Exalt, a New York City nonprofit that places justice‑involved young people in paid internships, told the Syracuse Common Council Committee on Public Safety it will pilot a Syracuse replication serving 65 participants across five staggered cycles. The presenter, identified in the record as the chief program officer (name not specified), said the pilot will be funded primarily by a DCJS grant (cited in the presentation as approximately $1.5 million) and supplemented by private and philanthropic commitments, bringing total committed funds to about $2.1 million.

The chief program officer said Exalt’s model is voluntary and not court‑mandated: “We are not a court mandated program, and that, it is a volunteer program,” they said, and described an exhaustive, roughly three‑week assessment that combines educational, criminal‑justice, candidate and resource assessments before offering acceptance. The program combines a culturally responsive pre‑internship curriculum with an eight‑week paid internship placement; the presenter said interns begin receiving $18 per hour during the internship phase (the speaker also noted the program begins accruing pay early in participation).

Why it matters: Exalt said its approach aims to reduce criminal‑justice involvement and increase economic mobility through sustained employer relationships and alumni supports. The presenter cited historical court‑advocacy outcomes in New York, saying “65 percent of our young people . . . come to our program with open cases. 75 percent of those young people historically have had their cases either dismissed or reduced.” Exalt said it will commission an independent evaluation after the first year and has identified MDRC as the evaluator.

Program scope and eligibility: Exalt told the committee it focuses on young people aged roughly 15–19 and emphasized voluntary participation. The presenter said certain severe charges are excluded from service in New York and would be excluded in Syracuse as well, listing arson, sexual‑offense charges and murder as categories that are not served; “each case” is reviewed individually for fit. For minors, parents or guardians are involved in intake and must provide consent, but the program will not forcibly enroll a minor who declines.

Staffing, space and partnerships: For initial cycles Exalt said its program leadership team will staff the launch to preserve model fidelity; the organization said longer‑term hiring will follow a “for Syracuse by Syracuse” approach, recruiting through local colleges’ career services and community‑based organizations. Exalt said it is considering co‑location at a Syracuse EOC site to connect to existing workforce development programs and reported initial internship commitments from four Syracuse entities (SUNY Upstate, Tech Garden, MOST, and the Everson Museum). The presenter said Exalt maintains more than 150 internship partners in New York City and deliberately seeks placements in professional and high‑sector jobs (law firms, architecture firms, media organizations) rather than typical first‑job retail or fast‑food roles.

Funding and sustainability: The presenter said the DCJS award is a large portion of the Syracuse funding package and that a diversified funding strategy — government grants, corporate support and philanthropy — underpins sustainability. The deputy mayor told the committee the city does not plan to provide a local match for the coming budget season and that future city funding requests would depend on pilot outcomes and state budget conditions.

Coordination with local nonprofits and community concerns: Council members asked whether local service providers would be displaced; Exalt repeatedly framed its approach as collaborative, saying it will share progress notes, coordinate referrals, and avoid duplicating services. The presenter acknowledged local nonprofit institutional knowledge and described plans to learn from existing Syracuse providers and to refer youth to organizations that provide services Exalt does not offer (housing, food assistance, family services).

Outcomes, retention and alumni supports: Exalt reported New York City retention at about 70 percent across the 4.5‑month core program and described alumni services including scholarship support, post‑secondary advising, and paid alumni internships (the presenter cited $20/hour for some alumni internships). The presenter said the model aims to create career pathways and build networks for young people whose court involvement has historically limited opportunities.

Evaluation and reporting: In response to council questions about impact measurement, Exalt cited historical outcomes from prior evaluations (including NYU Metro Center research) and said it will commission MDRC for a Syracuse evaluation after the first year. Council members requested a mid‑program report; Exalt agreed to provide progress updates during the pilot.

What was not decided or specified: The presentation left some operational details as “to be determined”: exact hire dates for Syracuse staff, a permanent physical location timetable, and the final start date for the first cohort (Exalt and city officials discussed beginning activity around December–January). The presenter also provided two references to how pay accrues (stated interns begin receiving $18/hr in week 3, and elsewhere that pay begins accruing in week 2); the committee did not resolve that discrepancy in the record.

Next steps: Exalt will continue local outreach, finalize internship placements, coordinate directly with the Syracuse judiciary and probation for referrals, begin staggered cycles as a pilot, and provide interim reporting to the council.