social-impact bonds are just a fancy way to outsource government work to the private sector. After all, there's a difference between what Pete Orszag and John Bridgeland argued in this magazine, that the government should more closely track what works and what doesn't, and Pay for Success, which asks the private sector to do the work itself, and allows the private sector to reap the benefits.

And using data to measure results can be trying, as the failure of No Child Left Behind showed. With too much hope placed on results, service providers may try to teach to the test, rather than affect meaningful change. It's no mistake that most of the initial Pay for Success programs have been in criminal justice, where the goals and results are easy to agree upon-reduced recidivism, increased employment-and where state parole and payroll data, rather than tests, will evaluate results.

Still, many of the investors involved in Pay for Success so far are philanthropists who aren't looking for a big return, but are instead looking to use Big Data to evaluate their investments.

"The accountability is what they like," Palandjian said.

One of the strange things about Pay for Success is that, if all goes well, it's not a scalable model. Since there has to be a control group, the projects are always testing one initiative against current practices. If the initiatives prove successful, then the government could adopt them, and investors wouldn't need to seek data-driven solutions, because they'd all be implemented.

"It will be nirvana, investors won't get a return, and our organization would cease to exist," Palandjian said. "That would be great."

But in the meantime, the Pay for Success model is a good option for non-profits like CEO, who are looking for funding to prove that their model works well. These nonprofits don't have to worry as much about finding their next government contract in an era of dwindling funds, or about begging the public for donations. If they're confident their program works, they can turn to the private sector and Pay for Success.

That's why, for Schaeffer and CEO, participating in Pay for Success was a no-brainer. In the past, he said, there's been little funding for programs that aim to reduce recidivism. Now, there's increased recognition nationally "that a criminal history doesn't entirely define a person or their value as a potential employee," he said. Pay for Success takes away some of the monetary barriers that have previously existed, at the same time that employers are becoming more willing to hire individuals with criminal records. Now, with the additional data available through the program, reducing recidivism is going to become even more possible, he said.

"Everything is put in place to help us be successful at what we do," he said. "We want to have evaluation as a continuous tool to get better."

Related Video
In New Orleans, support systems for recently released prisoners are crucial. This article originally stated that all eight projects are taking place solely in New York state. We regret the error.

Alana Semuels is a staff writer at The Atlantic. She was previously a national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.

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A New York program asks outsiders to fund a promising initiative to reduce recidivism. If it gets results, they get a payout. Every year, the government spends billions of dollars on programs designed to help America's neediest citizens. In many cases, whether these programs work is anyone's guess.

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CEO provides employment reentry services to men and women returning home from incarceration in 11 cities across four states.
New York City Headquarters

Albany, NY

Buffalo, NY

Binghamton, NY

Rochester, NY

Philadelphia, PA

Oakland, CA

San Bernardino, CA

San Diego, CA

Oklahoma City, OK

Tulsa, OK

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Agency Introduction

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HS Basketball Star Tony Farmer Collapses

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The Center for Employment Opportunities' (CEO) proven model helps break the cycle of incarceration and saves taxpayers' money. This video was the result of a collaboration of MTV, Catchafire, and CEO. CEO-change that works. Follow us on Twitter: @ceoworks Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ceoworks

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Baron Johnson & Documentary Intro

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Released: Introduction, Baron Johnson and Ending

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5 CEO replication programs used for evaluation

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Lorenzo Brooks

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Life After Prison: Looking for Work by thecrimereport

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How easy is it for ex-inmates to reintegrate into society? TCR starts a special podcast series following one man's journey.

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Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)

# data[].attributes.subject
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Home - Center for Employment Opportunities