Second Chance Act of 2007

= The Second Chance Act of 2007 =

The Second Chance Act of 2007 [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:7:./temp/~c110k6HMqJ::] , the short title for "The Second Chance Act of 2007: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention" is federal legislation designed to ensure the safe and successful return of prisoners to the community. The main purpose of the Act is to reform the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include reauthorization and expansion of provisions and assistance to offenders being released from prisons and jails nationwide. Additionally, the Act provides for the expansion of state and local reentry demonstration projects to provide expanded services to offenders and their families for reentry into society, as well as the necessary services to remain productive members of society. Each year, as approximately 650,000 people are released from state and federal prisons and between 10 and 12 million more are released from local jails, they struggle with substance abuse, lack of adequate education and job skills, and mental health issues, and a large number of these people return to prison within three years of their release due to inadequate services and opportunities.

As of July 2008 the House of Representatives appropriated $45 million while the Senate tentatively appropriated $20 million for grants authorized under the Act. The Second Chance Act provides a number of grants to state and local governments in order to:
* promote the safe and successful reintegration of offenders into the community upon their release,
* provide employment services, substance abuse treatment, housing, family programming, mentoring, victim services, and methods to improve release and revocation,
* provide mentoring services to adult and juvenile offenders,
* implement family-based treatment programs for incarcerated parents who have minor children,
* provide guidance to the Bureau of Prisons for enhanced reentry planning procedures,
* provide information on health, employment, personal finance, release requirements and community resources

The Act was submitted to the House of Representatives (H.R. 1593) by Danny Davis (D-IL) and received bipartisan support from an additional 91 cosponsors including Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), Randy Forbes (R-VA), and James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). A similar version of the Act was submitted to the Senate (S.1060) by Joseph Biden (D-DE) and also received bipartisan support from an additional 32 cosponsors including Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter (R-PA), Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT).