I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5075
To encourage successful re-entry of incarcerated persons into the community 
after release, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 14, 2004
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mr. RANGEL) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Edu-
cation and the Workforce, Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, and 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To encourage successful re-entry of incarcerated persons into 
the community after release, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Re-Entry Enhancement Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings.
TITLE I—GRANTS TO ENCOURAGE SUCCESSFUL PRISONER RE-
ENTRY 
Sec. 101. Reauthorization of adult and juvenile offender State and local re-
entry demonstration projects. 
Sec. 102. Improved re-entry procedures for Federal prisoners. 
Sec. 103. Task force on Federal programs and activities relating to reentry of 
offenders. 
Sec. 104. Offender re-entry research. 
Sec. 105. Use of violent offender truth-in-sentencing Grant funding for dem-
onstration project activities. 
Sec. 106. State and local reentry courts. 
Sec. 107. Federal Enhanced In-Prison Vocational Assessment and Training 
Demonstration Project. 
TITLE II—REMOVING BARRIERS TO RE-ENTRY 
Sec. 201. Right to vote in Federal elections for nonincarcerated ex-offenders. 
Sec. 202. Prohibition on unwarranted employment discrimination. 
Sec. 203. Increase in Federal work opportunity tax credit. 
Sec. 204. Reform of student financial assistance. 
Sec. 205. Reform of ‘‘one strike’’ mandatory eviction. 
Sec. 206. Amendment to the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act to re-
move restriction on amount of funds available for corrections 
education programs. 
Sec. 207. Clarification of authority to place prisoner in community corrections. 
Sec. 208. Denial of tanf and food stamps for felony conviction for welfare 
fraud. 
Sec. 209. Reform of provisions that limit family reunification after prison. 
Sec. 210. State medicaid plan requirement to ensure restoration of coverage for 
eligible individuals upon release from confinement. 
Sec. 211. Reform of supervised release. 
Sec. 212. Grants to study parole violations and revocations. 
Sec. 213. Residential substance abuse treatment programs.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Over 2,000,000 prisoners are now held in 
Federal and State prisons and local jails. Nearly 
925,000 Americans are convicted of felony offenses 
in the Nation’s courts each year, and some 600,000 
are incarcerated as a result. Over 5,600,000 Amer-
ican adults have spent time in a State or Federal 
prison. If incarceration rates remain unchanged, 6.6 
percent of Americans born in 2001 will go to prison
at some time during their lifetime. A total of 
6,700,000 Americans were under some form of 
criminal justice supervision by the end of 2002. Over 
4,700,000 adult men and women were under Fed-
eral, State, or local probation or parole by the end 
of 2002. Over 650,000 people a year return to their 
communities following a prison or jail sentence. 
(2) The successful reintegration of former pris-
oners is one of the most formidable challenges facing 
society today. The transition from prison life is in-
herently difficult, and especially so for individuals 
who have served a lengthy sentence and received lit-
tle preparation for life in law-abiding society. A 
former prisoner may find it difficult to find employ-
ment, housing, health care, and public assistance. 
He or she may be cut off from his or her family and 
community. 
(3) As a result of these challenges, nearly two-
thirds of released State prisoners are expected to be 
re-arrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor 
within three years after release. Such high recidi-
vism rates can be averted through improved prisoner 
re-entry efforts. 
(4) 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 he or she is incarcerated 
and provide a transition to needed services in the 
community. 
(5) Successful re-entry protects those who 
might otherwise be crime victims. It also improves 
the likelihood that individuals released from prison 
or juvenile detention facilities can pay fines, fees, 
restitution, and family support. 
(6) 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. 
(7) Incarceration results in profound collateral 
consequences including, but not limited to, barriers 
to housing, public assistance, family reunification, 
employment, and voting rights, which results in pub-
lic health risks, homelessness, unemployment, and 
disenfranchisement. All of these negative outcomes 
contribute to increased recidivism. 
(8) 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. 
