The National Second Chance Act Becomes Law
Thanks in part to work of PSJ members who responded to our Action Alert request with letters and emails to their congressional representatives, and along with work happening around the country, the Second Chance Act of 2007 became law when the President signed it on April 9, 2008. The Second Chance Act authorizes $362 million to expand assistance for people currently incarcerated, those returning to their communities after incarceration, and children with parents in prison.
In a sharp change in attitudes about incarceration, many states and private groups have recently experimented with re-entry programs to help released prisoners fit back into their communities and avoid new crime.
“This act represents a major change in crime policy,” said Jeremy Travis, president of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, who as a Justice Department official in the Clinton administration helped promote the shift.
The Second Chance Act seeks to promote public safety by reducing recidivism rates among people reentering communities after prison. Presently, two-thirds of formerly incarcerated people are rearrested within three years after release. The services to be funded under the Second Chance Act include:
- mentoring programs for adults and juveniles leaving prison;
- drug treatment during and after incarceration, including family-based treatment for incarcerated parents;
- education and job training in prison;
- alternatives to incarceration for parents convicted of non-violent drug offenses;
- supportive programming for children of incarcerated parents; and
- early release for certain elderly prisoners convicted of non-violent offenses.
“From our perspective, this is a huge development,” said Michael Thompson, director of the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments. “Governors, legislatures, corrections and law enforcement agencies around the country were all very supportive of the act.”
“The country was built on the belief that each human being has limitless potential and worth. Everybody matters. We believe that even those who have struggled with a dark past can find brighter days ahead. One way we act on that belief is by helping former prisoners who’ve paid for their crimes -- we help them build new lives as productive members of our society.
“The work of redemption reflects our values. It also reflects our national interests. Each year, approximately 650,000 prisoners are released from jail. Unfortunately, an estimated two-thirds of them are rearrested within three years. The high recidivism rate places a huge financial burden on taxpayers, it deprives our labor force of productive workers, and it deprives families of their daughters and sons, and husbands and wives, and moms and dads.
“Our government has a responsibility to help prisoners to return as contributing members of their community.” --- George W Bush at signing ceremony
“It’s a comprehensive approach to looking at what it takes to get a person back into normal life. Even more than the programs that are going to actually be funded, it is an opportunity to help Americans to change their mindsets and to help put corrections and rehabilitation as a central part of our criminal justice system,” Representative Danny Davis (IL), one of the original sponsors of the bill, also known as “Mr. Re-entry.”
More information can be found in an April 8, 2008 NY Times opinion “U.S. Shifting Prison Focus to Re-entry Into Society” and the Sentencing Project’s web story “President Bush Signs Second Chance Bill.” FAMM’s website contains an excellent fact sheet of Frequently Asked Questions.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of Justice Matters
