BJA FY 15 Second Chance Act Comprehensive Community-Based Adult Reentry Program Utilizing Mentors
The Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199) provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of incarcerated adults and juveniles who are released from prison, jail, and juvenile residential facilities and returning to communities. There are currently over 2.2 million individuals serving time in our federal and state prisons, and millions of people cycling through tribal and local jails every year. Ninety-five percent of all people incarcerated today will eventually be released and will return to communities. The coordination of reentry of members of Native American tribes is even more complex given that they can return from federal, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), state, local, and tribal facilities. The Second Chance Act helps to ensure that the transition individuals make from prison, jail, or juvenile residential facilities to the community is successful and promotes public safety. The Second Chance Act grant funding is designed to help communities develop and implement comprehensive and collaborative strategies that address the challenges posed by reentry and recidivism reduction. â₏œReentryâ₏ is not a specific program, but rather a process that starts when an individual is initially incarcerated and ends when he or she has been successfully reintegrated in the community as a law-abiding citizen. Section 211 of the Act authorizes grants to nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Indian tribes that may be used for comprehensive wrap-around services/programs which incorporate the use of trained mentors to promote the safe and successful reintegration into the community of adults who have been incarcerated. It is expected that program participants will be screened, assessed, and identified for program participation pre-release, and ideally, mentoring relationships will begin pre-release. During the post-release phase of the reentry program, participants will receive case management, connection to evidence-based programming designed to ensure that the transition from prison or jail to the community is safe and successful, and the benefit of a mentor. In instances where geographic distance or other obstacles preclude in-person visits between mentors and mentees pre-release, other mechanisms, such as voice and video calling, may be utilized when allowed and appropriate to begin mentoring relationships.
Office: Office of Justice Programs