(9) One of the most significant costs of prisoner 
re-entry is the impact on children, the weakened ties 
among family members, and destabilized commu-
nities. The long-term generational effects of a social 
structure in which imprisonment is the norm and 
law-abiding role models are absent are difficult to 
measure but undoubtedly exist. 
(10) 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. 
(11) 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. 
(12) 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 re-entry and aftercare programs. 
(13) Studies have shown that from 15 percent 
to 27 percent of prisoners expect to go to homeless 
shelters upon release from prison. 
(14) The National Institute of Justice has 
found that after one year of release, up to 60 per-
cent of former inmates are not employed. 
(15) 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). 
(16) 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. 
(17) 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. 
(18) 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. 
(19) According to the National Institute of Lit-
eracy, 70 percent of all prisoners function at the two 
lowest literacy levels. 
(20) 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. 
(21) 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.
TITLE I—GRANTS TO ENCOUR-
AGE SUCCESSFUL PRISONER 
RE-ENTRY 
SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF ADULT AND JUVENILE OF-
FENDER STATE AND LOCAL RE-ENTRY 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 re-entry 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 re-entry into the com-
munity; 
‘‘(C) the efforts of various public and pri-
vate entities to provide supervision and services
to offenders after re-entry into the community, 
and to family members of such offenders, are 
coordinated; and 
‘‘(D) offenders awaiting re-entry into the 
community are provided with documents (such 
as identification papers, referrals to services, 
medical prescriptions, job training certificates, 
apprenticeship papers, and information on ob-
taining public assistance) useful in achieving a 
successful transition from prison; 
‘‘(2) carrying out programs and initiatives by 
units of local government to strengthen re-entry 
services for individuals released from local jails; 
‘‘(3) enabling prison mentors of offenders to re-
main in contact with those offenders, including 
through 
the 
use 
of 
such 
technology 
as 
videoconferencing, during incarceration and after re-
entry into the community and encouraging the in-
volvement of prison mentors in the re-entry process; 
‘‘(4) providing structured post-release housing 
and transitional housing, including group homes for 
recovering substance abusers, through which offend-
ers are provided supervision and services imme-
diately following re-entry into the community;
‘‘(5) assisting offenders in securing permanent 
housing upon release or following a stay in transi-
tional housing; 
‘‘(6) providing continuity of health services (in-
cluding mental health services, substance abuse 
treatment and aftercare, and treatment for con-
tagious diseases) to offenders in custody and after 
re-entry into the community; 
‘‘(7) providing offenders with education, job 
training, English as a second language programs, 
work experience programs, self-respect and life skills 
training, and other skills useful in achieving a suc-
cessful transition from prison; 
‘‘(8) facilitating collaboration among corrections 
and community corrections, technical schools, com-
munity colleges, and the workforce development and 
employment service sectors to—
‘‘(A) promote, where appropriate, the em-
ployment of people released from prison and 
jail, through efforts such as educating employ-
ers about existing financial incentives and facili-
tate the creation of job opportunities, including 
transitional jobs, for this population that will 
benefit communities;
‘‘(B) connect inmates to employment, in-
cluding supportive employment and employment 
services, before their release to the community; 
and 
‘‘(C) addressing barriers to employment; 
‘‘(9) assessing the literacy and educational 
needs of offenders in custody and identifying and 
providing services appropriate to meet those needs, 
including follow-up assessments and long-term serv-
ices; 
‘‘(10) systems under which family members of 
offenders are involved in facilitating the successful 
re-entry of those offenders into the community, in-
cluding removing obstacles to the maintenance of 
family relationships while the offender is in custody, 
strengthening the family’s capacity as a stable living 
situation during re-entry where appropriate, and in-
volving family members in the planning and imple-
