The Center for Employment Opportunities Prisoner Reentry Program (CEO Prisoner Reentry) was a 4-6 month program to help parolees get a job, make money, and build workplace skills. The Pay for Success (PFS) Pilot program adapted the CEO program by targeting participants with higher risks of recidivism, participation being a special condition of parole rather than a voluntary program, and increasing resources for outreach and communication with parole officers. Participants began with a five-day life skills education class focused on resume writing, job search skills, answering questions about a criminal record, and other job readiness skills. After completion of this class, participants were placed into temporary paid jobs for city and state agencies with supervision and support from CEO staff. Participants then received job placement assistance and post-placement followup services—including career planning, financial counseling, educational and vocational opportunities, and financial incentives for maintaining full-time employment.
After the initial 5-day readiness class, the short-term transitional employment typically lasted for about 75 days of employment across four months. Post-placement follow-up services lasted for up to one year.
The program was implemented in New York City, NY.
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