NEW YORK, April 4, 2025 -- Coinciding with Fair Chance Month, the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) is launching a thought-provoking public awareness and advocacy campaign, "At What Cost?"
U.S. taxpayers spend upwards of $81 billion annually on incarceration—a figure equivalent to funding tuition-free community college nationwide. When calculating the costs to incarcerated people, their families, and communities, the societal cost skyrockets to 1.2 trillion dollars. The campaign questions current funding priorities and calls for evidence-based investment toward reentry services that provide housing, employment, education, and support for individuals returning home from incarceration.
"We can keep spending billions on a broken system, or we can invest in people and create a better future for all," said Sam Schaeffer, CEO of the Center for Employment Opportunities. "By investing in people, not the carceral system, we can create safer neighborhoods and a thriving economy."
The "At What Cost?" campaign aims to bring national attention to the urgent need for policy change through:
- Striking visual storytelling to showcase the cost efficiency of investing in evidence-based reentry services and direct financial support in stark contrast to the high cost of incarceration.
- A webinar on April 8, 2025, featuring leading experts discussing the public safety, financial, and social costs of failing to invest in reentry services.
- A civic engagement initiative to sign CEO's petition to show their support for investing in reentry services & direct support for people returning from incarceration.
- Spotlight on ongoing legislative efforts, including the Reentry Assistance Bill in New York State and CEO's advocacy to renew funding for Helping Justice-Involved Reenter Employment in California, both of which seek to expand meaningful economic support and access to employment and social services for justice-impacted individuals.
To learn more about "At What Cost?" visit investinreentry.org.
About the Center for Employment Opportunities
The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) provides immediate, effective, and comprehensive employment services exclusively to people recently released from incarceration. CEO currently operates in 30 cities in 12 states and is dedicated to ensuring justice-impacted people have opportunities to achieve socioeconomic mobility. For more information, visit ceoworks.org.
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