SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) More than 2,300,000 people are incarcer-
ated in Federal, State, Tribal, or local correction fa-
cilities in the United States, with an average stay of 
30 months. 
(2) Of the individuals now in prison, 97 percent 
will eventually be released into communities. More 
than 700,000 of these individuals are released into 
communities every year. 
(3) A Bureau of Justice Statistics Report found 
67.5 percent of people released from correctional fa-
cilities in 1994 were arrested again within the 3-year 
period after their release from incarceration. 
(4) Many of the men and women who will leave 
correction facilities each year have mental health 
and alcohol or substance use disorders, have low lev-
els of education and job training, and face signifi-
cant barriers to employment. 
(5) A number of studies have shown that at 
every stage of the criminal justice process—from ar-
rest, pretrial, conviction, to incarceration—81 per-
cent of those incarcerated in Federal facilities, and 
77 percent of those housed in local jails have alcohol 
and drug use problems, or were under the influence 
of alcohol or drugs when they committed their of-
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fenses. However, only 13 percent of these individuals 
receive drug and alcohol treatment while they are in-
carcerated according to the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy. 
(6) Substance use disorder treatment has been 
proven to reduce drug use, recidivism, unemploy-
ment, and homelessness, according to several stud-
ies, and every dollar invested in substance use dis-
order treatment saves taxpayers $7.46 in other so-
cial costs. 
(7) Individuals reentering society from incarcer-
ation have significant educational needs. Fewer than 
half of those released have a high school education 
or higher. The typical Louisiana inmate has a fifth 
grade literacy level. 
(8) Prison inmates interviewed as part of the 
Department of Justice’s Serious and Violent Of-
fender Reentry Initiative evaluation identified edu-
cation as topping their list of most vital needs for 
a successful reentry into the community from prison. 
(9) According to a recent study of releases from 
the Indiana Department of Corrections, recidivism, 
education, and employment are closely linked. As the 
level of education goes up, the likelihood of employ-
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ment increases. As employment increases, the likeli-
hood of recidivism decreases. 
(10) According to the National Center for Edu-
cation Statistics, more prison inmates were on wait-
ing lists for vocational training programs than were 
enrolled in such programs when sampled as part of 
the National Assessment of Adult Literacy in 2004. 
(11) State, Tribal, and local governments have 
not been able to maintain prison education programs 
in the face of a prison population that has nearly 
doubled in the past decade. As a result, according to 
the National Institute for Literacy, the percentage 
of incarcerated individuals participating in correc-
tional education programs is declining. 
(12) A study funded by the Department of 
Education found that participation in correctional 
education programs lowers the likelihood of an indi-
vidual being incarcerated again by 29 percent, and 
that for every dollar spent on education, more than 
two dollars in reduced prison costs would be re-
turned to taxpayers. The Federal Bureau of Prisons 
also found a 33 percent drop in recidivism among 
people detained in Federal facilities who participate 
in vocational and apprenticeship training. 
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(13) According to the National Institute of Jus-
tice, 60 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals 
are unemployed after 1 year of release. Unemploy-
ment can contribute to the likelihood of repeating 
criminal conduct. 
(14) Job training and placement programs for 
formerly incarcerated people have been shown in a 
number of studies to improve employment outcomes 
and reduce recidivism. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to increase public safety 
and reduce recidivism rates by establishing a grant pro-
gram under which the Attorney General provides competi-
tive grants to State, Tribal, and local corrections agencies 
to help finance a 40-hour work week curriculum of self- 
improvement activities for incarcerated individuals that 
promotes responsibility, education, family, work, and par-
enthood. 
SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM TO MAKE GRANTS TO STATE, 
TRIBAL, AND LOCAL CORRECTIONS AGEN-
CIES. 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—For the purpose de-
scribed in section 3, the Attorney General shall establish 
a 3-year pilot program under which the Attorney General 
is authorized to make grants on a competitive basis to 
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State, Tribal, and local corrections agencies to fund a 40- 
hour work week curriculum of self-improvement activities 
for inmates that promote responsibility, education, family, 
work, and parenthood in accordance with the provisions 
of this section. 
(b) APPLICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State, Tribal, or local 
corrections agency seeking a grant under this section 
shall submit an application to the Attorney General 
at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Attorney General may require. 
