NCJ Number
163597
Date Published
1995
Length
268 pages
Annotation
Project RIO (Reintegration of Offenders) represents a coordinated effort by the Texas Employment Commission (TEC) and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to reduce recidivism.
Abstract
Funding was provided for Project RIO in 1989, and seven full-service RIO sites were fully staffed as of 1995 in Austin, Beaumont, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Project RIO provides releasees with individual employment placement assistance and support service assistance referrals. Specifically, full-service sites provide clients with individual or group orientation, individual evaluation, occupational counseling, and individual placement and referral assistance. Project Rio is a statewide plan to successfully reintegrate convicted felons in the community by offering a linkage system between TDCJ inmate training and services while they are incarcerated and job placement and training programs after they are released on parole or mandatory supervision. Detailed information is provided on inmates eligible for Project RIO and on assessment, education, training, and records and documentation components of the project. Activities and procedures of the TEC and the TDCJ in carrying out Project RIO activities are described, and the impact of employment on rearrest and reincarceration is assessed. References, tables, and figures