BJA FY 12 Second Chance Act Family-Based Adult Offender

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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. 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 an evidence-based 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. The reentry process includes the delivery of a variety of evidence-based program services for every program participant in both a pre- and post-release setting designed to ensure that the transition from prison or jail to the community is safe and successful.

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