CEO and Partners Awarded $6.9 Million California Workforce Development Grant

First-of-its-Kind Grant will Provide $2.1M in Cash Stipends to More than 1,000 Californians Returning Home from Incarceration to Pay For Support Like Transportation, Housing and Other Essentials

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Employment Opportunities, the nation's largest reentry employment provider, is thrilled to announce a $6.9 million grant from the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) that will provide critical support to a coalition of community-based organizations to expand reentry services in California. Approximately $2 million of the funding will go directly to Californians returning home from incarceration in the form of direct cash payments.

This grant comes as part of the Helping Justice-Involved Reenter Employment (HIRE) initiative funded by  a $50 million line item in the state budget for which CEO, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) and the Reentry Providers Association of California led the advocacy to secure. The initiative focuses on increasing employment opportunities and career mobility for justice-involved individuals. By ensuring individuals have critical reentry services coupled with cash to cover their most essential needs when they are released from incarceration, this investment will transform the employment landscape for justice-involved Californians.

Additionally, CEO will be supporting a network of best-in-class reentry providers - A New Way of Life (ANWOL), Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), People Working Together, Root & Rebound, Rubicon Programs, Starting Over, Inc, Turning Point Alcohol & Drug Education Program, Inc, and Whole Systems Learning. As a "Hub," CEO will be able to more effectively coordinate services for participants across providers and expand capacity to disburse cash payments across its network.

"This innovative and critical funding is a real game changer for Californians returning from incarceration. It will streamline CEO and our partners' ability to provide direct cash payments and critical employment services–including immediate work with daily pay, career training, and wraparound support–when people need it most," said Samuel Schaeffer, CEO of the Center for Employment Opportunities. "With this investment, California is leading the way and demonstrating the state's commitment to creating real economic mobility for justice-impacted Californians, so they can build a better life for themselves and their families. It is the first state to make this kind of comprehensive employment investment in reentry services, and we hope it will be the first of many in the years to come."

Comprehensive reentry workforce investment helps justice-involved individuals find gainful employment and have the necessary means to thrive. People returning from incarceration often face significant barriers to successfully reintegrate back into their communities, even when it comes to basic necessities, such as housing, employment, and food. Around 60% of individuals remain unemployed within the first year of being home.

Media Contact:
Matt Sutton, [email protected]

About CEO

Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) provides immediate, effective, and comprehensive employment services exclusively to people recently released from incarceration. CEO currently operates in 30 cities in 12 states and is dedicated to ensuring that justice-impacted people have opportunities and careers to achieve socioeconomic mobility. For more information, please visit: ceoworks.org.

SOURCE Center for Employment Opportunities