The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Crime Subcommittee held a hearing on HR 1593 on March 20th
link to article........

http://www.sentencingproject.org/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=382

What a great article, I want to learn more. That's also a really interesting site that I could spend hours perusing. Thanks for sharing it.

That makes so much sense I'll bet that's the last we'll hear of it.

I think this is great. We pay our debt to society yet we're paying it for the rest of our lives.
Has anyone thought of starting a Petition to help support this bill?

It will sit on the sub committee floor until the cows come home.

the House Judiciary Committee passed out the Second Chance Act yesterday after a 5 hour markup dealing with a lengthy series of proposed amendments by Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX).
In addition to the efforts to bar discrimination against religious groups and add faith-based language (both of which would have jeopardized bipartisan support for the bill, he wanted to strip out reentry courts,eliminate family based programs, limit reentry services to no more than six months, and several others.
With one exception the votes against his amendments were along party lines. Representatives Cannon (R-UT) and Coble (R-NC)voted against his amendment to strip out family based programs.
Rep.Chabot (R-OH) also proposed a controversial mandatory restitution amendment that Democrats felt could keep some reentering persons under criminal justice supervision indefinitely if they were unable to satisfy a restitution obligation. That amendment, which was identical to H.R.
845 introduced by Chabot, was also defeated.

What is the status of the Second Chance Act 2007.

H.R. 1593/S.
1060, The Second Chance Act Reentry Legislation Reintroduced in the House and the Senate; Full House Judiciary Committee Approves the Legislation,
Hearing Emphasizes Importance of Employment and Drug Treatment

The Second Chance Act, legislation that seeks to help States and
localities better address the needs of individuals reentering the community from the criminal justice system, was reintroduced in the House of
Representatives on March 20th and in the Senate on March 30th. Representative Danny Davis (D-IL) and 14 additional bi-partisan Members
introduced the House version of the Second Chance Act, H.R. 1593, and Senators Joe Biden (D-DE), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Sam Brownback (R-KS), and
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced S. 1060, the Senate version of the Second Chance Act.

On March 28th, the full House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 1593
following a mark-up (review) of the legislation led by Second Chance Act sponsors Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Ranking Member Lamar
Smith (R-TX). During the mark-up session, Congressman Louie Goehmert (R-TX) offered a number of amendments that would have removed various
provisions of the Second Chance Act; however, none of these amendments was approved. In addition, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime,
Terrorism and Homeland Security, led by two additional co-sponsors of the Second Chance Act, Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Randy Forbes
(R-VA), approved the legislation prior to full Committee review on March 27th. Since the House Judiciary Committee has approved the
Second Chance Act, the legislation can now be considered by the full House.

The centerpiece of the Second Chance Act is the reauthorization of a
Department of Justice grant program for people returning to the community from incarceration. Both the House and Senate versions of the Second
Chance Act would provide grants to States and local areas to create or strengthen the systems that help adults and youth transition into the
community when they are released from incarceration by providing drug and mental health treatment, job training and education opportunities, housing
and other necessary services. The House version of the Second Chance Act would authorize $65 million in appropriations for these grants each year for
the next two fiscal years and the Senate bill would authorize $50 million for each of the next two fiscal years. Under both bills, the grants
could be used for a wide range of services, including:


Providing a full continuum of addiction treatment services including outpatient,
comprehensive residential services, and recovery services to people reentering the community from prison, jail or a juvenile
facility

Expanding addiction treatment centers that offer family-based comprehensive treatment
services for parents and their children as a complete family unit

Providing or facilitating health care services, including substance abuse screening,
treatment, and aftercare; infectious disease screening and treatment; and screening, assessment and aftercare for mental health services, to
reentering individuals

Assessing the literacy, educational, and vocational needs of people in the criminal
justice system, and identifying and providing services appropriate to meet those needs, including follow-up assessments and long-term
services

Facilitating collaboration among corrections, including community corrections,
technical schools, community colleges, businesses, nonprofit, and the workforce development and employment service sectors to:


Promote, where appropriate, the employment of people released from prison, jail, or a
juvenile facility through efforts such as educating employers about existing financial incentives

Facilitate the creation of job opportunities, including transitional jobs
and time-limited subsidized work experience where appropriate

Connect formerly incarcerated individuals to employment, including
supportive employment and employment services before their release to the community, provide work supports including transportation and retention
services, as appropriate, and identify labor market needs to ensure that education and training are appropriate,
and


Address obstacles to employment that are not directly connected to the offense
committed and the risk that the individual presents to the community and provide case management services as necessary to prepare individuals for
jobs that offer the potential for advancement and growth


