The National Youth Employment Coalition chose the Reintegration of Offenders program, or Project RIO Youth, as one of the most promising and effective job-training programs for offenders in the nation. This is the first time in the four years since the coalition began honoring such programs that it's chosen one run by a state agency. That's particularly striking, given that these offenders are so young and that no other form of intervention has worked for them.
Studies show that adult offenders who find work are three times less likely to offend again.
We think that's true for juveniles, too. One of the outstanding program features cited by the coalition, a nonprofit group in Washington, D.C., is that the two commissions run Project RIO Youth together. Project RIO Youth appears to have good ties to employers. TWC and the Texas Youth Commission help offenders, aged 16 to 21, get vocational assessment, workforce development training, counseling and work while they're serving their sentences with the Youth Commission. After they're released, the state's local workforce development boards help them find work, training and education, in that order, in the offender's community.