H. R. 1593 
One Hundred Tenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and eight 
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 Representatives 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 Prevention’’ 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 of-
fenders program. 
Sec. 103 Definition of violent offender for drug court grant program. 
Sec. 104. Use of violent offender truth-in-sentencing grant funding for demonstra-
tion 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 juvenile fa-
cilities. 
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 pro-
gram. 
Subtitle B—Mentoring 
Sec. 211. Mentoring grants to nonprofit organizations. 
Sec. 212. Responsible reintegration of offenders.
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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, increase 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 recidivism, such as substance 
abuse treatment, alternatives to incarceration, and comprehen-
sive reentry services; 
(4) to protect the public and promote law-abiding conduct 
by providing necessary services to offenders, while the offenders 
are incarcerated and after reentry into the community, in a 
manner that does not confer luxuries or privileges upon such 
offenders; 
(5) to assist offenders reentering the community from incar-
ceration to establish a self-sustaining and law-abiding life by 
providing sufficient transitional services for as short of a period 
as practicable, not to exceed one year, unless a longer period 
is specifically determined to be necessary by a medical or other 
appropriate treatment professional; and 
(6) to provide offenders in prisons, jails or juvenile facilities 
with educational, literacy, vocational, and job placement serv-
ices to facilitate re-entry into the community. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 2002, over 7,000,000 people were incarcerated in 
Federal or State prisons or in local jails. Nearly 650,000 people 
are released from Federal and State incarceration into commu-
nities nationwide each year. 
(2) There are over 3,200 jails throughout the United States, 
the vast majority of which are operated by county governments. 
Each year, these jails will release more than 10,000,000 people 
back into the community.
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(3) Recent studies indicate that over 2⁄3 of released 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 Statistics, expendi-
tures 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 arrest 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 funding for State govern-
ments to develop and implement education, job training, mental 
health treatment, and substance abuse treatment for serious 
and violent offenders. This Act seeks to build upon the innova-
tive and successful State reentry programs developed 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 correctional 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 released from secure confinement have a 
recidivism rate ranging from 55 to 75 percent. The chances 
that young people will successfully transition into society 
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 percent 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 children. An evaluation by the Sub-
stance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of 
family-based treatment for substance-abusing mothers and chil-
dren 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. Addition-
ally, a 2003 evaluation 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 children treated in the 
program with their mothers remained stabilized.
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(12) A Bureau of Justice Statistics analysis indicated that 
only 33 percent of Federal inmates and 36 percent of State 
inmates had participated in residential in-patient 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. 
(13) State Substance Abuse Agency Directors, also known 
as Single State Authorities, manage the publicly funded sub-
stance abuse prevention and treatment system of the Nation. 
Single State Authorities are responsible for planning and imple-
menting statewide systems of care that provide clinically appro-
priate substance abuse services. Given the high rate of sub-
stance use disorders among offenders reentering our commu-
nities, successful reentry programs require close interaction 
and collaboration with each Single State Authority as the pro-
gram is planned, implemented, and evaluated. 
(14) According to the National Institute of Literacy, 70 
percent of all prisoners function at the lowest literacy levels. 
(15) Less than 32 percent of State prison inmates 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 working before entry into 
prison. 
(17) The percentage of State prisoners participating in edu-
cational 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 return 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 Control 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 Attorney 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 entities 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
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(2) require that services for participants, when necessary 
and appropriate, be transferred from programs funded under 
this Act or the amendment made by this Act, respectively, 
to State and community-based programs not funded under this 
Act or the amendment made by this Act, respectively, before 
the expiration of the grant. 
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. 
(a) ADULT AND JUVENILE OFFENDER DEMONSTRATION 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 juvenile facili-
ties 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 treat-
ment 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 juve-
nile facility, including housing and mental and physical health 
care to facilitate re-entry into the community, and which, to 
the extent applicable, are provided by community-based entities 
(including coordinated reentry veteran-specific services for 
eligible veterans); 
‘‘(4) providing programs that— 
‘‘(A) encourage offenders to develop safe, healthy, and 
responsible family relationships and parent-child relation-
ships; and 
‘‘(B) involve the entire family unit in comprehensive 
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 men-
tors to remain in contact with offenders while in custody and 
after reentry into the community; 
‘‘(6) providing victim-appropriate services, encouraging the 
timely and complete payment of restitution and fines by 
offenders to victims, and providing 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 assess the risk factors 
of returning inmates and developing or adopting procedures 
to ensure that dangerous felons are not released from prison 
prematurely.’’.
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(b) JUVENILE OFFENDER DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS REAUTHOR-
IZED.—Section 2976(c) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797w(c)) is amended by striking 
‘‘may be expended for’’ and all that follows through the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘may be expended for any activity described 
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 subsection (o); and 
(2) by striking subsections (d) through (g) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—A State, unit of local government, territory, 
or Indian Tribe, or combination thereof, desiring a grant under 
this section shall submit an application to the Attorney General 
that— 
‘‘(1) contains a reentry strategic plan, as described in sub-
section (h), which describes the long-term strategy and incor-
porates a detailed implementation 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 organizations 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 program; 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 executive 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 correc-
tions departments, community corrections 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 statutory, regulatory, 
rules-based, and practice-based hurdles to reintegration of 
offenders into the community; and 
‘‘(5) includes the use of a State, local, territorial, 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 dispropor-
tionate population of offenders released from prisons, jails, 
and juvenile facilities;