[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 112 (Friday, July 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY SAFETY THROUGH RECIDIVISM PREVENTION

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 12, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to submit for the record an 
Op-Ed published in the New York Times, on July 2, 2007, entitled, ``A 
Much-Needed Second Chance.'' The editorial highlights the efforts taken 
by Texas and Kansas to address reintegration of former inmates into 
their communities, as well as the lack of a federal initiative to 
address the challenges communities face because they do not have the 
social service networks that are necessary for this kind of work. 
Unfortunately, the current system of corrections seems far more focused 
on punishment than rehabilitation, an approach that exacerbates crime 
rather than reducing it.
  One-third of all correction departments provide no services to 
released offenders, and most departments do not offer a transitional 
program, placing a heavy burden on families and communities.
  Most men and women released face tremendous obstacles as they try to 
reenter society successfully, encountering imposing impediments to 
attaining gainful employment, overcoming drug addictions, gaining 
custody of their children, or finding affordable housing. In fact, two-
thirds of those released will be arrested within three years of leaving 
prison.
  These men and women deserve a second chance. Their families, spouses 
and children, deserve a second chance and their communities deserve a 
second chance. A second chance means an opportunity to turn a life 
around; a chance to break the grip of a drug habit; a chance to support 
a family; a chance to make positive contributions to society; and a 
chance to be self-sufficient.
  I strongly urge you to join me and the other 91 members of Congress 
in encouraging community safety through recidivism prevention by 
cosponsoring H.R. 1593, the Second Chance Act of 2007.

                [From the New York Times, July 2, 2007]

                      A Much-Needed Second Chance

       The United States now has more than two million people 
     behind bars, a number that has been rising steadily for 
     decades. But state lawmakers who once would have rushed to 
     build new prisons have begun to see that prison-building is 
     not the best or most cost-effective way to fight crime or 
     protect the public's safety.
       Several states have instead begun to focus on developing 
     community-based programs that deal with low-level, nonviolent 
     offenders without locking them up. And they have begun to 
     look at ways to control recidivism with programs that help 
     newly released people find jobs, housing, drug treatment and 
     mental health care--essential services if they are to live 
     viable lives in a society that has historically shunned them.
       Texas and Kansas have recently made important strides in 
     this area. But corrections policy nationally would evolve 
     much faster if Washington put its shoulder to the wheel. 
     Congress needs to pass the Second Chance Act, which would 
     provide grants, guidance and assistance to states and 
     localities that are developing programs to reintegrate former 
     inmates into their communities.
       The states have made a good start, thanks in part to the 
     efforts of the Council of State Governments and its prison 
     policy arm, the Justice Center. The center's analysis of 
     corrections patterns has led to sweeping changes in Texas, 
     where the Legislature was facing a projected upsurge in the 
     prison population and a projected outlay of more than a 
     billion dollars to build several new prisons.
       The surge in Texas was not being driven by crime, which had 
     risen only slightly, but by a breakdown in the parole and 
     probation systems, which were unable to process and supervise 
     the necessary numbers of released prisoners. Mental health 
     and drug treatment services were also lacking. By expanding 
     those services, along with other community-based programs, 
     the Legislature projects that it could potentially avoid the 
     need for any new prisons.
       A similar solution was found in Kansas, where about 65 
     percent of the state's admissions to prison were traced to 
     technical violations of probation or parole, often by people 
     with drug addictions or mental illnesses. The Legislature has 
     expanded drug treatment behind bars and created a grant 
     program that encourages localities to provide more effective 
     supervision and services as a way of keeping recently 
     released people away from crime and out of prison.
       The social service networks that are necessary for this 
     kind of work are virtually nonexistent in most communities. 
     To put those networks together, the states need to require 
     that disparate parts of the government apparatus work 
     together in ways that were unheard of in the past.
       It is encouraging that state officials are willing to break 
     out of the old patterns. But they need help. The Second 
     Chance Act would bolster the re-entry movement with money, 
     training, technical assistance--and the federal stamp of 
     approval.

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