Will Congress (finally) pass a Second Chance Act?
In his 2004 State of the Union address, President George Bush spoke passionately about the importance of showing compassion (and providing job training and placement services) to convicted offenders because "America is the land of second chance." Since then, various bill seeking to live up to this mantra have surfaced in the House and Senate, and now there seems to be some real momentum in Congress to pass a Second Chance Act.
FAMM has this helpful webpage (with links) discussing the progress and particulars of the Second Chance Act of 2007.
Hey!, this sounds a lot like what I'm involved in. Here is a summary account of the bill:
Among other things, the Second Chance Act would provide reentry funding on the state and local level to support former prisoners' needs for housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment, education, employment and rebuilding family and community ties. Nearly 650,000 individuals are released from federal and state custody each year only to find limited support to aid in their reentry efforts. The Second Chance Act of 2007 would help the formerly incarcerated successfully transition back into communities.
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