Providing structured post-release housing and transitional housing,
including group homes for individuals in recovery from substance use disorders


Providing individuals with education, job training, English as a second
language programs, and work experience programs


Additional key provisions of both versions of the Second Chance Act
include:


Authorizing a grant program to States, local governments, Indian tribes and other
public and private entities to evaluate methods to improve academic and vocational education for people in prison, jails and juvenile facilities;
best practices for such educational programs would then be recommended to the Attorney General; $5 million would be authorized for this program for
each of two fiscal years


Authorizing the Attorney General to make grants to States, local units of
government and Indian tribes to establish technology careers training programs within prisons, jails and juvenile facilities; $5 million would be
authorized for this program for each of two fiscal years


Requiring the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to:


Establish a comprehensive re-entry program


Assist incarcerated people in obtaining identification cards such as
social security, drivers license and birth certificates, prior to release from incarceration

Provide pre-release planning procedures for incarcerated people to ensure eligibility
for Federal and State benefits, such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or Veterans benefits, upon releases

Requiring that States participating in the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment
(RSAT) program for incarcerated people provide aftercare services

Authorizing a grant program to State and local prosecutors to develop and implement
qualified drug treatment programs as alternatives to incarceration for individuals convicted of non-violent offenses

Authorizing two grant programs to States, localities and Indian tribes to 1) develop,
implement or expand comprehensive family-based addiction treatment programs as alternatives to incarceration for parents convicted of non-violent
offenses and 2) to provide prison-based family treatment programs for incarcerated parents; $10 million would be authorized for each of these
grant programs for each of the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years

Authorizing a grant program through the Department of Justice, in collaboration with
the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), to States, localities, Indian
tribes, and public and private organizations to establish pharmacological addiction treatment services as part of available drug treatment programs
offered to people in prisons or jails; and a separate grant program through DOJs National Institute of Justice, in consultation with NIDA, to
evaluate the effectiveness of depot naltrexone for the treatment of heroin addiction; $10 million would be authorized for each of the 2008 and 2009
fiscal years for these two programs

Authorize a grant program to eligible partnerships to create
demonstration programs to reduce the use of alcohol and other drugs in prison or jail by people who were long-term users and to provide drug
addiction treatment and recovery support services in the community; $5 million would be authorized for the 2008 and 2009 fiscal
years


The Senate version of the Second Chance Act would also amend the
Workplace and Community Transition Training for Incarcerated Youth Offenders Act program by increasing the eligibility age from 25 to 35 years and by
requiring the Secretary of Education to establish a grant program to help State correctional education agencies to improve educational services to
incarcerated youth. This grant program would seek to assist and encourage incarcerated youth to acquire functional literacy, life, and job
skills through the pursuit of a postsecondary education certificate, or an associate or bachelor's degree while in prison; and employment counseling
and other related services which during incarceration and for up to a year following release. Individuals eligible for this program would
include incarcerated youth up to age 35 who are eligible for release or parole within five years. S. 1060 would authorize that $30 million be
appropriated for this grant program for each of the next two fiscal years.

In addition, the Senate version of the Second Chance Act would require
the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, to take the necessary steps to implement programs to educate employers and the
one-stop partners and one-stop operators under the Workforce Investment Act system about incentives, including the Federal bonding program and tax
credits, for hiring formerly incarcerated people. The Senate bill also would authorize a grant program through the Department of Justice to
improve academic and vocational education programs for people incarcerated in adult and juvenile facilities; $10 million would be authorized for this
program for two years.

House Subcommittee
Hearing on H.R. 1593

On March 20th, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on
Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security held a hearing on the legislation. Congressmen Bobby Scott (D-VA), Chair of the Subcommittee, and Randy
Forbes (R-VA), the Subcommittees Ranking Member, led the hearing. Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the full House Judiciary
Committee, participated in the hearing, in addition to Representatives Howard Coble (R-NC), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Louie Goehmert (R-TX), Steve Chabot
(R-OH), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Dan Lungren (R-CA), and Jerry Nadler (D-NY). Witnesses providing testimony to the Subcommittee were: Mr. Jack
Cowley, National Director of Alpha for Prisons & Re-Entry Wichita Falls, TX; Mr. Stefan LoBuglio, Chief of Pre-Release and Reentry Services for
Montgomery County at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Mr. Steve Lufburrow, President/CEO of Goodwill Industries of Houston; Mr.
George McDonald, President of the Doe Fund, Inc., New York, NY; and Dr. Roger H. Peters, Chairman and Professor of Mental Health Law and Policy at
the University of South Florida.

