BJA FY 12 Second Chance Act Adult Offender Comprehensive Statewide Recidivism Reduction Demonstration Program

archived

The Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199) provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of incarcerated adults who are released from prisons and jails 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 Programs are designed to help communities develop and implement comprehensive and collaborative strategies that address the challenges posed by offender reentry and recidivism reduction. “Reentry” is not a specific program, but rather a process that starts when an offender is initially incarcerated and ends when the offender has been successfully reintegrated in his or her community as a law-abiding citizen.Proposals under this solicitation should be systemic in nature and reflect a phased approach in the planning, capacity building, and specific programmatic interventions comprising a comprehensive strategy to achieve a reduction in a historical baseline recidivism rate.In December 2011, the Council of State Governments Justice Center—with the support of BJA, the Pew Center on the States, and the Public Welfare Foundation—convened a State Leaders’ National Forum on Reentry and Recidivism in Washington, DC. The forum was attended by teams (corrections directors, statewide reentry coordinators, and reentry champions) for each of the 50 states, DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A comprehensive web page of the event was developed and includes videos, presentations, and other information about the event. At the Forum, departments of corrections from states and territories were asked to develop comprehensive statewide plans to reduce recidivism in collaboration with other criminal justice stakeholders. BJA announced that it was setting aside up to $5,000,000 from the FY 2012 Section 101 Second Chance Act Appropriation to support awards to departments of correction to plan and implement comprehensive statewide recidivism reduction plans that meet the eligibility requirements under the Second Chance Act outlined below.

High