[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book II)]
[September 18, 2000]
[Pages 1863-1864]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on an Initiative for the Reintegration into Society




of Ex-Offenders
September 18, 2000

    Working together, we have made great strides in reducing crime 
across the country. The overall crime rate is at its lowest point in 25 
years, and America is the safest it has been in a generation. But I 
believe we can make America even safer for our families. We must 
continue to confront emerging public safety challenges if we want to 
keep reducing crime in the 21st century.
    One of the key challenges we must address is ex-offenders returning 
to their families and communities after their release from prison. While 
the Nation's prison population growth rate has slowed to its lowest 
level in two decades, more than 1.9 million individuals were 
incarcerated in State and Federal prisons and local jails in 1999. As a 
result, an unprecedented number of individuals will be released from 
prison in the coming years--nearly 600,000 in the next year alone. 
Moreover, this population poses a serious public safety risk. Studies 
show that nearly two-thirds of all released offenders will be arrested 
again within 3 years.
    That is why I have proposed a new public safety initiative aimed at 
providing greater supervision for offenders reentering the community. My 
fiscal year 2001 budget includes a total

[[Page 1864]]

of $145 million for innovative ``reentry''
programs to promote responsibility and help keep ex-offenders on track 
and crime- and drug-free. Through this reentry initiative, the 
Departments of Justice, Labor, and Health and Human Services will target 
resources in high-impact communities for increased law enforcement, drug 
testing, and treatment, and critical employment, training, and other 
services to help young ex-offenders work and meet their family 
responsibilities, including child support. The initiative would fund 
reentry partnerships between police, correctional agencies, local 
service providers, and key community organizations like faith-based 
fatherhood, and victims' groups. Additionally, the initiative would fund 
reentry courts, based on the drug court model, to provide critical 
supervision and services for offenders.
    Today the administration is taking some important steps to move us 
forward in this area. The Justice Department is announcing over $57 
million in Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) grants to all 50 
States to provide substance abuse treatment to offenders in State and 
local correctional facilities. The Department of Health and Human 
Services is also releasing child support demonstration grants, including 
a model approach to improve child support and promote responsible 
fatherhood among incarcerated fathers in Massachusetts. In addition, the 
Attorney General and other members of my administration are hosting a 
roundtable discussion with State and local leaders to spotlight an 
innovative reentry partnership already underway in the Druid Heights 
neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. Congress could significantly expand 
and help launch similar efforts across the country by fully funding our 
reentry initiative. I urge them to do this without delay. If we all do 
our part, we can build on our progress and strengthen America's 
communities and families.