The Safer Foundation, an Illinois not-for-profit 501©(3) organization, first opened its doors in Chicago in 1972 as an advocate for individuals with a criminal record in their efforts to obtain employment following release from prison or jail. Today the Safer Foundation is a premier provider of services to individuals with a criminal record with nine locations in Illinois and Iowa, and a staff of nearly 300.

In 1972, the biggest barrier to employment was the stigma attached to being an individual with a criminal record. Today, individuals face additional, significant barriers to employment, such as lack of education, substance abuse issues and little experience with the work world. At the same time the community faces sizeable increases in the number of returning individuals with a criminal record with approximately 600,000 people being released from U.S. prisons annually.

The focus of the Safer Foundation remains preparing individuals with a criminal record for the world of work and then helping them find and keep meaningful employment through a full range of employment services. However, Safer clients often need additional programs and services to be ready for employment, such as housing, substance abuse treatment, education and life skills. Over the years, the Safer Foundation has developed a range of programs and services in response to the changing needs of our clients.

In 1976 the Safer Foundation expanded service delivery into Rock Island, Illinois, based on the need for services in that area of the state. In 1978, Governor Robert Ray of Iowa personally invited Safer to deliver services to Iowa parolees and probationers in Davenport, Iowa when he realized many were seeking Safer's services across the border in Illinois.

That same year, the Safer Foundation agreed to operate and administer a 60-bed residential work release facility on behalf of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). Today, the Safer Foundation - the only non-profit private organization to manage adult transition centers for IDOC - provides secured oversight and services to over 500 males in two residential facilities located on the west side of Chicago.

The purpose of these centers is to give individuals who are preparing to be released from Illinois supervision the support and services to re-establish needed ties to family, employment, and community, if they are to be productive and crime-free.

This past year the Safer Foundation established a Public Policy and Advocacy Program to supplement direct client services. The focus of this initiative is to identify and reduce the system wide barriers to employment through broad based coalition building and advocacy.

For the past thirty years the Safer Foundation has attracted a broad base of funder support from individuals, private foundations and the public sector. Safer also receives numerous requests from national, state and local governmental officials seeking Safer's expertise regarding policies and programs that promote the successful reentry of individuals with a criminal record to community so as to reduce recidivism rates, increase public safety, and enhance the likelihood of crime-free self-sufficiency of individuals with a criminal record and their families.