President Obama has made progress helping ex-cons return to society, but he hasn't created the sweeping program he promised.

In 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder held the first meeting of the administration's Reentry Council "to identify and to advance effective public safety and prisoner reentry strategies.”

Representatives from 20 different federal agencies sit on the council, which aims to coordinate all levels of government to help ex-offenders make a successful transition to productive society. Holder and former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, for example, last year laid out guidance to clarify the rights of ex-prisoners in employment screening, and Holder has encouraged states to revisit laws that make it difficult for ex-offenders to reacclimate, such as restrictions on voting rights or obtaining driver's licenses.

The council has a website to help state and local officials, community organizations as well as ex-offenders, providing information about job training opportunities and other resources. It's also a link to federal grant applications, such as the Second Chance Act Technology Career Training grant, which is currently open. The grant -- which will encompass 10 awards of $750,00 each -- can be used to establish training programs in technology fields for adults and juveniles who are six to 18 months away from being released from jail or prison.

A report by the Justice Policy Institute noted that funding for reentry programs increased from $25 million in 2009 to $100 million in 2010 and 2011, though the authors were critical of other Obama administration policies they viewed as too punitive.

In all, we see a significant push by the Obama administration toward reducing recidivism among the 700,000 ex-convicts who are released from state prisons each year. The efforts so far, though, appear more aimed at education and support of state programs, rather than the comprehensive prison-to-work incentive program that Obama promised. We'll keep watching for that step to be taken and for now rate this a Compromise.