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CEO Tulsa tells TAR board daily-paid transitional crews are a fast path to employment for returning residents
Summary
Center for Employment Opportunities Tulsa presented program outcomes Oct. 28, 2025, saying transitional crews provide short-term paid work and job coaching to people returning from incarceration. CEO Tulsa reported crews have supported hundreds of people locally and urged expansion of crew capacity to serve more referrals.
Center for Employment Opportunities Tulsa told the Tulsa Authority of Recovery Energy board on Oct. 28 that daily-paid transitional work crews are a critical early step in helping people returning from incarceration find steady work.
"Because what do people need when they come home from incarceration? They need money right now," Shauna Detmer, director of policy and business development for CEO Tulsa, told the board. Detmer described a program that issues pay cards, provides two days of job readiness training, places participants on crews with daily pay, and provides a day each week of job coaching that connects participants to placement opportunities.
Detmer said CEO Tulsa runs eight transitional work crews in the city — the highest number the local site has fielded — and reported that from May 2022 to Oct. 2025, City crews 1, 2 and 3 provided transitional work for 737 Tulsans returning from incarceration. She said CEO Tulsa has relationships with more than 1,200 employers nationally and follows participants for a year after placement to provide supports such as legal aid, casework, and training for CDL and welding.
Board members asked about program length, and Detmer said participants can work on crews up to 75 days but the program seeks to place people into permanent work as soon as possible, usually around 30 days. Detmer also noted a Tulsa Community College crew designed to serve women and invited board members to tour the program.
The presentation highlighted CEO Tulsa's role as a local partner for the city's litter-abatement and facilities work and framed crew capacity as a limiting factor: the organization receives more referrals than it can serve. Board members commended CEO Tulsa for local placements and discussed potential partnerships to increase financial stability for participants.
