The Second Chance Act
On Wednesday April 16, 2008, President Bush signed into law The Second Chance Act of 2007: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention which will help ex-offenders transition into society after leaving prison or jail. Volunteers of America played an active role in advocating passage of this groundbreaking legislation and was invited to the bill signing at the White House.
“Volunteers of America has dedicated itself to providing community-based correctional programs and services to more than 25,000 people nationwide. This groundbreaking legislation goes a long way in furthering our mission to help ease the burden placed on communities, families and former offenders as they return to society,” said Charles W. Gould, national president and chief executive officer of Volunteers of America. “We applaud the president and the bi-partisan group of legislators whose work on this legislation will provide offenders with a second chance at a successful life.”
The Second Chance Act represents a significant improvement on existing federally funded programs for the safe reentry of nearly 700,000 offenders who are released from state and federal prisons each year and return to local communities. The legislation authorizes $362 million to states, local governments and nonprofit organizations that operate programs that help former prisoners find job training, literacy training, substance abuse treatment, counseling and housing.
The legislation emphasizes the importance of public-private partnerships in providing the necessary services to ease transition and reduce the likelihood that released offenders will commit other crimes. In addition to Volunteers of America, the bill has the backing of more than 200 criminal justice, community service providers, faith-based, housing, governmental, disability and civil rights organizations.
Volunteers of America provides a broad range of programs for ex-offenders and their families, including residential communities and aftercare services in Indiana, an innovative halfway house and treatment center in New Jersey, the Transition and Reunification Program for female ex-offenders in Maine, and the Community Partners Reinvestment Project in Oregon that is targeted for young men prior to and after their release. In partnership with Scholastic, the Words Travel literacy initiative for incarcerated parents allows offenders to maintain bonds with their children by providing time to read together. The Life Connections Program works with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to match federal inmates in Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Texas and Virginia with a mentor or mentoring groups within local faith-based communities.