The Center for Employment Opportunities

Best Programs of the Year

Non-Profit Program of the Year

The Center for Employment Opportunities

What the organization does: The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), based in New York City, provides employment services to men and women with recent criminal convictions. CEO’s programs help participants regain the life skills and confidence needed to transition to a stable and productive place in society and re-enter the workforce. CEO believes that when people with criminal convictions are reached when they are most vulnerable (such as when they’re first released from prison) they will be less likely to reoffend and more likely to build a positive life.

A spinoff of the Vera Institute of Justice, CEO has created thousands of transitional work opportunities that have led to more than 15,000 jobs for individuals with recent criminal history since its establishment in 1996. In 2010, CEO secured 1,098 full-time job placements for people with criminal convictions in New York City. CEO has locations in New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, and serves more than 3,000 people.

Program details: On top of the difficulties CEO’s participants face finding jobs with criminal convictions, only approximately half of them have high school diplomas or GEDs, and fewer still have training beyond that. To help individuals with an aptitude and interest in skilled trades, CEO offers education through its CEO Academy, which partners with community colleges to offer training in jobs like plumbing, electricity, and carpentry.

CEO also offers services including job readiness training, paid transitional work, job placement services, and post-placement support for up to one year. For individuals with children, CEO offers programs such as the responsible fatherhood program and skills training for young parents.

CEO’s CEO Mindy Tarlow admits that hiring individuals who have been recently released from incarceration isn’t necessarily for every business. “Beyond the idea of second chances, it also needs to make business sense for employers,” she says.

Their niche is small to medium-sized businesses without a separate HR-dedicated department. According to Tarlow, the businesses that CEO best fits are companies that have entry-level-plus jobs, which require basic skills such as showing up to work on time, cooperating with a supervisor, and working well as a member of a team. Service sectors such as retail and food service are ideal, and workers can be trained and certified for more skilled jobs through CEO. Some industries, such as banks and insurance companies, have regulations against hiring people who have been in prison.

By using an organization like CEO to hire individuals recently released from incarceration, your company also gets the benefit of an HR support service behind the hire. “The employer has a win-win situation,” says Tarlow. CEO is a free service and also comes with free federal bonding, such as insurance against theft. There are also tax incentives, and CEO will do the paperwork for the hiring company.

Tips for implementing your own program:

When interviewing potential employees who have recently been released from incarceration, a business owner should look for both the general (someone who seems highly motivated) and the specific (someone who is comfortable making eye contact). “It’s really about the person being motivated, ready to work, and ready to give 110 percent,” says Tarlow. “Someone looking to turn their life around.”