(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), one of the nation’s leading advocates for criminal justice reform, applauded the House passage on November 13, 2007 of HR 1593, the Second Chance Act of 2007, a measure aimed at addressing recidivism by strengthening programs to help the reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, and its companion bill, S. 1060, is already cosponsored by a third of the United States Senate.

“No one is served when we turn our back on those who have done their time and paid their debt to society,” Lee said. “Working together, we can fight recidivism by beginning to remove the difficulties faced by the hundreds of thousands of prisoners who rejoin our communities each year.”

Recent studies indicate that over two thirds of released state prisoners are expected to be rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within three years of their release. The Second Chance Act, introduced by Representative Danny Davis (D-IL), is designed to reduce that figure by reauthorizing and creating new programs to prepare prisoners for reentry into society. These programs include literacy training, adult education, vocational schooling, job placement assistance, and substance abuse treatment.

The bill also establishes several innovative new grant programs. The Prosecution Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison Program allows prosecutors to choose to use drug treatment instead of imprisonment to cut the vicious cycle of crime with the help of Federal grants. The bill also authorizes grants for family-based substance abuse treatment programs as an alternative to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders, and new grants to evaluate and refine the educational and testing programs in America’s prisons, jails and juvenile facilities.

The bill’s passage comes two weeks after the Third Annual Clean Slate Summit, an event co-founded by Lee in collaboration of state and county governments, law enforcement agencies, nonprofit groups and legal advocates in California’s East Bay to help formerly incarcerated individuals clear up their criminal records and regain access to vital employment, housing and educational services.