New Hampshire Second Chance Act Reentry Demonstration Project

The Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199) reflects a comprehensive response to the increasing number of people who are released from prison and jail and returning to communities. There are currently 2.3 million people serving time in our federal and state prisons, and millions of people cycling through local jails every year. Ninety-five percent of all prisoners incarcerated today will eventually be released and will return to communities. The Second Chance Act will help ensure the transition people make from prison or jail to the community is safe and successful. Section 101 of the Act, in addition to providing grants to state and local governments and federally recognized Indian tribes that may be used for demonstration reentry projects, also allows for the establishment of a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center.

The Second Chance Act Prisoner Reentry Initiative provides funding to state and local governments and federally recognized Indian tribes for demonstration projects to promote the safe and successful reintegration into the community of individuals who have been incarcerated. Funded demonstration projects will use validated and dynamic assessment tools to determine the risks and needs of offenders.
Projects will provide offenders in prisons or jails with all necessary services to facilitate reentry into the community. In addition, the projects will develop procedures to ensure that dangerous felons are not released from prison prematurely and provide services that address treatment needs and protect communities against dangerous offenders Allowable uses of funds to enhance a successful transition include: pre-release assessment and case planning, mentoring, housing, education, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, services to enhance family reunification, job training and readiness, and post-release case management and supervision.

The New Hampshire Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General will use Second Chance Prisoner Reentry Initiative funds to pilot an evidence-based re-entry process designed to reduce recidivism in the target population by 50% in five years, while also enhancing public safety. Project goals will be achieved through comprehensive evidence-based practices for risk and needs assessment and clinical assessment and treatment of substance abuse and mental health problems, community supervision, and ongoing reintegration and recovery support. Through this initiative, the New Hampshire Department of Corrections (NH DOC) will create community corrections positions and train staff in evidence-based re-entry practices. The NH DOC will also reassign community corrections positions to the local district parole office at the start of the project in order to coordinate all re-entry programming with parole officers who will then become primarily responsible for enforcement and supervision. The project targets high risk offenders as identified with validated assessment tools. The target community, Concord, New Hampshire, is the jurisdiction in the state with the highest concentration of reentering offenders, and is home to the largest prison which houses approximately 1,500 of the state's 2,800 incarcerated offenders.

CA/NCF