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Former Mayor Street appointed a steering committee, led by former Mayor - Reverend Dr. W. Wilson Goode, to identify ways and means to reduce ex-offender recidivism. The steering committee quickly became known as the Consensus Group and was comprised of area stakeholders who dedicated their efforts towards the reshaping of the way that Philadelphia approached the release and return of prisoners into society. "They're Coming Back" (2002) a thirty page booklet was published outlining the observations, highlights, and directives of the Consensus Group including: Prison time could be positively used to address the underlying issues that actually lead to the offense; "'Re-entry'...refers to the process of leaving prison...every prisoner undergoes reentry, not all are successfully reintegrated; Philadelphia's Prison System would return to society over 35,000 released prisoners annually.
In February of 2005, during Philadelphia's City Council Hearings on Ex-offender Reentry, there was a resounding call by the community at large for the establishment of a Reentry Office that would serve to implement the recommendations of the Consensus Group; while striving to increase efforts that would promote the successful reintegration of adjudicated offenders into the community.
In July 2005, the Mayor's Office for the Reentry of Ex-Offenders (MORE) was established. A total of 1902 ex-offenders from federal, state and county prisons sought a broad range of services through the newly created office within the first year of operation. Services provided included; job training, placement and retention services; vocational training; job readiness training; life skills development; housing assistance; mental health and substance abuse treatment services; parenting; case management services; utilities assistance; and with the assistance of the Faith Based Community, mentoring services. The response to the newly created office surpassed the expectations of many. The need to expand was evident. Strategic planning efforts began to unfold to locate and establish a central location to provide for the comprehensive needs of ex-offenders.
On February 5, 2007 the City's first Ex-offender Reentry One Stop Center was opened. Six months later on August 1, 2007 the second Reentry One-Stop Center was opened. In October 2007 the City entered into a partnership with the Jewish Education and Vocational Services (JEVS) organization and annexed the additional ex-offender services of another partner.
Building upon the demand for services by the ex-offender population, The One Stop Centers have been designed to provide previously incarcerated individuals with an even broader range of transitional services to help them address the barriers many face as they strive to regain self-sufficiency and secure employment. The goal of the One Stop Centers is to reduce recidivism and to increase public safety by offering a comprehensive menu of support to former inmates at one location, under one roof. While many of the services are accessible on site, other critical resources are made available through a streamlined referral process to outside partners. The support provided by the City's Reentry Partners including: Adult Probation and Parole; Department of Behavioral Health; Office of Supportive Housing; Philadelphia Defender's Association; Faith Based Partners; Philadelphia Prison System and the District Attorney's Office, have contributed to the success of this multi-faceted center. | 
