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The CARES Act (H.R. 748), signed into law on March 27, is a $2 Trillion economic stimulus package intended to provide limited relief to individuals, industries, businesses, states and localities affected by COVID-19. It is “Phase 3” of bills passed by Congress to respond to the pandemic following the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which included policies to improve Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) access temporarily. Even though the CARES Act is the largest economic stimulus package in our country’s history, more federal action will be needed to assist impacted populations, such as CEO participants, and to establish a pathway back from the economic devastation resulting from COVID-19.

The COVID-19 crisis is challenging both our civic structures and our values. As the effects of the sustained economic downturn become further entrenched, those who struggle to access opportunity even in the best of times will undoubtedly bear a disproportionate burden. We have already seen how this crisis has exposed the fault lines of our nation’s inequalities. Communities of color in particular have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 as a result of historic inequities in housing, access to health care and employment. Black Americans are incarcerated at five times the rate of white Americans. If we are to address the needs of COVID-19-impacted communities, it is essential that we account for the people released from incarceration, many of whom will return to low-income communities that are now dealing with record levels of unemployment.

Constituent Voice (CV) is a strategic effort at CEO to solicit and respond to participant feedback. CV, combined with CEO’s strong performance management and evaluation work, supports increased impact and participant satisfaction. Given Constituent Voice’s central role at CEO, all levels of management engage with client feedback and work to adapt our approach based on that feedback.

Over the past year CEO has created a new Policy Department that will build upon the strength of our program and push for structural reforms to improve the lives of people coming home from incarceration. Working across all 10 States where CEO operates, our policy and advocacy efforts seek to diminish the impact that mass incarceration, mass supervision, and justice involvement generally, has on the economic opportunities available to a person after being released. Our policy team will be focused on creating more opportunities for individuals to secure employment and reducing the barriers they face in trying to achieve a more stable economic future.

In December, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published final federal regulations tightening work requirements for individuals to receive food assistance benefits under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This rule change applies to those receiving SNAP termed “Able-Bodied adults without dependants,” (ABAWDs) and is expected to cut off benefits for 688,000 people. These changes to work requirement waivers bring the first final rule from the three proposed in this past year to restrict SNAP eligibility, a program that is the nation’s largest nutrition assistance resource for low-income individuals.

Meet twenty-five year old Saed Dixon. Saed entered CEO’s Albany New York program in August of this year unsure of what to expect. While completing CEO’s one-week orientation, for the very first time in his life, he began exploring his career interests and goals.

Meet Crystal Malone. Upon release from incarceration, Crystal worked hard to find a job. Despite applying for many on her own, and being honest about her conviction history, she rarely even got an interview.

Meet Ronald Fairiror. Ronald enrolled in CEO’s Philadelphia program in September 2018, after being incarcerated for more than 20 years. Thanks to CEO, and the unwavering support of his mother, Ronald has made strides towards rebuilding his life.

At a young age, Robert lost the only positive role model in his life, his grandfather, and struggled to adjust. He was incarcerated in his late teens and spent much of the last decade cycling in at out of prison. When Robert returned home in April 2019, he was determined to carve out a different path for himself.

When Nyjheri enrolled in CEO she was 26 years old and had spent a total of five years in prison since she was 20. In the past, it had been easy to fall back into old routines, friendships, and habits when she came home. But this time, she said, something felt different.