A Bigger Bench: How Recidiviz is Partnering with Nonprofits to Scale Reentry Support

The window before release is one of the most important moments in a person's reentry journey. People preparing to come home are often motivated, ready to plan, and open to building skills. But access to the right resources at the right time remains a persistent gap. We've heard this directly from incarcerated individuals:  ‍

• ‍"I would like to suggest that you add a bullet point outline of what us residents need to have prepared in order to meet [sentence] dates. Such as home plan, employment, transportation." — Incarcerated individual in Arizona
• "Would like to be able to learn about specific job skills in the field i want to work in and be able to communicate with someone in that field thats willing to help." — Incarcerated individual in Arkansas
• “I think about my family and getting home as soon as possible. I want to show my charge does not define me im just a human who made a mistake and am ready for change." — Incarcerated individual in North Dakota

We've been working with other nonprofits to explore how reentry tools and resources from trusted organizations can reach people when it matters most, in the period before release, through Recidiviz's Opportunities app. Opportunities is a tablet app that improves transparency by putting key sentence dates and reentry pathways on the tablets incarcerated people already use inside correctional facilities. It’s now live in eight states, where more than 80,000 people are using the app to get essential information about their timeline and progress so they can take ownership of their reentry journey.

Incarcerated individuals have already shared that the app has helped to increase understanding around key dates and what programs exist, as well as what steps they can take to prepare for reentry.

• "The information provided was straightforward and precise, offering clarity and peace of mind to everyone. It has enhanced our understanding of various sentence dates." —Incarcerated individual in Arizona
• “It helps better track my parole date and me when I should take the next steps for being able to go home.” —Incarcerated individual in North Dakota
• “I favorited specific programs I might be interested in and gained more intel on others I hadn't know existed.” —Incarcerated individual in Arkansas

‍Providing key sentence information is just the beginning for the Opportunities app. Earlier this year, we announced our first reentry resource network partners—the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), FreeWorld, mRelief, and SkillUp Coalition—in our case planning tool for supervision staff. We're building on that foundation by bringing these partnerships into the Opportunities app so that people can access them directly. And that’s just the start; we’re adding two new integrations in Arizona.

Expanding Our Arizona Partnerships

Opportunities is now live across every state correctional facility in Arizona, through our partnership with Edovo—a digital learning platform that gives incarcerated people access to free educational, vocational, and personal development content. To date, over 29,000 individuals in Arizona have accessed the app. That statewide reach is what makes the partnerships with Inside Out Network (ION) and CEO possible, helping us connect people to new resources at exactly the right moment before release. 
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"Every person who comes home prepared—with a job prospect, a place to live, a support network—is less likely to return to our system. That's good for them, good for their families, and good for Arizona communities. Partnerships in Opportunities like these with CEO and Inside Out Network will give people in our facilities that head start, and we're proud to be part of making that possible." —Dr. Ryan Thornell, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry

New Partnership: Inside Out Network

The Inside Out Network (ION), an Arizona-based nonprofit, has built something critical: an online platform that empowers incarcerated people and service providers to find and connect with each other. Through ION, people leaving prison can search and message directly with second-chance employers, housing providers, vocational training programs, health care providers, and more. In 2025 alone, ION connected over 4,000 people with several hundred service providers, facilitating over 56,000 searches and more than 54,000 messages between the two.

What makes ION distinctive is that it's built for active connection. It’s a live network where both sides of a reentry interaction can see, be seen, be proactive, and make relevant, timely, and meaningful connections.

Our partnership with ION starts with a simple, high-value step: when someone in the Opportunities app is eleven months from their release date, we'll surface a notification recommending they create an ION account. Getting connected to a provider network, and being able to message with them, before release—not after—can meaningfully change how the first weeks at home go. Over time, we plan to integrate ION more directly into Opportunities. 

Deepening Our Partnership with CEO in Arizona

We started partnering with the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) earlier this year, when they joined our provider network. CEO is the largest reentry employment provider in the United States, operating in 30 cities across 12 states, exclusively serving people who have recently been released from incarceration.

Now we're extending that partnership through the Opportunities app to reach people before release. In the pivotal months leading up to that moment—when people are starting to think seriously about employment and how to land a job—we'll connect them to two of CEO's resources available through the Edovo platform, starting in Arizona:

Job-search preparation. Through Edovo, CEO offers educational content designed to help people navigate the job market after incarceration, including the LinkedIn Learning course, "Job Seeking with a Criminal Record," developed in partnership with CEO specifically for justice-involved learners. These resources help people understand how to highlight their skills, address employment gaps, and approach employers with confidence.

CEO's AI Voice Coach. CEO has developed a secure, phone-based AI coaching tool that incarcerated individuals can use 24/7 through existing monitored phone lines. People can practice job interviews, workplace communication, and conflict resolution in a low-stakes, judgment-free environment and receive real-time feedback. CEO built this tool with input from people directly impacted by the justice system, incorporating clear guardrails, privacy protections, and staged piloting. In early pilots across 500+ participants, CEO's AI Voice Coach improved people’s interview skills and reduced their pre-interview anxiety. Importantly, staff shared positive feedback that the AI Voice Coach enhances, not replaces, their own coaching.

What This Looks Like for People Using Opportunities

The sooner reentry planning begins, the better a person’s chances of success. Consider someone in Arizona, eleven months from release. They open the Opportunities app on Edovo and see a prompt to create an ION account and start building connections with employers, support groups, and housing providers. A few months later, they're practicing interviews with CEO's AI Voice Coach, exploring career pathways through SkillUp, learning how to get their Social Security card through FreeWorld, and finding out if they qualify for SNAP through mRelief and enrolling in benefits. By the time they walk out the door, they've taken multiple concrete steps to prepare for reentry. 

That's what these partnerships and the tools in Opportunities are designed to make possible: preparation that's actionable, not just informational.

This network is still growing. We're working to expand coverage across more geographies and add partners to address more of the barriers to successful reentry. By collaborating with mission-aligned nonprofits, we’re expanding our collective reach and maximizing the impact for every person coming home.

About Our Partners

Center for Employment Opportunities

The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) provides immediate, effective, and comprehensive employment services exclusively to people recently released from incarceration. CEO currently operates in 30 cities in 12 states and is dedicated to ensuring that justice-impacted people have opportunities and careers to achieve socioeconomic mobility. Learn more →

Edovo

The largest digital learning platform for incarcerated people, Edovo provides free educational, vocational, and personal development content to more than 1.1 million learners. By transforming correctional environments through technology, Edovo helps individuals build skills and prepare for a successful return to their communities. Opportunities is available through Edovo in Arizona and in six other states. Learn more →

Inside Out Network

The Inside Out Network (ION) is an Arizona-based nonprofit that connects people leaving incarceration with reentry service providers, second-chance employers, housing, and community support through a live online platform. ION operates across Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Mississippi, and has connected more than 12,000 returning citizens with over 600 service providers. Learn more →