Committee Member
Remarks

Congressman Scott began by talking about the need for comprehensive
reentry services across the country, stating that there are currently 2.2 million people incarcerated in the United States and that $65 billion a
year is spent on corrections. Congressman Scott also spoke about the many barriers that people with criminal records experience, including how
difficult it is for formerly incarcerated people to obtain employment, housing and public benefits. Arguing that the Second Chance Act would
begin to address the nations reentry needs, Congressman Scott also asserted that the legislation would help to reduce recidivism and costs,
and increase public safety.

In his opening statement to the Subcommittee, Congressman Forbes spoke of
an obligation to ensure that people leaving incarceration are provided effective reentry services. Noting the high corrections costs to States,
Congressman Forbes spoke about Second Chance Act as providing a framework to provide reentry services. Congressman Forbes also spoke about how
the Second Chance Act would help to improve coordination among State agencies working to help people reenter the community from the criminal justice
system, including those providing and overseeing drug treatment services.

Congressman Goehmert, in his statements to the Subcommittee, stated his
general support for reentry programming but opposition to the specific content of the Second Chance Act. Although he agreed that services
are necessary for people leaving the criminal justice system to prevent recidivism and reduce costs, Congressman Goehmert stated that he was unsure
whether the Second Act would be the best way to achieve these results; specifically, he questioned whether family based programming should be
included in the bill and whether there was sufficient inclusion of faith-based services.

Witness
Testimony

In his testimony to the Subcommittee, Mr. George McDonald spoke about the
Doe Funds work with formerly incarcerated people in New York. Emphasizing the barriers to employment that people with criminal records
face, Mr. McDonald expressed that the people he works with want the opportunity to work and to be productive members of society. Speaking of
the nations high rate of recidivism among formerly incarcerated people, Mr. McDonald noted that the chief factor related to recidivism is the
ability of people with criminal records to find quality employment. In addition, Mr. McDonald spoke about how critical it is for people with
addiction histories to have access to drug and alcohol treatment services.

Mr. Jack Cowley, National Director of Alpha for Prisons & Re-Entry, spoke
about how the Second Chance Act would give agencies the chance to add capacity to continue serving people with criminal records. Mr. Cowley also
expressed that the legislation would send a powerful message of hope to correctional professionals, reentry service providers, victims of crime and
formerly incarcerated people. Passing the Second Chance Act, Mr. Cowley argued, would make a significant investment in faith-based and
community organizations, and would foster collaboration with the States.

Mr. Stefan LoBuglio, Chief of Pre-Release and Reentry Services for
Montgomery County at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, spoke about how jails and local correctional systems serve as the entry and
exit points in the nations correctional system and expressed that he was pleased that these systems are included in the Second Chance
Act. Mr. LoBuglio also spoke about the importance of the legislation promoting further collaboration between providers and faith-based
organizations. Mr. LoBuglio stated that research has shown which types of services are effective in helping people transition from
incarceration and that the Second Chance Act would allow States and localities to do what works.

Mr. Steve Lufburrow, President/CEO of Goodwill Industries of Houston,
spoke about how his organization works with people with criminal records to help them overcome barriers to employment resulting from their
record. Noting the high rate of recidivism among formerly incarcerated people, Mr. Lufburrow cited a recent study by the Urban Institute,
finding that incarcerated people who participated in work while in prison were 20 percent less likely to recidivate upon release. Mr. Lufburrow
emphasized the importance of conducting pre-release assessments to evaluate educational and vocational needs and facilitating collaboration with
nonprofits and other organizations to promote employment and stated that the Second Chance Act would help support these efforts.

Dr. Roger H. Peters, Chairman and Professor of Mental Health Law and
Policy at the University of South Florida, spoke about the high rate of drug and alcohol problems among people in the criminal justice system and
about the need for people to have access to quality treatment services both during incarceration and following release. Dr. Peters also spoke
about the need to screen people in the criminal justice system for mental illness and to ensure that mentally ill people receive high quality mental
health services.

Additional members co-sponsoring H.R. 1593 are: Representatives Stephanie
Tubbs Jones (D-OH), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Howard Coble (R-NC), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Steve Chabot
(R-OH), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Hank Johnson (D-GA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).

Additional information about the Second Chance Act, including status,
text and a list of co-sponsors of both H.R. 1593 and S. 1060, can be found at: http://www.thomas.loc.gov (http://www.thomas.loc.gov/) (http://e2ma.net/go/550195610/449971/14776400/goto:http://www.thomas.loc.gov/ (http://e2ma.net/go/550195610/449971/14776400/goto:http:/www.thomas.loc.gov/)).