The U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill called the Second Chance Act (SCA), available by going to the Council of State Governments Justice Center website.
The legislation, originally passed in 2008, came about through years of advocacy and activism from the criminal justice reform community—in collaboration with SCA’s congressional champion, Danny Davis, D-Ill., according to an NASW blog post.
As one of the core members of the criminal justice reform coalition that advocated for SCA from the beginning, NASW is particularly pleased that SCA has achieved many of its stated goals, the post stated.
The Second Chance Act helps inmates re-enter society and lowers their chances of recidivism.
According to The Council of State Governments Justice Center, “Since 2009, more than 800 Second Chance Act grant awards have been made to government agencies and nonprofits for re-entry programming designed to provide services that can help reduce recidivism and increase public safety.”
Once reintroduced, the law will provide federal grants to nonprofits, and state and local governments that will help those who re-enter society after incarceration. Not only will SCA lessen recidivism, it also will improve the quality of life for the formerly incarcerated as they re-enter the world—and increase public safety, too.
“Once reauthorized, we are certain that SCA will continue to provide critical re-entry services to communities across the country and help cultivate safer and healthier communities that it has offered for 16 years,” the post says, adding that NASW will remain committed to SCA and to advocating for other reforms in the criminal legal system.