110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1593 
AN ACT 
To reauthorize the grant program for reentry of offenders 
into the community in the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968, to improve reentry planning 
and implementation, 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 ‘‘Second Chance Act 
of 2007: Community Safety Through Recidivism Preven-
tion’’ or the ‘‘Second Chance Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. Purposes; findings. 
Sec. 4. Definition of Indian tribe. 
Sec. 5. Submission of reports to Congress. 
Sec. 6. Rule of construction. 
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS RELATED TO THE OMNIBUS CRIME 
CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS ACT OF 1968 
Subtitle A—Improvements to Existing Programs 
Sec. 101. Reauthorization of adult and juvenile offender State and local reentry 
demonstration projects. 
Sec. 102. Improvement of the residential substance abuse treatment for State 
offenders program. 
Sec. 103 Definition of violent offender for drug court grant program. 
Sec. 104. Use of violent offender truth-in-sentencing grant funding for dem-
onstration project activities. 
Subtitle B—New and Innovative Programs To Improve Offender Reentry 
Services 
Sec. 111. State, tribal, and local reentry courts. 
Sec. 112. Prosecution drug treatment alternative to prison programs. 
Sec. 113. Grants for family-based substance abuse treatment. 
Sec. 114. Grant to evaluate and improve education at prisons, jails, and juve-
nile facilities. 
Sec. 115. Technology Careers Training Demonstration Grants. 
TITLE II—ENHANCED DRUG TREATMENT AND MENTORING 
GRANT PROGRAMS 
Subtitle A—Drug Treatment 
Sec. 201. Offender reentry substance abuse and criminal justice collaboration 
program. 
Subtitle B—Mentoring 
Sec. 211. Mentoring grants to nonprofit organizations. 
Sec. 212. Responsible reintegration of offenders. 
Sec. 213. Bureau of prisons policy on mentoring contacts. 
Sec. 214. Bureau of prisons policy on chapel library materials.
Subtitle C—Administration of Justice Reforms 
CHAPTER 1—IMPROVING FEDERAL OFFENDER REENTRY 
Sec. 231. Federal prisoner reentry initiative. 
Sec. 232. Bureau of prisons policy on restraining of female prisoners. 
CHAPTER 2—REENTRY RESEARCH 
Sec. 241. Offender reentry research. 
Sec. 242. Grants to study parole or post-incarceration supervision violations 
and revocations. 
Sec. 243. Addressing the needs of children of incarcerated parents. 
Sec. 244. Study of effectiveness of depot naltrexone for heroin addiction. 
Sec. 245. Authorization of appropriations for research. 
CHAPTER 3—CORRECTIONAL REFORMS TO EXISTING LAW 
Sec. 251. Clarification of authority to place prisoner in community corrections. 
Sec. 252. Residential drug abuse program in Federal prisons. 
Sec. 253. Contracting for services for post-conviction supervision offenders. 
CHAPTER 4—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Sec. 261. Extension of national prison rape elimination commission. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES; FINDINGS. 
(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Act are— 
(1) to break the cycle of criminal recidivism, in-
crease public safety, and help States, local units of 
government, and Indian Tribes, better address the 
growing population of criminal offenders who return 
to their communities and commit new crimes; 
(2) to rebuild ties between offenders and their 
families, while the offenders are incarcerated and 
after reentry into the community, to promote stable 
families and communities; 
(3) to encourage the development and support 
of, and to expand the availability of, evidence-based 
programs that enhance public safety and reduce re-
cidivism, such as substance abuse treatment, alter-
natives to incarceration, and comprehensive reentry 
services; 
(4) to protect the public and promote law-abid-
ing conduct by providing necessary services to of-
fenders, while the offenders are incarcerated and 
after reentry into the community, in a manner that 
does not confer luxuries or privileges upon such of-
fenders; 
(5) to assist offenders reentering the commu-
nity from incarceration to establish a self-sustaining 
and law-abiding life by providing sufficient transi-
tional services for as short of a period as practicable, 
not to exceed one year, unless a longer period is spe-
cifically determined to be necessary by a medical or 
other appropriate treatment professional; and 
(6) to provide offenders in prisons, jails or juve-
nile facilities with educational, literacy, vocational, 
and job placement services to facilitate re-entry into 
the community. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 2002, over 7,000,000 people were incar-
cerated in Federal or State prisons or in local jails. 
