NCJ Number
249207
Date Published
September 2015
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This fact sheet reviews the accomplishments of grant programs funded under the Federal Second Chance Act of 2007 (SCA) , which was enacted to break the cycle of criminal recidivism of individuals returning to their communities after incarceration.
Abstract
The report addresses the achievements under the SCA for the period between October 2009 and March 2015. Since the first SCA appropriation in FY 2009, approximately $475 million has been authorized for grants, training, and technical assistance for State, local, and tribal government agencies and community organizations. These efforts have focused on helping people who have been released to communities after custody in jails and prisons. The goal of this assistance is to help them reintegrate into their communities while avoiding reoffending. The seven SCA grant programs funded through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) have provided reentry services that focus on those individuals at medium to high risk for recidivism. Support is provided for housing, education, employment, and family relationships, as well as substance abuse and mental health treatment that uses cognitive-behavioral therapy to address criminal thinking patterns. A key component of these programs is the tracking of grantee progress and performance. This is done through BJA's Performance Measurement Tool (PMT, which facilitates the collection of quarterly data on participant and program performance measures. This fact sheet provides PMI data for the seven SCA programs through March 31, 2015. Over this period, SCA programs have served approximately 113,000 participants. 5 figures and 3 tables