Second Chance Act
On Wednesday, April 9th, President Bush signed Public Law110-199, the Second Chance Act of 2007, which provides comprehensive services for people re-entering communities from prisons and jails – including those coping with the effects of HIV/AIDS. Introduced and championed by Rep. Danny Davis (D-7th IL), the widely anticipated Second Chance Act will make grants to state and local governments as well as non-profits organizations to offer a range of services including housing, healthcare, counseling, and employment opportunities.
- The housing-specific provisions, though modest, are an important beginning and include re-authorization and expansion of a demonstration grants for pre and post-release services including housing and expanding the use of reentry courts to coordinate delivery of community services, including housing assistance.
As an organizational endorser of both H.R. 1593 and S. 1060, NAHC worked with a coalition of groups toward passage of the legislation. NAHC joins these groups in recommending $165 million in appropriated funding for the Second Chance Act in FY 2009. The importance of the Second Chance Act for the HIV/AIDS community cannot be overstated. It is estimated that the incidence of confirmed AIDS cases has grown to be five times higher in prison than in the general population and incidences of HIV are estimated to be between 10 and 14 percent higher.
Second Chance Act of 2007; Public Law 110-199
Information from the Policy Center of the Open Society Institute
Information from the National Alliance to End Homelessness on Reentry