National Reentry Resource Center Launched

The new home on the web for the most up-to-date information about the Second Chance Act, including new solicitations, is the National Reentry Resource Center.

• To visit the Second Chance Act page on the National Reentry Resource Center's website, please click here.
• To register to receive the National Reentry Resource Center's monthly newsletter, please click here.

The National Reentry Resource Center, a project of the Council of State Governments Justice Center, is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.

In fiscal year 2009, $25 million was appropriated for Second Chance Act programs, including $15 million for state and local reentry demonstration projects and $10 million for grants to nonprofit organizations for mentoring and other transitional services.

In fiscal year 2010, $114 million was appropriated for prisoner reentry programs in the Department of Justice, including $14 million for reentry initiatives in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and $100 million for Second Chance Act grant programs:

• $37 million for reentry demonstration projects under Sec. 101 of the Second Chance Act
• $15 million for mentoring grants to nonprofit organizations under Sec. 211
• $10 million for reentry courts under Sec. 111
• $7.5 million for family-based, substance abuse treatment under Sec. 113
• $2.5 million for grants to evaluate and improve education in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities under Sec. 114
• $5 million for technology careers training demonstration grants under Sec. 115
• $13 million for reentry substance abuse and criminal justice collaboration under Sec. 201
• $10 million for reentry research under Sec. 245

In FY10, $108,493,000 was appropriated for prisoner reentry programs in the Department of Labor, including $15 million for a transitional jobs grant program.

On February 1, 2010, the Office of Management and Budget released the President's Budget for fiscal year 2011, which includes $100 million for Second Chance Act grant programs administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. The President’s Budget is now under review in Congress. In March, 60 members of the House of Representatives, led by Representatives Danny Davis (D-IL), Howard Coble (R-NC), and Bobby Scott (D-VA), submitted a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to request full funding for the Second Chance Act in fiscal year 2010. In April, 21 members of the Senate, led Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), submitted a letter of support for the Second Chance Act to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.