mentation of the re-entry process; 
‘‘(11) programs under which victims are in-
cluded, on a voluntary basis, in the re-entry process; 
‘‘(12) programs that facilitate visitation and 
maintenance of family relationships with respect to 
offenders in custody by addressing obstacles such as
travel, telephone costs, mail restrictions, and restric-
tive visitation policies; 
‘‘(13) identifying and addressing barriers to col-
laborating with child welfare agencies in the provi-
sion of services jointly to offenders in custody and 
to the children of such offenders; 
‘‘(14) implementing programs in correctional 
agencies to include the collection of information re-
garding any dependent children of an incarcerated 
person as part of intake procedures, including the 
number of children, age, and location or jurisdiction, 
and connect identified children with appropriate 
services; 
‘‘(15) addressing barriers to the visitation of 
children with an incarcerated parent, and mainte-
nance of the parent-child relationship, such as the 
location of facilities in remote areas, telephone costs, 
mail restrictions, and visitation policies; 
‘‘(16) creating, developing, or enhancing pris-
oner and family assessments curricula, policies, pro-
cedures, or programs (including mentoring pro-
grams) to help prisoners with a history or identified 
risk of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as-
sault, or stalking reconnect with their families and 
communities as appropriate (or when it is safe to do
so) and become mutually respectful, nonabusive par-
ents or partners, under which particular attention is 
paid to the safety of children affected and the con-
fidentiality concerns of victims, and efforts are co-
ordinated with existing victim service providers; 
‘‘(17) developing programs and activities that 
support parent-child relationships, such as—
‘‘(A) using telephone conferencing to per-
mit incarcerated parents to participate in par-
ent-teacher conferences; 
‘‘(B) using videoconferencing to allow vir-
tual visitation when incarcerated persons are 
more than 100 miles from their families; 
‘‘(C) the development of books on tape 
programs, through which incarcerated parents 
read a book into a tape to be sent to their chil-
dren; 
‘‘(D) the establishment of family days, 
which provide for longer visitation hours or 
family activities; or 
‘‘(E) the creation of children’s areas in vis-
itation rooms with parent-child activities; 
‘‘(18) expanding family-based treatment centers 
that offer family-based comprehensive treatment
services for parents and their children as a complete 
family unit; 
‘‘(19) conducting studies to determine who is 
returning to prison or jail and which of those return-
ing prisoners represent the greatest risk to commu-
nity safety; 
‘‘(20) developing or adopting procedures to en-
sure that dangerous felons are not released from 
prison prematurely; 
‘‘(21) developing and implementing procedures 
to assist relevant authorities in determining when re-
lease is appropriate and in the use of data to inform 
the release decision; 
‘‘(22) developing and implementing procedures 
to identify efficiently and effectively those violators 
of probation or parole who should be returned to 
prison; 
‘‘(23) utilizing established assessment tools to 
assess the risk factors of returning inmates and 
prioritizing services based on risk; 
‘‘(24) conducting studies to determine who is 
returning to prison or jail and which of those return-
ing prisoners represent the greatest risk to commu-
nity safety;
‘‘(25) facilitating and encouraging timely and 
complete payment of restitution and fines by ex-of-
fenders to victims and the community; 
‘‘(26) developing or adopting procedures to en-
sure that dangerous felons are not released from 
prison prematurely; 
‘‘(27) establishing or expanding the use of re-
entry courts to—
‘‘(A) monitor offenders returning to the 
community; 
‘‘(B) provide returning offenders with—
‘‘(i) drug and alcohol testing and 
treatment; and 
‘‘(ii) mental and medical health as-
sessment and services; 
‘‘(C) facilitate restorative justice practices 
and convene family or community impact pan-
els, family impact educational classes, victim 
impact panels, or victim impact educational 
classes; 
‘‘(D) provide and coordinate the delivery of 
other community services to offenders, includ-
ing—
‘‘(i) housing assistance; 
‘‘(ii) education;
‘‘(iii) employment training; 
‘‘(iv) children and family support; 
‘‘(v) conflict resolution skills training; 
‘‘(vi) family violence intervention pro-
grams; and 
‘‘(vii) other appropriate social serv-
ices; and 
‘‘(E) establish and implement graduated 
sanctions and incentives; and 
‘‘(28) providing technology to advance post re-
lease supervision.’’. 
