Institutions of civil society play an important role in the process of re-socialization of convicts and their social adaptation. In the process of joint activities of penitentiary system (hereinafter referred to as the PS) with representatives of the public, there are being addressed issues of social adaptation of persons after release from prison, assistance to convicts in the restoration, maintenance and development of socially useful ties, preparation for release, labor and household arrangements, medical and social security, as well as the organization of leisure, education for convicts, their moral, legal and cultural education and development. At the same time, the fulfillment of these post-penitentiary tasks satisfies a number of needs of modern state, in particular, in the urban planning industry. This study examines the experience of interaction between the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia and the Volnoe Delo Social Innovation Fund in the field of employment of convicts, incl. at construction sites. Based on the analysis of implementation of the program for social support of persons in difficult life situations, a conclusion is made about the need to individualize educational work and targeted assistance to convicts; stimulation to change motivational attitudes and moral values; wide demand for the labor of convicts in the urban planning industry.