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Second Chance Act (SCA)

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Research on Returning Offender Programs and Promising Practices

It’s a rare event to have so many influential parts of the government convened in one room, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to address you today.

My name is David Muhlhausen and I am the director of the National Institute of Justice, which is the research, development, and evaluation arm of the Department of Justice.

I’ve also been recently appointed by the Attorney General to be the Executive Director of the President’s Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry.

Program Services Under the Second Chance Act

Sidebar to the article 'Cultural Shift' Is Among Findings of Second Chance Act Evaluation by Nancy Ritter

In addition to case management services, the 10 Second Chance Act sites evaluated by NIJ-funded researchers deliver re-entry services that fall into these basic categories:

Second Chance Act: What Have We Learned About Reentry Programs So Far?

June, 2013

Interview with Ron D'Amico, Social Policy Research Associates. Offender reentry into the community is a pressing social problem. The number of inmates released every year from the nation's prisons increased fourfold over the past three decades.

Since the Second Chance Act (SCA) was passed in 2008, more than $250 million has been awarded to government agencies and non-profits for programs to help offenders successfully reenter society. NIJ is doing an in-depth study of 10 sites to determine the effectiveness of these reentry programs.