(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) describe and outline the 40-hour work 
week curriculum that each applicant plans to 
implement under the grant, including what ac-
tivities a participant will be expected to attend 
as part of such curriculum; 
(B) list the prisons or jail facilities where 
the 40-hour work week curriculum will be im-
plemented; 
(C) detail the number of people who will 
participate in the curriculum and how such peo-
ple will be chosen to participate; 
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(D) state the budget plan of the applicant 
for implementation of the grant, as well as an 
identification of sources for the matching re-
quirement imposed under section 7; and 
(E) explain the standards for determining 
the performance of an incarcerated individual 
participating in the 40-hour work week cur-
riculum. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) 40-HOUR
WORK
WEEK
CURRICULUM.—A 
grant awarded to a State, Tribal, or local corrections 
agency under this section shall be used to establish 
a 40-hour work week curriculum that includes a 
minimum of 3 of the following coordinated activities: 
(A) Working toward and acquiring a Gen-
eral Equivalency Diploma (in this section re-
ferred to as ‘‘GED’’), under which GED classes 
must be included in the curriculum for all in-
carcerated individuals lacking a high school di-
ploma or GED. 
(B) Literacy training. 
(C) College courses. 
(D) Vocational training and education 
under which— 
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(i) such training and education shall 
be in accordance with State and local laws 
prohibiting currently and formerly incar-
cerated people from engaging in certain 
trades or occupations; and 
(ii) facilities shall provide job training 
for positions that are currently in high de-
mand to meet workforce needs. 
(E) Civic or citizenship education. 
(F) Special education. 
(G) Cognitive skills training. 
(H) Job and skills training, which shall be 
in accordance with State and local laws prohib-
iting currently and formerly incarcerated people 
from engaging in certain trades or occupations. 
(I) Clinically appropriate substance use 
disorder services, including prevention and 
treatment services and appropriate recovery 
support services. 
(J) Mental health treatment. 
(K) Anger management or conflict resolu-
tion programs. 
(L) Prison work and other prison jobs. 
(M) Restorative justice activities, including 
community service, victim restitution, victim-of-
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fender dialogue, and groups or classes focusing 
on accountability, victim impact, or both. 
(N) Mentoring sessions. 
(O) Life skills training, including par-
enting classes, financial management, entrepre-
neurship training, health education, and career 
development. 
(2) APPLICATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL LI-
CENSING
REQUIREMENTS; 
COORDINATION
WITH 
STATE
SUBSTANCE
ABUSE
AGENCIES.—All cur-
riculum activities and providers must comport with 
applicable State and Federal licensing requirements. 
Grantees must ensure that all substance use dis-
order services, including prevention, treatment, and 
recovery support services, are provided in coordina-
tion with the State substance abuse agency. 
(3) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In 
addition to the activities described in paragraph (1), 
a demonstration grant awarded to a State, Tribal, or 
local corrections agency under this section may be 
used— 
(A) to pay teachers, counselors, therapists, 
and other specialists to work with incarcerated 
people as part of the 40-hour work week cur-
riculum established under this section; 
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(B) to make grants to nonprofit organiza-
tions, educational facilities, or other community 
partners to implement programs that provide 
one or more of the approved 40-hour work week 
curriculum activities; 
(C) to pay for the costs associated with un-
dertaking the initial assessments for partici-
pants required under section 5(a); and 
(D) to pay for security and administrative 
costs associated with providing activities within 
the authorized curriculum. 
SEC. 5. PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) ASSESSMENTS.—Any incarcerated person who is 
required to, or volunteers to, participate in the 40-hour 
work week curriculum funded by a grant awarded under 
section 4 shall be subject to an assessment, using validated 
assessment tools, of the person’s mental, physical, intellec-
tual, and vocational abilities in order to formulate an ini-
tial curriculum for such person. 
(b) PARTICIPATION.— 
(1) REQUIRED PARTICIPANTS.—Corrections of-
ficials may require each incarcerated person who is 
within 3 years of the release date or date of parole 
eligibility for such person to participate in the 40- 
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hour work week curriculum funded by a grant under 
section 4. 
(2) VOLUNTARY
PARTICIPANTS.—Corrections 
officials may expand the 40-hour work week cur-
riculum so funded to other incarcerated persons who 
on a voluntary basis wish to participate in such cur-
riculum but are not yet within 3 years of their re-
lease date or parole eligibility date. 
(3) CONSULTATION.—Corrections officials may 
consult with the applicable parole board when identi-
fying participants for the 40-hour work week cur-
riculum so funded. 
(c) INCENTIVES
FOR PARTICIPATING INMATES.— 
Under a 40-hour work week curriculum funded by a grant 
awarded under section 4, an incarcerated person who par-
ticipates in such curriculum may receive rewards for suc-
cessful completion of such curriculum, including— 
(1) good time credit; 
(2) monetary compensation; 
(3) additional and more flexible visitation 
rights, consistent with public safety and in accord-
ance with visitation guidelines; 
(4) letters of recommendation for when the in-
carcerated person leaves the correctional institution 
involved; and 
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