'Work for Success' Targets Former Inmates

Initiative to Increase Job Readiness, Improve Employment Outcome for New Yorkers

Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the creation of "Work for Success," a jobs initiative aimed at reducing the high unemployment rate among the thousands of New Yorkers returning home from prison. 

Work for Success will develop a comprehensive statewide approach to increase job readiness and improve employment outcomes for the formerly incarcerated. This initiative will benefit all New Yorkers by creating more tax-paying, law-abiding citizens, which will make streets safer and strengthen the state's entire economy. 

"Tens of thousands of people leave New York State prisons each year and without employment most are at higher risk of returning to incarceration," Governor Cuomo said.

"The 'Work for Success' initiative will reduce poverty and joblessness for some of our state's hardest to employ citizens, while enhancing public safety and improving economic conditions for the families and communities to which they return." 

Governor Cuomo's Work for Success initiative will address the employment needs of formerly incarcerated people who are at higher risk of recidivism.

Over the course of the next year, Work for Success will:  evaluate the employment programs that currently exist for the formerly incarcerated and carry out evidence-based, action-oriented research to identify which strategies work best; promote building relevant job readiness skills throughout correctional programming; align vocational skills programs with specific credentialing pathways and employment opportunities in the New York labor market; help to effectively connect New Yorkers returning from prison with appropriate employment services; and build the capacity of local community organizations to address the unique needs of people with criminal convictions.

Work for Success will be led by policy makers, representatives from government agencies, and practitioners from across the nation with expertise in employment services for the formerly incarcerated.

The Executive Committee for Work for Success will be chaired by Mindy Tarlow, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a non-profit provider that offers comprehensive employment services exclusively for people with criminal records. CEO promotes the evidence-based practices in which Work for Success will be grounded.

A recent study published by research corporation MDRC found that CEO's employment model for newly released prison inmates resulted in a 22 percent decrease of convictions.

Members of the Executive Committee will include members of the Governor's Office, as well as representatives from the following organizations: Brooklyn Treatment Alternative to Crime, Buffalo Urban League, Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services, Center for Community Alternatives, Council of State Governments Justice Center, The Doe Fund, F•E•G•S Health and Human Services System, Fortune Society, Greenhope Services for Women, Hour Children, Legal Action Center, National Skills Coalition, Osborne Association, Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, STRIVE, and Urban Institute.

Many city officials praised the new initiative, which include the following: 

"Many New Yorkers who return home from prison face the very real problem of finding a job. While the economic climate is difficult for all New Yorkers, those with prior criminal convictions have an even harder time gaining employment. I commend Governor Cuomo for spearheading his 'Work for Success' initiative to help this vulnerable population to rebuild their lives and return to being productive, contributing members of our state." -  New York State Senator Michael Nozzolio, Chairman of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee

"The high rate of unemployment among formerly incarcerated New Yorkers is a detriment to all of the people of our state, not just to those with criminal records. This is a serious matter that will not be solved by writing a report that will only sit on a shelf. The 'Work for Success' initiative provides the effective employment strategy that this issue demands. Through this approach, New York can make real progress in helping fellow citizens returning from incarceration to reenter society in a way that is beneficial to our whole state. I thank Governor Cuomo for making this innovative initiative a priority." -  New York State Assembly member Herman "Denny" Farrell, Jr., Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means

"In order to get our state back on the path to prosperity, we must consider the needs of all New Yorkers. Governor Cuomo's 'Work for Success' initiative does this by aggressively working to combat the cycle of unemployment facing New Yorkers coming home from prison. I am proud to work with the Governor to ensure that this initiative is a success so that we help these individuals in need and benefit our economy statewide." - New York State Assembly member Jeffrion Aubry, Chairman of the Assembly Standing Committee on Correction

"We are thrilled to be involved in this initiative at such a critical moment. It is essential that we make sure that people coming home from prison get the right employment services at the right time to help them successfully rejoin their families and communities. We thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership and look forward to carrying out his vision to help all New Yorkers." -  Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Mindy Tarlow

"We are proud to be working on such a vital tool for building strong communities. By helping New Yorkers who return home from prison to have productive lives, we will benefit all members of our statewide community. Governor Cuomo's 'Work for Success' initiative would be helpful under any circumstances, but in today's economic climate, this approach is crucial to the health of our communities and the strength of our economy." -  Legal Action Center Director and President Paul Samuels

