(b) PROCEDURES REGARDING BENEFITS.—The Di-
rector of the Bureau of Prisons shall establish pre-release 
planning procedures for Federal prisoners to ensure that 
a prisoner’s eligibility for Federal or State benefits (in-
cluding Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and Veterans 
benefits) upon release is established prior to release, sub-
ject to any limitations in law. 
(c) PROCEDURES REGARDING CHILDREN OF INCAR-
CERATED PARENTS.—The Director of the Bureau of Pris-
oners shall— 
(1) collect information regarding the dependent 
children of an incarcerated person as part of stand-
ard intake procedures, including the number, age, 
and residence of such children; 
(2) review all policies, practices, and facilities to 
ensure that they support the relationship between 
parent and child; and 
(3) identify the training needs of staff with re-
spect to the effect of incarceration on children, fami-
lies, and communities, age-appropriate interactions, 
and community resources for the families of incar-
cerated persons.
SEC. 103. TASK FORCE ON FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND AC-
TIVITIES RELATING TO REENTRY OF OF-
FENDERS. 
(a) TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED.—There is estab-
lished in the executive branch an interagency task force 
on Federal programs and activities related to the re-entry 
of former prisoners into the community. The Attorney 
General shall chair the task force, whose members shall 
consist of the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development, and the heads of such other government de-
partments or agencies as the Attorney General deems ap-
propriate. 
(b) DUTIES.—The task force required by subsection 
(a) shall— 
(1) identify such programs and activities that 
may be resulting in overlapping or duplication of 
services, the scope of such overlapping or duplica-
tion, and the relationship of such overlapping and 
duplication to public safety, public health, and effec-
tiveness and efficiency; 
(2) identify methods to improve collaboration 
and coordination of such programs and activities; 
(3) identify areas of responsibility in which im-
proved collaboration and coordination of such pro-
grams and activities would result in increased effec-
tiveness or efficiency; 
(4) develop innovative interagency or intergov-
ernmental programs, activities, or procedures that 
would improve outcomes of reentering offenders and 
children of offenders; 
(5) develop methods for increasing regular com-
munication that would increase interagency program 
effectiveness; 
(6) identify areas of research that can be co-
ordinated across agencies with an emphasis on ap-
plying science-based practices to support, treatment, 
and intervention programs for reentering offenders; 
(7) identify funding areas that should be co-
ordinated across agencies and any gaps in funding; 
and 
(8) identify successful programs currently oper-
ating and collect best practices in offender re-entry 
from demonstration grantees and other agencies and 
organizations, determine the extent to which such 
programs and practices can be replicated, and make 
information on such programs and practices avail-
able to States, localities, community-based organiza-
tions, and others.
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the task force established 
by subsection (a) shall submit to Congress a report on 
legal barriers to successful prisoner re-entry. The task 
force shall provide for public input in preparing the report. 
The report shall identify all such barriers in Federal law 
and those that are common features of State law, analyze 
the effect of such barriers on prisoners and their families, 
and propose modifications to Federal law to ensure that 
such barriers are narrowly tailored and do not unneces-
sarily hinder successful prisoner re-entry. Among the 
issues the report shall address are the following: 
(1) Policies related to the admission and evic-
tion of former prisoners and their families in public 
housing programs. 
(2) Eligibility criteria for Federal benefit pro-
grams (including Medicaid, Medicare, Social Secu-
rity, and Veterans benefits) that limit the ability of 
former prisoners to obtain eligibility immediately 
upon release from prison. 
(3) Eligibility for welfare benefits. 
(4) The consideration of parental incarceration 
in terminating parental rights under the Adoption 
and Safe Families Act of 1997.
(5) The ineligibility of prisoners for education 
loans. 
(6) Felon disenfranchisement laws. 
(7) Federal statutory protections against em-
ployment discrimination based on criminal record. 
(d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—On an annual basis, the 
task force required by subsection (a) shall submit to Con-
gress a report on the activities of the task force, including 
specific recommendations of the task force on matters re-
ferred to in subsection (b). 
SEC. 104. OFFENDER RE-ENTRY RESEARCH. 
(a) NATIONAL
INSTITUTE
OF
JUSTICE.—From 
amounts made available to carry out this Act, the National 
Institute of Justice shall conduct research on offender re- 
entry, including— 
(1) a study identifying the number and charac-
teristics of children who have had a parent incarcer-
ated and the likelihood of these minors becoming in-
volved in the criminal justice system some time in 
their lifetime; 
(2) a study identifying a mechanism to compare 
rates of recidivism (including re-arrest, violations of 
parole and probation, and re-incarceration) among 
States; and
(3) a study on the population of individuals re-
leased from custody who do not engage in recidivism 
and the characteristics (housing, employment, treat-
ment, family connection) of that population. 
(b) 
BUREAU
OF
JUSTICE
STATISTICS.—From 
amounts made available to carry out this Act, the Bureau 
of Justice Statistics may conduct research on offender re- 
entry, including— 
(1) an analysis of special populations, including 
prisoners with mental illness or substance abuse dis-
orders, female offenders, juvenile offenders, and the 
elderly, that present unique re-entry challenges; 
(2) studies to determine who is returning to 
prison or jail and which of those returning prisoners 
represent the greatest risk to community safety; 
(3) annual reports on the profile of the popu-
lation coming out of prisons, jails, and juvenile jus-
tice facilities; 
(4) a national recidivism study every 3 years; 
and 
(5) a study of parole violations and revocations.