Proof in Results for HopeWorks

TOM WILEMON | The Daily News

HopeWorks, with a reputation for turning people’s lives around, now has the tracking data to prove it.

Less than 10 percent of its graduates from January 2006 to April 2010 who had criminal backgrounds ended up back behind bars. The faith-based program teaches job skills and provides career counseling to the chronically unemployed, including people with felony records.

HopeWorks recently put the names of 211 graduates into a database after looking through four years worth of documents. Of that number, 112 had prior criminal backgrounds, but only 11 committed additional crimes after graduating.

Ron Wade, who became executive director of HopeWorks nearly two years ago, made it a goal to track outcomes.

“I came from a business background where you’ve got quotas and measurements and all that kind of stuff,” Wade said. “The nonprofit business is the same way. If I was going to ask you to invest in HopeWorks, you would want to know what we are doing.”

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