Texas' Project RIO (Re-Integration of Offenders)

This Program Focus discusses Texas' Project RIO (Re-Integration of Offenders), one of the most ambitious State government programs devoted to placing parolees in jobs in the Nation. Operating through the Texas Workforce Commission (the State's employment agency), RIO has more than 100 staff members in 62 offices who provide job placement services to nearly 16,000 parolees each year in every county in the State. The program provides job preparation services to inmates while they are still incarcerated in State prisons so that they have a head start in postrelease job hunting. At the same time, RIO's prison presence spreads the word to inmates that the program is waiting to help them find work the day they are released. Project RIO represents the close collaboration of the Texas Workforce Commission, where the program is housed, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.