"Through more than 45 years of providing re-entry services to thousands of men and women a year, The Fortune Society knows that, without legitimate employment, formerly incarcerated people face a strong prospect of returning to prison. Through 'Work for Success,' we can assist these individuals by providing them with necessary employment services, improving their job readiness, and helping them find suitable employment opportunities. I thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership and for making such an important initiative a reality in New York State." - The Fortune Society, Inc. President & CEO JoAnne Page

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Cuomo to Close Seven State Prisons

Move Will Provide $184 Million in Savings to State Taxpayers Over Next Two Years

Governor Andrew Cuomo will close seven New York state prisons, fulfilling his pledge to consolidate the state's correctional facilities based on a declining inmate population and providing significant savings to New York state taxpayers.

Communities affected by the closures will be able to request economic development assistance from the state, which includes money from a $50 million fund as well as additional tax credits available to help end the reliance on prisons as a major source of employment and economic sustainability.

The state's closure plan includes four male minimum security facilities: Buffalo Work Release (Erie County), Camp Georgetown (Madison County), Summit Shock (Schoharie County) and Fulton Work Release (Bronx County); and three male medium security facilities: Arthur Kill (Richmond County), Mid-Orange (Orange County) and Oneida (Oneida County).

Approximately 3,800 unneeded and unused beds will be eliminated, saving taxpayers $72 million in 2011-12 and $112 million in 2012-13. The offenders in these facilities will be moved to other prisons that have available space with no interruption. No maximum security facilities will close under this plan.

"The state's prison system has been too inefficient and too costly with far more capacity than what is needed to secure the state's inmate population and ensure the public's safety," Governor Cuomo said.

"This plan is the result of very careful and detailed analysis and deliberation. It succeeds in targeting facilities for closure without compromising public safety and will save taxpayers $184 million. We will work closely to ensure impacted areas are given substantial state aid to help them create jobs and transform their local economies. New York will continue to keep the highest standard of public safety and maintain one of the safest correctional systems in the country."

"The plan for prison closures in New York state reflects the state's changing and declining inmate population, while recognizing the benefit of programs that provide alternatives to incarceration and supervised re-entry into society," DOCCS Commissioner Brian Fischer said.

"By closing facilities, removing excess capacity and focusing on the core programs that will continue to rehabilitate offenders, DOCCS will provide the highest level of security to protect the public with greater efficiency and cost effectiveness."

Since 1999, New York's prison population has declined by 22 percent, from a high of 71,600 offenders incarcerated 12 years ago to approximately 56,000 today. The continuing downward trend of the state's prison population is largely attributed to the simultaneous drop in crime across the state. Over the past ten years, the overall rate of crime in New York has declined by 25 percent and the number of major crimes (e.g., homicide; assault) has declined by 23 percent.

From 2001 to 2010, the number of inmates housed at maximum security prisons declined by 2 percent (from 25,331 in 2001, to 24,822 in 2010), the number of inmates at medium security prisons decreased by 19.5 percent (from 35,763 in 2001, to 28,795 in 2010) and the number at minimum security facilities dropped by 57.2 percent (from 6,301 in 2001, to 2,698 in 2010).

Since the late 1980s, the State Legislature enacted several laws that offer mostly non-violent offenders early release as an incentive for good behavior and program achievements, including the Shock Incarceration, Work Release, Comprehensive Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment (CASAT), Willard Drug Treatment Campus, Merit Time and Limited Credit Time Allowance programs.

The 1973 Rockefeller Drug Laws have been reformed three times to allow many drug offenders to apply to have their sentences reduced, to allow some to earn extra time off their fixed minimum period of indeterminate sentences for good behavior and achievement of milestones involving treatment, educational, training and work programs, and, last year, to divert more new offenders into alternatives to incarceration.

These changes have already led to the early release of many offenders, virtually all of them non-violent drug offenders, on average eight months earlier than had the laws remain unchanged, resulting in the need for fewer prison beds.

Earlier this year, Governor Cuomo achieved the merger of the former Department of Correctional Services and Division of Parole into the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). It is estimated that newly merged state agency will save state taxpayers $17 million in the current 2011-12 fiscal year.

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