SECOND CHANCE ACT PASSES!

CSG Justice Center Lauds Senate’s Passage of Second Chance Act
President Expected to Sign into Law
The Council of State Governments Justice Center lauds the members of the U.S. Senate for their passage today of the Second
Chance Act of 2007. This landmark bill, introduced by Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Patrick
Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), provides critical resources designed to reduce recidivism and increase public
safety. The legislation passed the Senate by unanimous consent and now proceeds to the President’s desk for signature.
“The passage of the Second Chance Act reflects the strong consensus that improving prisoner reentry is not a partisan issue,
but a matter of public safety, improving lives, and making effective use of taxpayer dollars," said Assemblyman Jeffrion
Aubry, Justice Center board member and chair of the New York State Assembly Correction Committee.
The Second Chance Act includes key elements of President Bush’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative, announced in the 2004 State
of the Union address, which provides for community and faith-based organizations to deliver mentoring and transitional
services. The bill will also help connect people released from prison and jail to mental health and substance abuse treatment,
expand job training and placement services, and facilitate transitional housing and case management services.
“It is vitally important that we do everything we can to ensure that, when people get out of prison, they enter our
communities as productive members of society, so we can start to reverse the dangerous cycles of recidivism and violence, “
said Senator Leahy. “I hope that the Second Chance Act will help us begin to break that cycle.”
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, an estimated 95 percent of all state prisoners will be
released—with half of these individuals expected to return to prison within three years for the commission of a new crime or
violation of their conditions of release. This cycle of recidivism not only compromises public safety, but also increases
taxpayer spending. A February 2007 report from The Pew Charitable Trusts stated that if federal, state, and local policies and
practices do not change, taxpayers are expected to pay as much as $27.5 billion on prisons alone from 2007 to 2011 on top of
current corrections spending.
“The Second Chance Act will provide an opportunity for realistic rehabilitation for the more than 650,000 inmates who
return to their communities each year,” said Senator Specter. “The bill’s focus on education, job training, and substance
abuse treatment is essential to decreasing the nationwide recidivism rate of 66 percent.”
The Council of State Governments Justice Center is a national nonprofit organization that serves policymakers
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