Dear Chair Durbin, Ranking Member Graham, Chair Jordan, and Ranking Member Nadler:
On behalf of the nation's state and local government elected and appointed officials, we respectfully urge your support for the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2024 (S.4477/H.R. 8028), led by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Cornyn (R-TX), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Peter Welch (D-VT), and Representatives Carol Miller (R-WV), Danny Davis (D-IL), Darin LaHood (R-IL), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Barry Moore (R-AL), and Mike Turner (R-OH). The legislation reauthorizes critical reentry grant programs from the Second Chance Act of 2008 and enhances services and supports for housing, childcare, career training, and treatment for substance use disorders.
Over 95% of the prison population will eventually be released and each year, more than 600,000 individuals are released from prison, while an even higher number enter and exit local jails. State, tribal and local governments and nonprofit organizations need resources to ensure that the millions of individuals returning from prison, jail, and juvenile facilities each year continue to receive coordinated, evidence-based reentry services.
To address the reentry needs of the large population reentering our communities each year from a term of incarceration, Congress overwhelmingly passed, and President George W. Bush signed the Second Chance Act into law in 2008, a common-sense, evidence-based approach to improving public safety. The Second Chance Act, reauthorized as part of the landmark First Step Act, authorized funding for programs that improve coordination of reentry services and policies for adults and youth at the state and local levels. These programs provide a range of services, including employment assistance, treatment for substance use disorders and mental illnesses, housing services, family-centered programming and mentoring, and other evidence-based reentry programs. The Department of Justice has awarded over 1,100 Second Chance Act grants and more than 442,000 people have received services through Second Chance Act-funded reentry programs.
The Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2024 will extend critical programs to reduce recidivism, invest in communities, and promote public safety by:
- Reauthorizing grant programs for an additional five years, allowing government agencies and nonprofits to provide vital services, supports, and resources for people reentering their communities after incarceration;
- Expanding allowable uses for supportive and transitional housing services for individuals reentering the community from prison and jail; and
- Enhancing addiction treatment services for individuals with substance use disorders, including peer recovery services, case management, and overdose prevention.
Progress is being made. State-level reincarceration rates are 23 percent lower since 2008. Fewer returns to custody mean that more people can rejoin their families and contribute to their communities. States are achieving these rates with changes in policy and by increasing opportunities and resources to support employment and connections to behavioral health care and housing.
State and local correctional agencies across the country now enthusiastically agree that ensuring reentry success is core to their missions. And they are not alone: state agencies that work on everything from housing and mental health to education and transportation now agree that they too have a role to play in determining outcomes for people leaving prison or jail. By providing the resources needed to coordinate reentry services and policies, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act ensures that the tax dollars spent on corrections no longer support a revolving door in and out of prison and jail.
Our organizations stand ready to work with you to improve reentry outcomes for individuals, families, and communities across the country. We look forward to your support of the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2024.
Respectfully,
David Adkins
Executive Director/CEO
The Council of State Governments
Tim Storey
Chief Executive Officer
National Conference of State Legislators
Matthew D. Chase
CEO and Executive Director
National Association of Counties
Clarence E. Anthony
CEO and Executive Director
National League of Cities
Tom Cochran
CEO and Executive Director
The United States Conference of Mayors