Nearly 650,000 people are released from Federal
and State incarceration into communities nationwide 
each year. 
(2) There are over 3,200 jails throughout the 
United States, the vast majority of which are oper-
ated by county governments. Each year, these jails 
will release more than 10,000,000 people back into 
the community. 
(3) Recent studies indicate that over 2⁄3 of re-
leased State prisoners are expected to be rearrested 
for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years 
after release. 
(4) According to the Bureau of Justice Statis-
tics, expenditures on corrections alone increased 
from $9,000,000,000 in 1982, to $59,600,000,000 
in 2002. These figures do not include the cost of ar-
rest and prosecution, nor do they take into account 
the cost to victims. 
(5) The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry 
Initiative (SVORI) provided $139,000,000 in fund-
ing for State governments to develop and implement 
education, job training, mental health treatment, 
and substance abuse treatment for serious and vio-
lent offenders. This Act seeks to build upon the in-
novative and successful State reentry programs de-
veloped under the SVORI, which terminated after 
fiscal year 2005. 
(6) Between 1991 and 1999, the number of 
children with a parent in a Federal or State correc-
tional facility increased by more than 100 percent, 
from 
approximately 
900,000 
to 
approximately 
2,000,000. According to the Bureau of Prisons, 
there is evidence to suggest that inmates who are 
connected to their children and families are more 
likely to avoid negative incidents and have reduced 
sentences. 
(7) Released prisoners cite family support as 
the most important factor in helping them stay out 
of prison. Research suggests that families are an 
often underutilized resource in the reentry process. 
(8) Approximately 100,000 juveniles (ages 17 
years and under) leave juvenile correctional facilities, 
State prison, or Federal prison each year. Juveniles 
released from secure confinement still have their 
likely prime crime years ahead of them. Juveniles re-
leased from secure confinement have a recidivism 
rate ranging from 55 to 75 percent. The chances 
that young people will successfully transition into so-
ciety improve with effective reentry and aftercare 
programs.
(9) Studies have shown that between 15 percent 
and 27 percent of prisoners expect to go to homeless 
shelters upon release from prison. 
(10) Fifty-seven percent of Federal and 70 per-
cent of State inmates used drugs regularly before 
going to prison, and the Bureau of Justice statistics 
report titled ‘‘Trends in State Parole, 1990–2000’’ 
estimates the use of drugs or alcohol around the 
time of the offense that resulted in the incarceration 
of the inmate at as high as 84 percent. 
(11) Family-based treatment programs have 
proven results for serving the special populations of 
female offenders and substance abusers with chil-
dren. An evaluation by the Substance Abuse and 
Mental Health Services Administration of family- 
based treatment for substance-abusing mothers and 
children found that 6 months after such treatment, 
60 percent of the mothers remained alcohol and 
drug free, and drug-related offenses declined from 
28 percent to 7 percent. Additionally, a 2003 evalua-
tion of residential family-based treatment programs 
revealed that 60 percent of mothers remained clean 
and sober 6 months after treatment, criminal arrests 
declined by 43 percent, and 88 percent of the chil-
dren treated in the program with their mothers re-
mained stabilized. 
(12) A Bureau of Justice Statistics analysis in-
dicated that only 33 percent of Federal inmates and 
36 percent of State inmates had participated in resi-
dential in-patient treatment programs for alcohol 
and drug abuse 12 months before their release. Fur-
ther, over one-third of all jail inmates have some 
physical or mental disability and 25 percent of jail 
inmates have been treated at some time for a mental 
or emotional problem. 
