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Second Chance Act (SCA) Programs

Learning from Doing Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Second Chance Act Grant Program

April 2022

Reauthorized in 2018, the Second Chance Act (SCA) aims to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for people returning from state and federal prisons, local jails, and juvenile facilities through the provision of federal grants. During this panel, National Institute of Justice-funded researchers will detail two ongoing evaluations of the SCA grant program:

  1. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the SCA grant program per Title V of the First Step Act.
  2. A longitudinal examination of the long-term impacts of the SCA program.

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Assessing the Effectiveness of the Second Chance Act Grant Program: A Phased Evaluation Approach, Fiscal Year 2020

Closing Date

With this solicitation, NIJ requests proposals for research to evaluate the effectiveness of the Second Chance Act (SCA) grant program in improving reentry and reducing recidivism. To support this effort, NIJ will fund a phased research evaluation strategy that details and measures the implementation, processes, outcomes, costs, and impacts of the grants awarded under the SCA grant program.

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...

An Overview of Offender Reentry

Date Published
April 2018
Publication Type
Report (Technical Assistance), Program/Project Evaluation, Program/Project Description, Overview Text, Literature Review, Legislation/Policy Description, Legislation/Policy Analysis, Issue Overview
Agencies
NIJ

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.

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