Under a proposed new law, many people leaving jail and prison in Colorado would get some extra help from the state government. They could receive up to $3,000 each in state funds to help with living expenses, as long as they stayed engaged for several months in development programs that are meant to help them get a job and stay out of the criminal justice system.

SB24-012 could create the largest program of its kind in the country, spending millions of dollars to support thousands of people over two years.

“It would put us at the top, as the leaders in this,” said Valerie Greenhagen, regional director of the nonprofit Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a nonprofit that provides support for people leaving incarceration.....

.....A study of an earlier program run by CEO, the nationwide Returning Citizens Stimulus program, found that most participants spent the money on “basic needs,” and that the vast majority stuck with the program, completing tasks such as getting health check-ups, attending workshops and filling out resumes. But as of Sept. 2021, the ongoing study — carried out by the nonprofit MDRC — could not yet say whether cash support ultimately kept people out of the criminal justice system.....

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