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Summary

Center for Employment Opportunities' (CEO) Prisoner Reentry Program provided people who were formerly incarcerated with a preemployment class, temporary paid jobs with New York City agencies, job coaching, job development, a parenting class, and post-placement services to reduce recidivism and improve labor market prospects.

Participants started the program with a four-day preemployment, life-skills class focusing on job-readiness issues, such as workplace behavior, job search skills, and decision making. The program then placed participants in transitional jobs at New York City agencies. Participants worked in these transitional jobs for four days a week at the state minimum wage and were paid at the end of each day. On the fifth day of each week, participants met with job coaches at the CEO office to discuss their performance at the transitional job and prepare for future interviews. Participants could also spend part of their fifth day discussing permanent employment opportunities with a job developer or participating in a fatherhood program designed to help with child support issues and improve family relationships. Job coaches followed up with participants after they obtained permanent jobs to promote employment retention. They provided rewards—such as gift certificates to various stores and paid mass transit cards—every 30 days for a one-year period to individuals who maintained employment of at least 20 hours per week. Individuals who lost jobs for reasons unrelated to theft or violence or who experienced barriers affecting their employment could return to the program for a minimum of job development and post-placement services. On average, participants worked for nine weeks in their transitional job, spread over about four months of engagement with the program.

As of 2020, CEO’s Prisoner Reentry Program continues to offer similar services to eligible participants. Individual who were formerly incarcerated who were referred to CEO by their parole officer and had not worked in a CEO transitional job in the prior year were eligible to participate in the program. CEO’s Prisoner Reentry Program was implemented in New York City, NY.

3144-Study of the Center
Populations and employment barriers: Adults (age 25+), Parents, Noncustodial parents, Justice involvement

Implementation at a glance

Primary service
Program services
Case management, Child support assistance, Employer-focused retention strategies, Job development, Job placement, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Post-employment participant follow-up, Soft skills training, Subsidized employment/transitional jobs
Review services terms
Setting(s)
Urban only
Year evaluation began
2004
Implementing organization(s)Center for Employment Opportunities

Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain

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Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2024 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $2,333 per year 0.064 973
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $73 per year 0.002 973
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase employment Short-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable -1% (in percentage points) -0.018 973
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable 0% (in percentage points) 0.004 973
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Cannot assess support
Long-term Cannot assess support
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods Cannot assess support

Effectiveness ratings

  • Well- supported
  • Supported
  • Mixed support
  • Not supported
  • Insufficient evidence
  • Cannot assess support

Studies of this program

Study quality rating Study counts per rating
High High 1
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Program cost

No cost information available.

Cost results

Estimate (in 2024 dollars) Quality of cost analysis that produced the estimate
Total program cost, per participant $6,592
Outstanding quality
Net benefit to participants, per participant $569
Outstanding quality

Cost information

How much did the program cost per participant? 

The average total program cost per participant was $6,592 in 2024 dollars. This figure is based on cost information for this program reported in one cost study reviewed by Pathways to Work (for details, see the FAQ). This study received a rating of Outstanding quality for the cost analysis.

How much did the program cost relative to the benefits it generated? 

A cost-benefit analysis was conducted in the cost study reviewed, receiving a rating of Outstanding quality. The net benefit to participants was $569 per participant in 2024 dollars. This means that the net program benefit to participants (difference in benefits between the program and comparison group) was $569 more than the net cost of the program to participants. The estimate is expressed as the net present value, which accounts for differences in the timing of when benefits and costs occurred. In addition, the net benefit to society was $6,982 per participant in 2024 dollars. The net benefit to taxpayers was $5,798 per participant in 2024 dollars. The net benefit to victims, defined in the study as costs related to victimization from crime and benefits from reduced recidivism, was $615 per participant in 2024 dollars.

Cost information is not directly comparable across programs due to differences in the categories of costs reported and program length. Cost information is not an official price tag or guarantee.

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Implementation details

The information contained here reflects how the program was implemented at the time of the evaluation.

Local context

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
64%
White
2%
Unknown, not reported, or other
3%
Hispanic or Latino of any race
31%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

State(s) where implemented

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY Canada

Pathways to Work refers to programs by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some program names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.