(13) State Substance Abuse Agency Directors, 
also known as Single State Authorities, manage the 
publicly funded substance abuse prevention and 
treatment system of the Nation. Single State Au-
thorities are responsible for planning and imple-
menting statewide systems of care that provide clini-
cally appropriate substance abuse services. Given the 
high rate of substance use disorders among offend-
ers reentering our communities, successful reentry 
programs require close interaction and collaboration 
with each Single State Authority as the program is 
planned, implemented, and evaluated.
(14) According to the National Institute of Lit-
eracy, 70 percent of all prisoners function at the 
lowest literacy levels. 
(15) Less than 32 percent of State prison in-
mates have a high school diploma or a higher level 
of education, compared to 82 percent of the general 
population. 
(16) Approximately 38 percent of inmates who 
completed 11 years or less of school were not work-
ing before entry into prison. 
(17) The percentage of State prisoners partici-
pating in educational programs decreased by more 
than 8 percent between 1991 and 1997, despite 
growing evidence of how educational programming 
while incarcerated reduces recidivism. 
(18) The National Institute of Justice has 
found that 1 year after release, up to 60 percent of 
former inmates are not employed. 
(19) Transitional jobs programs have proven to 
help people with criminal records to successfully re-
turn to the workplace and to the community, and 
therefore can reduce recidivism.
SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF INDIAN TRIBE. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ has the meaning 
given that term in section 901 of the Omnibus Crime Con-
trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3791). 
SEC. 5. SUBMISSION OF REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than January 31 of each year, the Attorney 
General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives each report required by the At-
torney General under this Act or an amendment made by 
this Act during the preceding year. 
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 
Act shall be construed as creating a right or entitlement 
to assistance or services for any individual, program, or 
grant recipient. Each grant made under this Act or an 
amendment made by this Act shall— 
(1) be made as competitive grants to eligible en-
tities for a 12-month period, except that grants 
awarded under section 113, 201, 211, and 212 may 
be made for a 24-month period; and 
(2) require that services for participants, when 
necessary and appropriate, be transferred from pro-
grams funded under this Act or the amendment 
made by this Act, respectively, to State and commu-
nity-based programs not funded under this Act or
the amendment made by this Act, respectively, be-
fore the expiration of the grant. 
TITLE 
I—AMENDMENTS 
RE-
LATED 
TO 
THE 
OMNIBUS 
CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE 
STREETS ACT OF 1968 
Subtitle A—Improvements to 
Existing Programs 
SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF ADULT AND JUVENILE OF-
FENDER STATE AND LOCAL REENTRY DEM-
ONSTRATION PROJECTS. 
(a) ADULT AND JUVENILE OFFENDER DEMONSTRA-
TION PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—Section 2976(b) of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3797w(b)) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) 
through (4) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) providing offenders in prisons, jails, or ju-
venile facilities with educational, literacy, vocational, 
and job placement services to facilitate re-entry into 
the community; 
‘‘(2) providing substance abuse treatment and 
services (including providing a full continuum of 
substance abuse treatment services that encompasses 
outpatient and comprehensive residential services 
and recovery);
‘‘(3) providing coordinated supervision and 
comprehensive services for offenders upon release 
from prison, jail, or a juvenile facility, including 
housing and mental and physical health care to fa-
cilitate re-entry into the community, and which, to 
the extent applicable, are provided by community- 
based entities (including coordinated reentry vet-
eran-specific services for eligible veterans); 
‘‘(4) providing programs that— 
‘‘(A) encourage offenders to develop safe, 
healthy, and responsible family relationships 
and parent-child relationships; and 
‘‘(B) involve the entire family unit in com-
prehensive reentry services (as appropriate to 
the safety, security, and well-being of the family 
and child); 
‘‘(5) encouraging the involvement of prison, jail, 
or juvenile facility mentors in the reentry process 
and enabling those mentors to remain in contact 
with offenders while in custody and after reentry 
into the community; 
‘‘(6) providing victim-appropriate services, en-
couraging the timely and complete payment of res-
titution and fines by offenders to victims, and pro-
viding services such as security and counseling to 
victims upon release of offenders; and 
‘‘(7) protecting communities against dangerous 
offenders by using validated assessment tools to as-
sess the risk factors of returning inmates and devel-
oping or adopting procedures to ensure that dan-
gerous felons are not released from prison pre-
maturely.’’. 
