I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5984 
To establish a pilot program to provide training and certification in the 
culinary arts for Federal inmates to be utilized during the normal inmate 
meals process and to be accredited for future employment and edu-
cational opportunities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2010 
Ms. RICHARDSON (for herself and Mr. DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To establish a pilot program to provide training and certifi-
cation in the culinary arts for Federal inmates to be 
utilized during the normal inmate meals process and 
to be accredited for future employment and educational 
opportunities, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cooking Helps Elevate 
Futures Act’’ or the ‘‘CHEF Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) In 2008, according to the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, the United States had more individuals in 
prison than any other developed nation, with more 
than 2,000,000 individuals incarcerated. 
(2) Each year, more than 650,000 inmates are 
released from State and Federal prisons after com-
pleting their sentences and such inmates return to 
living and participating in society in communities 
across the United States. 
(3) There are many impediments affecting the 
successful reentry of inmates into society, including 
the lack of marketable job skills and the overall risk 
of recidivism. 
(4) Because many inmates are not prepared for 
reentry into society and lack access to certain serv-
ices and networks of support, the recidivism rate for 
inmates in the first year after release from prison is 
44.1 percent, increasing to 67.5 percent in the first 
3 years after release. 
(5) According to a 12-year study conducted by 
the Federal Bureau of Prisons, job skills, experience, 
and training obtained through prison work programs 
or vocational training programs have a positive ef-
fect on post-release employment and recidivism, in-
creasing the likelihood that Federal inmates will suc-
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cessfully reintegrate into the community following 
their release from Federal prison. 
(6) Such study revealed that Federal inmates 
who participated in vocational training programs 
were 24 percent less likely to recidivate and 14 per-
cent more likely to be employed at the end of the 12- 
month period following their release from prison 
than such inmates who did not participate in such 
training programs. 
(7) Culinary training is an effective strategy for 
increasing employment rates among former inmates 
because of the high demand for employment in the 
food service industry. In 2008, according to the Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics, there were 546,300 pri-
vately owned food service and drinking places in the 
Unites States, offering over 1,564,000 culinary posi-
tions. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
shall establish a pilot program— 
(1) to provide training and certification in the 
culinary arts for Federal inmates in order to provide 
such inmates with marketable employment skills; 
and 
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(2) to provide such inmates with the customary 
job placement assistance, including the food service 
industry, after their release from a Federal correc-
tional facility. 
(b) FACILITIES SELECTED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 
select 10 different Federal correctional facilities lo-
cated in different regions of the continental United 
States to participate in the pilot program. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting Federal 
correctional facilities under paragraph (1), the At-
torney General shall take into consideration for each 
State— 
(A) percentage of the State’s population 
that are Federal inmates; 
(B) the recidivism rate of such inmates; 
and 
(C) the unemployment rate of such in-
mates after release from a Federal correctional 
facility. 
(3) DEFINITION.—In paragraph (1), the term 
‘‘continental United States’’ means a State (other 
than Alaska and Hawaii) and the District of Colum-
bia. 
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SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY. 
The Attorney General, in consultation with the Direc-
tor of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, shall prescribe regu-
lations that establish eligibility requirements for Federal 
inmates to participate in the pilot program. 
SEC. 5. CONTRACTS. 
The Attorney General may enter into contracts with 
entities to provide culinary training and job placement as-
sistance for Federal inmates participating in the pilot pro-
gram. 
SEC. 6. REPORT. 
Not later than 120 days after the conclusion of the 
pilot program, the Attorney General shall submit to the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
a report that details— 
(1) the number of Federal inmates who partici-
pated in, completed, and received a certification 
under the program; 
(2) the number of such inmates who were suc-
cessfully placed in jobs once they were released from 
a Federal correctional facility; 
(3) the length of time it took for such inmates 
to find employment upon release from such a facil-
ity; 
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(4) the length of time that such inmates have 
been employed by a particular employer since they 
were released from such a facility; 
(5) the rate of recidivism of such inmates; and 
(6) the number of disciplinary incidents such 
inmates were involved in while incarcerated and par-
ticipating in the program as compared to the num-
ber of such incidents that occurred involving inmates 
who did not participate in the program. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as are necessary for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 
2017 to carry out the pilot program. 
Æ 
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