Second Chance Act (SCA)

This program supports state, local, and tribal governments, as well as community-based nonprofit organization efforts to establish or expand cross-system approaches to reduce the risk of crisis and improve reentry and recovery outcomes for people reentering the community from correctional facilities (e.g., jails, prisons, juvenile detention) with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and co-occurring disorders.

This program builds programmatic, financial, and organizational capacity in community-based organizations and faith-based institutions to provide sustainable and transitional services to people leaving incarceration.

This program supplies funding and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations and tribal governments to provide comprehensive reentry services to individuals who have been incarcerated.

This program works with Second Chance Act grantees and technical assistance providers, as well as top researchers and practitioners, to develop resources and tools that assist jurisdictions in implementing evidence-based, data-driven strategies to improve reentry and reduce recidivism.

BJA’s suite of Second Chance Act programs support state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations in their work to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for people returning from incarceration.