(b) 
JUVENILE
OFFENDER
DEMONSTRATION 
PROJECTS REAUTHORIZED.—Section 2976(c) of the Om-
nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3797w(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘may be ex-
pended for’’ and all that follows through the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘may be expended for any activity de-
scribed in subsection (b).’’. 
(c) APPLICATIONS; REQUIREMENTS; PRIORITIES; 
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS.—Section 2976 of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3797w) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub-
section (o); and 
(2) by striking subsections (d) through (g) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—A State, unit of local govern-
ment, territory, or Indian Tribe, or combination thereof,
desiring a grant under this section shall submit an appli-
cation to the Attorney General that— 
‘‘(1) contains a reentry strategic plan, as de-
scribed in subsection (h), which describes the long- 
term strategy and incorporates a detailed implemen-
tation schedule, including the plans of the applicant 
to pay for the program after the Federal funding is 
discontinued; 
‘‘(2) identifies the local government role and 
the role of governmental agencies and nonprofit or-
ganizations that will be coordinated by, and that will 
collaborate on, the offender reentry strategy of the 
applicant, and certifies the involvement of such 
agencies and organizations; 
‘‘(3) describes the evidence-based methodology 
and outcome measures that will be used to evaluate 
the program funded with a grant under this section, 
and specifically explains how such measurements will 
provide valid measures of the impact of that pro-
gram; and 
‘‘(4) describes how the project could be broadly 
replicated if demonstrated to be effective. 
‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS.—The Attorney General may 
make a grant to an applicant under this section only if 
the application—
‘‘(1) reflects explicit support of the chief execu-
tive officer of the State, unit of local government, 
territory, or Indian Tribe applying for a grant under 
this section; 
‘‘(2) provides extensive discussion of the role of 
State corrections departments, community correc-
tions agencies, juvenile justice systems, or local jail 
systems in ensuring successful reentry of offenders 
into their communities; 
‘‘(3) provides extensive evidence of collaboration 
with State and local government agencies overseeing 
health, housing, child welfare, education, substance 
abuse, victims services, and employment services, 
and with local law enforcement agencies; 
‘‘(4) provides a plan for analysis of the statu-
tory, regulatory, rules-based, and practice-based hur-
dles to reintegration of offenders into the commu-
nity; and 
‘‘(5) includes the use of a State, local, terri-
torial, or Tribal task force, described in subsection 
(i), to carry out the activities funded under the 
grant. 
