EMCF SIF funding will enable CEO to replicate its model to serve youth ages 18-24 in two California communities, currently identified as San Diego and Fresno, and support the establishment of its own program in Oklahoma (as well as provide employment support to a local organization serving women in that state with histories of substance abuse). This investment will also expand the numbers of youth served in upstate New York.

This grant will also allow CEO to build on its evidence base and undertake a second rigorous evaluation of its model to determine whether recent job retention improvements to its program result in greater employment outcomes. With EMCF SIF funding, CEO will also enhance its CEO Academy and other vocational education opportunities, and increase the amount of earned income generated by expansion sites to cover, when they are fully operational, 80 percent of costs for its Transitional Jobs program, mirroring the economic model of the New York City program. By the end of this investment, EMCF expects that CEO will demonstrate that its model can be successfully replicated in population centers of varying characteristics (urban, suburban and rural) with rates of impact and success similar to those in New York State, solidifying the organization’s leadership in combating youth recividism.

States this SIF investment will support growth in: Oklahoma, California, and upstate New York

Number of youth this investment will serve: CEO is developing plans to serve 850-900 young people, ages 18-24 in Oklahoma, California and upstate New York between 2012 and 2014, an increase of up to 75-85 percent.

A scenario-based growth plan confirming or revising these projections will be available in June 2011.

Note:  CEO is also part of the REDF SIF portfolio, and plans are in place to ensure that the EMCF SIF investment does not overlap. Specifically, the intended use of funds from a REDF SIF grant is differentiated from the intended use of funds from an EMCF SIF grant both geographically (only REDF SIF funds would be used to replicate the CEO model in Oakland) and by age (outside Oakland but within California, CEO will use REDF funds only for direct vocational support of people with criminal convictions over age 25).