Twenty-four grantees offered the RExO program, including national nonprofits, faith-based community organizations, community health organizations, and local or regional nonprofits. The exact bundle of services each grantee provided varied significantly. In all programs, case managers coordinated service delivery and supported participants. Most grantees offered group mentoring for participants, and a smaller subset offered individual mentoring. Many programs offered employment services, including pre-release and parole referrals, job search assistance, education, work-readiness activities, vocational training, and job application and interview assistance. Some grantees offered other services, including housing assistance, substance use disorder treatment, and supportive services (for example, transportation and child care). In some cases, grantees relied on external partners to provide these services, either through a formal and funded partnership or an informal referral-based partnership. The average participant received services for 12 weeks, although the period of service receipt varied widely among participants.
People could enroll in RExO within the first 180 days of release if they were age 18 or older, convicted as an adult, incarcerated for at least 120 days, and not convicted of a sex-related offense or a violent crime. Some grantees imposed additional eligibility criteria.
The intervention was delivered by grantees located in Baltimore, MD; Baton Rouge, LA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Des Moines, IA; Egg Harbor, NJ; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Fresno, CA; Hartford, CT; Kansas City, MO; New Orleans, LA; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Pontiac, MI; Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; San Antonio, TX; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; and Tucson, AZ.
The RExO program aimed to promote employment and reduce recidivism by providing case management, mentoring, and other employment services to people recently released from prison.