Congress went home without passing the Second Chance Act. This is a major disappointment for all of us in the broad coalition that has worked for over three years to pass this important legislation that would help inmates be better prepared for their release.
All is not lost, however. It is very likely that Congress will return for a "lame duck session" after the elections, and it could pass the Second Chance Act then.
Supporters of the bill can use these last few weeks of the campaign to tell their legislators how important the Second Chance Act is, and press them for a commitment to pass it during the lame duck session.
There are several things you can do to help pass this important bill:
- Attend an event where your legislators will be and tell them why this legislation is so important. An ideal location would be at a candidate forum or town meeting where you can explain to the whole audience why the Second Chance Act will make our neighborhoods safer and result in fewer victims.
- Write a letter to the editor calling on your legislator to support the bill in the lame duck session.
- Call into talk radio shows in support of the bill, and encourage the listeners to use our Legislative Action Center to email their representatives.
Talking Points in Support of the Second Chance Act
- Over 650,000 inmates will be released this year after finishing their sentences.
- Over the last 20 years, two out of three inmates have been arrested within two years of their release. This is a failure rate of 66%.
- The Second Chance Act will help reduce recidivism by preparing inmates to live healthy, productive, law-abiding lives, making our communities safer and resulting in fewer victims.
- The Second Chance Act enjoys broad bi-partisan support across the political spectrum.
- In the Senate, S 1934 is sponsored by 35 Senators, including Specter, Brownback, Biden, Kyl, Obama, Talent, Santorum, and DeWine.
- In the House, HR 1704 is sponsored by 144 members, including: Canon, Danny Davis, Pence, Tubbs-Jones, Scott, Pitts, Jackson-Lee, and Wolf.
- No other legislation enjoys the support of such a diverse group of legislative leaders.
- Faith-based groups are eager to partner with the government to help ex-offenders with their transition to life on the outside—specifically, in the five important areas covered in the Second Chance Act: jobs, housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and strengthening families.
What the Second Chance Act will do:
- Demonstration Grants. The Second Chance Act reauthorizes the Re-Entry Demonstration project with an enhanced focus on jobs, housing, substance abuse treatment/mental health, and children and families. The bill increases the amount of money to fund demonstration programs and create performance outcomes standards and deliverables.
- National Offender Re-Entry Resource Center. Establishes a resource center for states, local government, service providers, faith-based organization, corrections and community organizations to collect and disseminate best practices and provide training and support around reentry.
- Federal Taskforce.Creates a federal interagency taskforce to identify programs and resources on re-entry, identify opportunities for collaboration, and develop interagency initiatives and a national re-entry research agenda. The taskforce would review and report to Congress on the federal barriers that exist to successful re-entry with recommendations for overcoming those barriers.
- Offender Re-Entry Research. Authorizes the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics to conduct research around re-entry.
- Mentoring Grants to Nonprofit Organizations: Establishes a grant program to fund nonprofit organizations that provide mentoring and transitional services to adult and juvenile offenders.
The movement to improve the way inmates are prepared to return home continues to gain momentum across the country. Passage of the Second Chance Act will be a huge step toward accomplishing this.
In His service,
Pat Nolan
President, Justice Fellowship |
