BJA FY 11 Second Chance Act Family-Based Offender Substance Abuse Treatment Program

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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 2.3 million individuals serving time in our federal and state prisons, and millions of people cycling through local jails every year. Ninety-five percent of all offenders incarcerated today will eventually be released and will return to communities. The Second Chance Act will help ensure that the transition individuals make from prison, jail, or juvenile residential facilities to the community is successful and promotes public safety. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that in 2004, 53 percent of state inmates were abusing or dependent on drugs in the year before their admission to prison, and 32 percent of state inmates said they had committed their current offense while under the influence of drugs. In 2007, parents held in the state prisons�52 percent of state inmates�reported having an estimated 1.7 million children under the age of 18, an increase of 80 percent from 2001. Since 1991, the number of children with a mother in prison has more than doubled, up 131 percent, and the number of children with a father in prison has grown by 77 percent. Among state prisoners, 59 percent of males and 63 percent of females being held for drug-related offenses were parents. Section 113 of the Second Chance Act specifically addresses the treatment needs of offenders who have substance abuse disorders and who are parents of minor children. This section authorizes federal awards to states, units of local government, and Indian tribes to improve the provision of substance abuse treatment within prison and jails and after reentry for offenders who have minor children, and also includes outreach to families and provision of treatment and other services to children and other family members of participant offenders. BJA is seeking applications from eligible applicants to plan, implement, or expand such family-based treatment programs. For more information on BJA implementation of the Second Chance Act initiatives and Frequently Asked Questions about this solicitation, visit BJA�s Second Chance Act web page at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/SecondChance.html.

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