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Pathways participants and ONES director warn proposed cuts would halve cohorts and shorten therapeutic supports
Summary
Current and former Pathways participants, contractors and ONES leadership said the mayor's FY27 proposal would shrink cohort sizes and reduce program duration and therapeutic frequency, while advocates requested a $10 million annual budget and $2 million for emergency housing to sustain the program's employment and stabilization outcomes.
A large panel of Pathways graduates, mentors and partner contractors told the committee that the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement's (ONES) Pathways program provides life-changing reentry, training and job-placement services, and that proposed cuts would materially weaken those outcomes.
Multiple witnesses described the model: four annual cohorts of 25 ambassadors (100 people per year), job readiness training, cognitive-behavioral therapy, case management, and an identified need for emergency housing supports. Participants and providers asked the council to restore or provide an annual ONES Pathways budget of about $10,000,000 with at least $2,000,000 reserved for emergency housing.
ONES Executive Director Quely Sneed said the FY27 mayoral proposal would leave ONES with about 46 funded positions and would require scaling back program duration, staff and some contract supports. She and others described recent measurable outputs: cohort completion rates, improved employment placement timelines (recent cohorts placed in unsubsidized employment in an average of 98 days at about $22/hour), and increased behavioral-health engagement.
ONES' witnesses warned a $2.6 million proposed cut to Pathways would reduce cohort sizes (example: from 30 to 15), shorten program duration (10 months to 8 months) and reduce therapeutic frequency (weekly counseling to biweekly), and said those changes would likely harm trust-building and long-term stability for participants.
Committee members asked ONES for the program's placement and recidivism metrics; ONES said it would provide additional data to help the council evaluate tradeoffs.
