The Second Chance Act
On March 11 the U.S. Senate passed the Second Chance Act, H.R. 1593, that could help people transitioning out of Corrections systems receive the support they need.
CORI (Criminal Record Information) continues to be a serious barrier to accessing housing and employment. When those incarcerated leave the corrections system, a record of their conviction remains which can follow them for the rest of their lives. Housing providers and employers can access this information, and in many cases that leads to the person being unable to find affordable housing or adequate employment.
This legislation, if signed by President Bush, will provide more funding for programming and research - potentially leading to improvements in how the Corrections system deals with issues people face as they re-enter society. It also deals specifically with housing issues, by requiring recipients of funding to show housing outcomes and focus on creating stable environments for ex-offenders.
People who are convicted of a crime are sentenced to pay their debt to society. This legislation could be the beginning of an opportunity for those people to no longer have to pay that debt for the rest of their lives. When people have housing and a job, all of society is better off.
The major pieces (additions
The major pieces (additions )to the funding stream which the Second Chance Act which I think we should focus on are education as the vehicle to a sustainable wage and mentoring. Both of these changes provide the ex-offender with guideance and support and the ability to get to a wage where you make different decisions. Housing means nothing if you can't pay your rent and we don't need nor can we afford, to put people into housing that they are not working for.
Thanks for your comment,
Thanks for your comment, Ben. You raise a critical point about sustainability. We all can probably name a public or private program that was set up to help, but didn't sufficiently address the related systemic issues. We cannot think about affordable housing without thinking about income and assets, otherwise the recipients of such programs face ongoing instability.
I'm also interested in your point about mentoring for this population. Could you point me in the right direction for more information about that?
elizabeth; In the summary of
elizabeth;
In the summary of the Act. you will see mentoring as a addition. Whether it be mentoring or case management, these people need direction and support. In a survey I did of the current class, 60% of the clients had no male adult in their lives between the age of 13-18. Given this reality, who taught them all of the things I learned from my uncles, father, big brother etc. ? The fact is we have a generation, probablt two, who don't know how to survive, where the resources are or whats required of them to be grown men or women. This can be best adressed by a mentoring relationship, mentoring by someone who looks like them, has similar experiences as them and who hace successfully navigated the society we ask them to navigate. I cannot point you in the right direction because we are just formalizing our mentoring component and other than this I do not know of a mentoring program for the ex offender that I would share with anyone. If we had successfull mentoring programs, maybe the problems we have would not be as great.
Thanks, Ben. That makes
Thanks, Ben. That makes sense. I'd love to hear more once the component you're developing is formalized. Thanks for the insight!
UPDATE: Last week President
UPDATE: Last week President Bush signed the Second Chance Act. As was mentioned above, this new law will allow states and localities to establish re-entry pilot programs, such as education and training, job placement services, and housing assistance. This represents many more people who will be able to transition out of the corrections system with some hope of establishing successful lives.
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