Crime Committee Report e.indd - New York State Senate

XI. Re-entry Grants: 2009-2010
Recognizing that job training and education are critical pillars of re-entry and public safety
the Legislature worked to create an infrastructure to assist former offenders and to prepare
them for a drug free and crime free life. From federal stimulus money the following grants
were approved:
Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): $5 million
CEO will receive $5 million to place approximately 675 parolees in transitional jobs over the
next two years in New York City and several upstate counties. CEO will provide a full range of
pre-employment training, job development, placement and retention services to all people enrolled
in transitional jobs. Funds will allow CEO to create the infrastructure to bring its proven
employment model to those in need of services in urban upstate counties while also preserving
and creating employment capacity in New York City.
Mindy Tarlow, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, of CEO, said: “This investment
will allow CEO to preserve and create jobs for people returning from prison and going
on parole in New York City and, for the first time, will allow us to bring much needed employment
services to parolees in urban upstate counties. Parolees in these counties need help getting
jobs more than ever and we couldn’t be happier to have this chance to serve them for the
first time. Securing a job during the fragile period after release from prison is crucial, not just
for these job-seekers, but for their children, families and communities. A successful employment
reentry strategy benefits all New Yorkers by improving public safety and building the economic
prosperity of communities by increasing the number of employed tax-paying citizens.”
Ms. Tarlow noted that CEO will be bringing its full employment model to urban upstate counties,
with first year efforts centered on Erie and Albany Counties.
The Doe Fund: $3 million
The Doe Fund (TDF) will receive $3 million to expand its Ready, Willing & Able program,
with a focus on Rockefeller resentencing cases and violent offenders who have served long
periods of incarceration. Known as the “men in blue” program, participants can be seen cleaning
160 miles of New York City streets and sidewalks each day and are paid above the New York
State Minimum Wage for these transitional jobs. In addition, they are provided with comprehensive
support services; random drug testing and onsite Alcoholics Anonymous/ Narcotics
Anonymous meetings; anger management and financial literacy courses; occupational skills
training; career development services; and lifetime graduate support. Those with special skills
or high levels of motivation will be offered “fast track” employment options, and TDF will
provide matching funds of $550,000 for the program. Statistics show that less than 5 percent
of Ready, Willing & Able graduates are rearrested within the first year after their release from
incarceration. George T. McDonald, Founder and President of The Doe Fund, said: “Most individuals
leave incarceration with the simple desire to earn an honest living so that they never
have to return. It is absolutely crucial -- not just from a public safety standpoint, but morally
-- that we give new releasees the chance to build better futures for themselves and for their
children. This funding will help more ‘men in blue’ leave behind lives of substance abuse and
incarceration to become responsible parents and role models in communities that desperately
need them.”
Standing Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction | 2009-2010 Report 21