(b) 
JUVENILE
OFFENDER
DEMONSTRATION 
PROJECTS
REAUTHORIZED.—Such section is further 
amended in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘may be expended 
for’’ and all that follows through the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘may be expended for any activity referred 
to in subsection (b).’’. 
(c) 
APPLICATIONS; 
PRIORITIES; 
PERFORMANCE 
MEASUREMENTS.—Such section is further amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub-
section (o); and 
(2) by striking subsections (d) through (g) and 
inserting the following new subsections: 
‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—A State, unit of local govern-
ment, territory, or Indian tribe desiring a grant under this
section shall submit an application to the Attorney Gen-
eral that—
‘‘(1) contains a re-entry strategic plan, which 
describes the long-term strategy, and a detailed im-
plementation schedule, including the jurisdiction’s 
plans to pay for the program after the Federal fund-
ing is discontinued; 
‘‘(2) identifies the governmental agencies and 
community and faith-based organizations that will 
be coordinated by, and collaborate on, the appli-
cant’s prisoner re-entry strategy and certifies their 
involvement; and 
‘‘(3) describes the methodology and outcome 
measures that will be used in evaluating the pro-
gram. 
‘‘(e) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—The Attorney Gen-
eral shall give priority to grant applications that best—
‘‘(1) focus initiative on geographic areas with a 
substantiated high population of ex-offenders; 
‘‘(2) include partnerships with community-based 
organizations, including faith-based organizations; 
‘‘(3) provide consultations with crime victims 
and former incarcerated prisoners and their families; 
‘‘(4) review the process by which the State ad-
judicates violations of parole or supervised release
and consider reforms to maximize the use of grad-
uated, community-based sanctions for minor and 
technical violations of parole or supervised release; 
‘‘(5) establish pre-release planning procedures 
for prisoners to ensure that a prisoner’s eligibility 
for Federal or State benefits (including Medicaid, 
Medicare, Social Security, and Veterans benefits) 
upon release is established prior to release, subject 
to any limitations in law, and to ensure that pris-
oners are provided with referrals to appropriate so-
cial and health services or are linked to appropriate 
community-based organizations; and 
‘‘(6) target high-risk offenders for re-entry pro-
grams through validated assessment tools. 
‘‘(f) CONDITION OF FUNDING.—As a condition of re-
ceiving a grant under this section, a State must agree to—
‘‘(1) establish a process to identify and review 
existing State laws, regulations, and rules that im-
pose restrictions or occupational disqualifications on 
people with criminal convictions and to consider 
modifications of such laws, regulations, and rules to 
ensure that each such restriction or disqualification 
bears a substantial relationship to the nature of the 
conduct that resulted in the criminal conviction;
‘‘(2) afford members of the public an oppor-
tunity to participate in the process described in the 
preceding paragraph; 
‘‘(3) establish a meaningful and accessible proc-
ess to enable people with criminal convictions to re-
gain their civil rights and privileges if they have led 
a law-abiding life following release from prison; 
‘‘(4) review the process by which the State ad-
judicates violations of parole or supervised release 
and consider reforms to maximize the use of grad-
uated, community-based sanctions for minor and 
technical violations of parole or supervised release; 
‘‘(5) review the State’s correctional policies and 
expenditures to maximize the use of community-
based corrections for non-violent offenders; 
‘‘(6) establish pre-release planning procedures 
for State prisoners to ensure that a prisoner’s eligi-
bility for Federal or State benefits (including Med-
icaid, Medicare, Social Security, and Veterans bene-
fits) upon release is established prior to release, sub-
ject to any limitations in law; and 
‘‘(7) maintain existing State funding for pris-
oner re-entry activities. 
‘‘(g) USES OF GRANT FUNDS.—