Center for Employment Opportunities Launches ‘At What Cost?’ Campaign to Address the Broken Incarceration System’s Toll on Communities and Economy
‘At What Cost’ Illustrates How Investment in Reentry Services and Direct Support for People Returning from Incarceration Can Interrupt the Cycle and Save Communities and the Economy Over $1 Trillion
CEO Media Contact:
Claire Gross, Sr. Manager Public Relations
[email protected] | (646) 370-8292
New York, NY – April 1, 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?”
The campaign is designed to uplift the significant social and economic benefits of investing in reentry services and direct support for people returning from incarceration in comparison to the financial and individual burden of continuing to reincarcerate. People leaving incarceration have few resources upon reentry, forcing them to make impossible decisions just to get by. The campaign highlights the exponentially growing body of evidence proving reentry services and direct support strengthen communities, stimulate the economy, reduce recidivism.
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.
“Our communities are losing far too much to perpetual punishment because of the cost of incarceration's revolving door. ‘At What Cost?’ exposes the financial and societal burdens of prison measured against the evidence that proves investment in reentry services reduces recidivism, strengthens communities, and boosts the economy,” 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. The visuals are disruptive in tone, symbolizing the urgent need to end the fiscally irresponsible and morally reprehensible mass incarceration model.
- 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 that empowers the public 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.
The top concerns of Americans today are public safety and the cost of living. The “At What Cost?” campaign highlights that funding reentry services is a solution that will address both. Investing in workforce development training and other forms of reentry services benefits everyone while making sure that people returning from incarceration are equipped with all the tools necessary to succeed.
“We can keep spending billions on a broken system, or we can invest in people and create a better future for all,” added Schaefer.
To learn more about “At What Cost?” visit ceoworks.org.
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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.
