About
Center for employment opportunities, INC. (CEO) is a national organization dedicated to providing immediate, effective, and comprehensive employment services exclusively to individuals returning home after incarceration. CEO's theory of change posits that if the employment needs of persons with criminal convictions are addressed at their most vulnerable point when they are first released from incarceration or soon after conviction by providing life skills education, short-term paid transitional employment, full-time job placement, and post-placement services, they will be less likely to become reincarcerated and more likely to build a foundation for a stable, productive life for themselves and their families. Our vision is that anyone with a recent criminal history who wants to work has the preparation and support needed to find a job and stay connected to the labor force. Our program consists of providing participants with immediate employment with daily pay, skills training, job placement, and ongoing career support. CEO is dedicated to ensuring that justice-impacted job seekers have opportunities to achieve social and economic mobility. CEO was formed in order to: provide employment, rehabilitative and support services to persons with criminal convictions and persons facing barriers to employment, including but not limited to applicants or recipients of public assistance; design, implement, demonstrate, and evaluate innovative supportive and rehabilitative services for men and women recently released from incarceration and/or with experience with the criminal legal system, including but not limited to employment and training services and other services designed to alleviate barriers to employment; conduct studies and research regarding services for formerly incarcerated people and their barriers to employment; impact the field of reentry more broadly; and to disseminate information regarding the work of the corporation and the administration of such services. CEO began as a VERA institute of justice demonstration project in the 1970s. CEO was separately established in 1996 and has grown significantly since then. In fiscal year 2024, CEO had 31 offices in twelve states - california, colorado, georgia, kentucky, louisiana, michigan, new YORK, north carolina, OHIO, oklahoma, pennsylvania, and tennessee.
In care of Panagiota Mahendru
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