I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4676 
To reauthorize the grant program of the Department of Justice for reentry 
of offenders into the community, to establish a task force on Federal 
programs and activities relating to the reentry of offenders into the 
community, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2004 
Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. SOUDER, Mrs. JONES 
of Ohio, Mr. CHABOT, and Mr. CANNON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the grant program of the Department of 
Justice for reentry of offenders into the community, to 
establish a task force on Federal programs and activities 
relating to the reentry of offenders into the community, 
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 2004: Community Safety Through Recidivism Preven-
tion’’ or the ‘‘Second Chance Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 2002, 2,000,000 people were incarcer-
ated in Federal or State prisons or in local jails. 
Nearly 650,000 people are released from incarcer-
ation to 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 in excess of 10,000,000 people back into 
the community. 
(3) Nearly two-thirds of released State pris-
oners are expected to be rearrested for a felony or 
serious misdemeanor within three years after re-
lease. 
(4) In his 2004 State of the Union address, 
President Bush correctly stated: ‘‘We know from 
long experience that if [former prisoners] can’t find 
work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely 
to commit more crimes and return to prison. . . . 
America is the land of the second chance, and when
the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should 
lead to a better life.’’ 
(5) In recent years, a number of States and 
local governments have begun to establish improved 
systems for reintegrating former prisoners. Under 
such systems, corrections officials begin to plan for 
a prisoner’s release while the prisoner is incarcerated 
and provide a transition to needed services in the 
community. 
(6) Faith leaders and parishioners have a long 
history helping ex-offenders transform their lives. 
Through prison ministries and outreach in commu-
nities, churches and faith-based organizations have 
pioneered re-entry services to prisoners and their 
families. 
(7) Successful reentry protects those who might 
otherwise be crime victims. It also improves the like-
lihood that individuals released from prison or juve-
nile detention facilities can pay fines, fees, restitu-
tion, and family support. 
(8) According to the Bureau of Justice Statis-
tics, expenditures on corrections alone increased 
from $9,000,000,000 in 1982 to $44,000,000,000 in 
1997. These figures do not include the cost of arrest
and prosecution, nor do they take into account the 
cost to victims. 
(9) Increased recidivism results in profound col-
lateral consequences, including public health risks, 
homelessness, unemployment, and disenfranchise-
ment. 
(10) The high prevalence of infectious disease, 
substance abuse, and mental health disorders that 
has been found in incarcerated populations demands 
that a recovery model of treatment should be used 
for handling the more than two-thirds of all offend-
ers with such needs. 
(11) One of the most significant costs of pris-
oner reentry is the impact on children, the weakened 
ties among family members, and destabilized com-
munities. The long-term generational effects of a so-
cial structure in which imprisonment is the norm 
and law-abiding role models are absent are difficult 
to measure but undoubtedly exist. 
(12) According to the 2001 national data from 
the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 3,500,000 parents 
were supervised by the correctional system. Prior to 
incarceration, 64 percent of female prisoners and 44 
percent of male prisoners in State facilities lived 
with their children.
(13) 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. 
(14) Approximately 100,000 juveniles (ages 17 
and under) leave juvenile correctional facilities, State 
prison, or Federal prison each year. Juveniles re-
leased from confinement still have their likely prime 
crime years ahead of them. Juveniles released from 
secure confinement have a recidivism rate ranging 
from 55 to 75 percent. The chances that young peo-
ple will successfully transition into society improve 
with effective reentry and aftercare programs. 
(15) Studies have shown that from 15 percent 
to 27 percent of prisoners expect to go to homeless 
shelters upon release from prison. 
(16) The National Institute of Justice has 
found that after one year of release, up to 60 per-
cent of former inmates are not employed.
(17) Fifty-seven percent of Federal and 70 per-
cent of State inmates used drugs regularly before 
prison, with some estimates of involvement with 
drugs or alcohol around the time of the offense as 
high as 84 percent (BJS Trends in State Parole, 
1990–2000). 
(18) According to the Bureau of Justice Statis-
tics, 60 to 83 percent of the Nation’s correctional 
population have used drugs at some point in their 
lives. This is twice the estimated drug use of the 
total United States population of 40 percent. 
(19) Family-based treatment programs have 
proven results for serving the special population 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 at six months post treatment, 60 
percent of the mothers remain alcohol and drug free, 
and drug related offenses declined from 28 to 7 per-
cent. Additionally, a 2003 evaluation of residential 
family based treatment programs revealed that 60 
percent of mothers remained clean and sober six 
months after treatment, criminal arrests declined by
43 percent, and 88 percent of the children treated 
in the program with their mothers remain stabilized. 
(20) A Bureau of Justice Statistics analysis in-
dicated that only 33 percent of Federal and 36 per-
cent of State inmates had participated in residential 
inpatient treatment programs for alcohol and drug 
abuse 12 months before their release. Further, 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. 
(21) According to the National Institute of Lit-
eracy, 70 percent of all prisoners function at the two 
lowest literacy levels. 
(22) The Bureau of Justice Statistics has found 
that 27 percent of Federal inmates, 40 percent of 
State inmates, and 47 percent of local jail inmates 
have never completed high school or its equivalent. 
Furthermore, the Bureau of Justice Statistics has 
found that less educated inmates are more likely to 
be recidivists. Only 1 in 4 local jails offer basic adult 
education programs. 
(23) Participation in State correctional edu-
cation programs lowers the likelihood of reincarcer-
ation by 29 percent, according to a recent United
States Department of Education study. A Federal 
Bureau of Prisons study found a 33 percent drop in 
recidivism among federal prisoners who participated 
in vocational and apprenticeship training. 
SEC. 3. 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 of the Om-
nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3797w) is amended in subsection (b) by striking 
paragraphs (1) through (4) and inserting the following 
new paragraphs: 
‘‘(1) establishing or improving the system or 
systems under which— 
‘‘(A) the correctional agency of the State 
or local government develops and carries out 
plans to facilitate the reentry into the commu-
nity of each offender in State or local custody; 
‘‘(B) the supervision and services provided 
to offenders in State or local custody are co-
ordinated with the supervision and services pro-
vided to offenders after reentry into the com-
munity;
(b) PRE-RELEASE CUSTODY.—Section 3624(c) of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘a reasonable part, not to ex-
ceed 6 months, of the last 10 per centum of the 
term to be served’’ and inserting ‘‘a reasonable part 
of the last 20 percent of the term to be served, not 
to exceed 6 months’’; and 
(2) by inserting after ‘‘home confinement’’ the 
following: ‘‘for the last 20 percent of the term to be 
served, not to exceed 6 months’’. 
SEC. 11. USE OF VIOLENT OFFENDER TRUTH-IN-SEN-
TENCING GRANT FUNDING FOR DEMONSTRA-
TION PROJECT ACTIVITIES. 
Section 20102(a) of the Violent Crime Control and 
Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13702(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (3) by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) to carry out any activity referred to in sec-
tion 2976(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797w(b)).’’.