Senate Judiciary Committee: PASS SB 12: the Reentry Cash Pilot Bill!

Attention Allies: We need your help to pass SB 12, the Reentry Workforce Development Cash Assistance Pilot Program. Use this Action Center to be connected with the Senate Judiciary Committee and tell them to vote YES!  

Why are we fighting so hard for Senate Bill 12?

• What we are currently doing isn’t working. People being released today from our prisons receive $100. That’s it. And with that, they are expected to rebuild their lives - to put a roof over their heads, to put food on the table.  
• In 2020, the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) & several community-based partners distributed $1.5MM to 623 Coloradans returning from prison as part of the Returning Citizen Stimulus program. 
• Early evaluations of the program indicate that reentry cash payments were transformational in accelerating an individuals’ path to self-sufficiency following release. 
• Early evidence also suggests that financial assistance upon release from incarceration does improve recidivism outcomes and can reduce rates of re-arrest by up to 30%.
• By providing people with cash when they need it most–when they are just getting out of incarceration and often have no resources whatsoever–we are able to set them up for success at the very beginning. We give them the breathing room to be able to get a job, figure out a place to live, reconnect with their support network, and so much more, which will enable them to sustain themselves in the long-term and reduce the likelihood of them returning to prison.
• Recidivism is a huge problem, and this bill provides a clear solution.
• This bill benefits Colorado financially, it improves public safety, and it creates new sustainable opportunities for returning Coloradans and their families.