‘‘(f) PRIORITY
CONSIDERATIONS.—The Attorney 
General shall give priority to grant applications under this 
section that best—
‘‘(1) focus initiative on geographic areas with a 
disproportionate population of offenders released 
from prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities; 
‘‘(2) include— 
‘‘(A) input from nonprofit organizations, in 
any case where relevant input is available and 
appropriate to the grant application; 
‘‘(B) consultation with crime victims and 
offenders who are released from prisons, jails, 
and juvenile facilities; and 
‘‘(C) coordination with families of offend-
ers; 
‘‘(3) demonstrate effective case assessment and 
management abilities in order to provide comprehen-
sive and continuous reentry, including— 
‘‘(A) planning while offenders are in pris-
on, jail, or a juvenile facility, prerelease transi-
tion housing, and community release; 
‘‘(B) establishing prerelease planning pro-
cedures to ensure that the eligibility of an of-
fender for Federal or State benefits upon re-
lease is established prior to release, subject to 
any limitations in law, and to ensure that of-
fenders obtain all necessary referrals for reentry 
services; and
‘‘(C) delivery of continuous and appro-
priate drug treatment, medical care, job train-
ing and placement, educational services, or any 
other service or support needed for reentry; 
‘‘(4) review the process by which the applicant 
adjudicates violations of parole, probation, or super-
vision following release from prison, jail, or a juve-
nile facility, taking into account public safety and 
the use of graduated, community-based sanctions for 
minor and technical violations of parole, probation, 
or supervision (specifically those violations that are 
not otherwise, and independently, a violation of law); 
‘‘(5) provide for an independent evaluation of 
reentry programs that include, to the maximum ex-
tent possible, random assignment and controlled 
studies to determine the effectiveness of such pro-
grams; and 
‘‘(6) target high-risk offenders for reentry pro-
grams through validated assessment tools. 
‘‘(g) USES OF GRANT FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) FEDERAL SHARE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the Federal share of a grant 
received under this section may not exceed 50
percent of the project funded under such grant 
in fiscal year 2009. 
‘‘(B) WAIVER.—Subparagraph (A) shall 
not apply if the Attorney General— 
‘‘(i) waives, in whole or in part, the 
requirement of this paragraph; and 
‘‘(ii) publishes in the Federal Register 
the rationale for such waiver. 
‘‘(C) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii), the recipient of a grant under this sec-
tion may meet the matching requirement 
under subparagraph (A) by making in-kind 
contributions of goods or services that are 
directly related to the purpose for which 
such grant was awarded. 
‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM
PERCENTAGE.—Not 
more than 50 percent of the amount pro-
vided by a recipient of a grant under this 
section to meet the matching requirement 
under subparagraph (A) may be provided 
through in-kind contributions under clause 
(i). 
‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENT
NOT
SUPPLANT.—Federal 
funds received under this section shall be used to
supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds that 
would otherwise be available for the activities funded 
under this section. 
‘‘(h) REENTRY STRATEGIC PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving 
financial assistance under this section, each appli-
cant shall develop a comprehensive strategic reentry 
plan that contains measurable annual and 5-year 
performance outcomes, and that uses, to the max-
imum extent possible, random assigned and con-
trolled studies to determine the effectiveness of the 
program funded with a grant under this section. One 
goal of that plan shall be to reduce the rate of re-
cidivism (as defined by the Attorney General, con-
sistent with the research on offender reentry under-
taken by the Bureau of Justice Statistics) by 50 
percent over a 5-year period for offenders released 
from prison, jail, or a juvenile facility who are served 
with funds made available under this section. 
‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—In developing a reentry 
plan under this subsection, an applicant shall coordi-
nate with communities and stakeholders, including 
persons in the fields of public safety, juvenile and 
adult corrections, housing, health, education, sub-
stance abuse, children and families, victims services,
employment, and business and members of nonprofit 
organizations that can provide reentry services. 
‘‘(3) MEASUREMENTS OF PROGRESS.—Each re-
entry plan developed under this subsection shall 
measure the progress of the applicant toward in-
creasing public safety by reducing rates of recidivism 
and enabling released offenders to transition suc-
cessfully back into their communities. 
‘‘(i) REENTRY TASK FORCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving 
financial assistance under this section, each appli-
cant shall establish or empower a Reentry Task 
Force, or other relevant convening authority, to— 
‘‘(A) examine ways to pool resources and 
funding streams to promote lower recidivism 
rates for returning offenders and minimize the 
harmful effects of offenders’ time in prison, jail, 
or a juvenile facility on families and commu-
nities of offenders by collecting data and best 
practices in offender reentry from demonstra-
tion grantees and other agencies and organiza-
tions; and 
‘‘(B) provide the analysis described in sub-
section (e)(4).