By Pam Lachman, Chief Strategy Officer, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
Presented at the Aspen Financial Security Program Benefits Leadership Forum, November 5–7, 2025
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to deliver this message at the Aspen Financial Security Program Benefits Leadership Forum, where leaders from across the country came together to discuss how benefits systems can better support families and workers.
When a government shutdown abruptly halted SNAP benefits, the impact was immediate. At the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), our phones rang off the hook. Staff across our sites worked urgently to help participants navigate what the cutoff would mean for their families.
The people most affected were those returning home from prison—individuals working hard to rebuild their lives. And yet, what happened during the shutdown reflects a deeper, ongoing challenge: our benefits system often punishes people for making progress.
The Paradox of Progress
Imagine being released from prison with less than $200 in your pocket. You’re ready to work, eager to support your family, determined to start again. But just as you begin taking steps forward—starting a job, joining a training program—your food assistance is taken away. Not because you did something wrong, but because the system penalizes your success.
“SNAP can be a lifeline—it feeds, it stabilizes, it restores dignity. But too often, people are restricted from accessing it or lose it before they’re ready.”
At CEO, we see this paradox every day. SNAP has the power to support reentry and upward mobility, yet current policies often stand in the way.
Who We Serve and What We See
CEO is the largest reentry employment organization in the country, with 30 sites across 12 states. Each year, we help nearly 8,000 people returning from incarceration find jobs, build skills, and stabilize their lives.
Two-thirds of our participants rely on SNAP benefits. Yet over 600,000 people return from prison every year, almost half of them parents of minor children. They face steep barriers to stability—and a system that spends $1.2 trillion on incarceration while underinvesting in reentry and workforce development.
“When we zoom in on the stories behind the numbers, we see how the system fails people who are doing everything right—and how small policy shifts could change everything.”
When the System Punishes Work
After 20 years in public service, my colleague Ramonia lost her job and her professional license because of a conviction. She applied to dozens of jobs each week while raising her young daughter and surviving on unemployment and SNAP benefits.
When she joined CEO, her SNAP benefits were reduced immediately—simply because she was earning income through a training program. She was punished for pursuing a career that would eventually allow her to live without assistance.
Will, another colleague, faced the same issue after 20 years in prison. His SNAP benefits were cut as soon as he began earning wages in training.
“If you remember one thing,” Will told Congress, “know that SNAP and paid training are among the most important tools people have in their reentry journey.”
Both stories show why we need a system that supports people’s progress, not one that penalizes it.
Unlocking the Potential of SNAP E&T
SNAP does more than provide food—it includes a powerful but underused Employment and Training (E&T) program. At CEO, we leverage these funds to support our participants and to help community organizations expand their workforce programs.
That’s why we’ve championed two critical policy reforms:
- The Training and Nutrition Stability Act, which ensures people don’t lose benefits when they participate in paid training programs.
- The RESTORE Act, which would end the lifetime SNAP ban for people with prior felony drug convictions.
These bipartisan efforts would eliminate the “catch-22” that forces people to choose between keeping SNAP benefits and pursuing a career.
Building Partnerships for Change
CEO works with partners across food security, workforce, and agriculture sectors to protect and strengthen SNAP through a bipartisan Farm Bill. Together, we emphasize that SNAP is not just food assistance—it’s workforce infrastructure.
Yet even now, hundreds of millions of dollars in SNAP E&T funds go unused. As new state cost-sharing requirements and expanded work mandates take effect, it’s essential that we invest these funds in organizations that know their communities best.
“Reentry organizations are led by people with lived experience. They have the trust, the expertise, and the relationships. What they need are resources and infrastructure.”
Scaling Our Impact
Over the past several years, CEO has partnered with more than 100 community-based organizations to connect nearly 10,000 people to SNAP Employment and Training services. Our goal is to reach 36,000 people annually within five years, helping programs sustain their work and amplify their local impact.
For more than 30 years, CEO has seen that when people come home with support and a clear pathway to work, they succeed—and our communities grow stronger and safer.
A Call to Action
If we want public benefits to truly be a bridge to opportunity, we must fix the policy design that undermines success. People shouldn’t have to choose between food security and a future career.
“We can all leverage our tools—our platforms, our grants, our partnerships, our policies—to reimagine a benefits system that helps every person coming home from prison find stability and economic mobility.”
Let’s make sure SNAP and its Employment & Training program remain the foundation for that bridge.
Pam Lachman is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Center for Employment Opportunities, the nation’s largest reentry employment organization, helping thousands of people each year build careers and achieve economic mobility after incarceration.
