The Evaluation of the Re-Integration of Ex-Offenders (RExO) Program:
Final Impact Report

The evaluation of the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders (RExO) initiative, precursor to the Reentry Employment Opportunities program, was launched in 2005 as a joint initiative by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the U.S. Department of Justice. The programs funded under RExO provided employment-related services (primarily consisting of work readiness training, mentoring, case management and referrals for supportive services) to formerly incarcerated individuals provided by faith-based and community organizations.

In 2009, ETA commissioned the multi-year random assignment evaluation of the RExO project. Through the RExO evaluation, ETA expected to learn how local organizations provided employment-related services to formerly incarcerated individuals, and the impact of these services on study participants. Twenty-four grantees enrolled approximately 4,500 ex-offenders into the random assignment evaluation between January 2010 and January 2011.

This report summarizes the final impacts of the RExO program in four areas: service receipt, labor market success, recidivism, and other outcomes. The results are based on outcomes for study participants in the three-year period after they enrolled into the study. Three sources of data provided outcome information for this analysis: a telephone survey of study participants that asked about a range of items, including service receipt, labor market outcomes, recidivism, health and mental health, substance abuse, housing, and child support issues; state-level administrative data that provided state and local criminal engagement information; and administrative data on employment and earnings from the National Directory of New Hires.

Affiliation: Social Policy Research Associates
Authors: Wiegand, Andrew; Sussell, Jessee

Key Words: Reintegration of ex-offenders, RExO, ex-offenders, formerly incarcerated individuals, employment of ex-offenders, employment services for ex-offenders, mentoring for ex-offenders, employment outcomes for ex-offenders, random assignment evaluation of services for formerly incarcerated individuals.