DOJ Awards Nearly $100 Million To Help Reduce Incarceration Recidivism

Department of Justice Wednesday announced awards totaling almost $100 million to reduce recidivism

The Department of Justice Wednesday announced awards totaling almost $100 million to reduce recidivism and support adults and youths in successfully returning to their communities after a period of confinement.

Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Director Karhlton F. Moore made the announcement during an event in Brooklyn, New York. The event was hosted by the Osborne Association, a recipient of a grant awarded as part of BJA’s Second Chance Act Community-Based Reentry program. He was joined by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York and U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York.

“As we work to build safer and stronger communities, these grants will prepare and support people coming out of America’s prisons, jails and juvenile facilities, creating a path to opportunity and supplying the tools needed to build productive, successful lives,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The investments we are making today will help us ensure that individuals returning home are in the best position to succeed.”

OJP’s BJA and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) are awarding grants to jurisdictions, nonprofit organizations, research institutions and other agencies to advance the Department’s goals to address the needs of people in correctional facilities and to empower those who have been incarcerated to return home as productive and thriving members of their communities.

The grants announced Wednesday will support a wide range of services for people who come into contact with the criminal and juvenile justice systems and for those leaving prisons, jails and youth confinement facilities. Funding will extend the Department’s significant investments in Second Chance Act adult and juvenile reentry programs, promote education and employment activities, support incarcerated parents of minor children, advance evidence-based community supervision services and protect incarcerated individuals from sexual assault.

Almost 550,000 people were released from state and federal prisons in 2020. Yearly releases from local jails are estimated in the millions, based on the number of jail admissions recorded each year and an average turnover rate of less than a month for each person admitted. And based on a one-day count, more than 36,000 youth are in residential placement, poised to return home.

The President’s Executive Order on Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices called for the creation of an interagency Alternatives and Reentry Committee that is developing an evidence-informed strategic plan for reforms on the federal, state and local levels. The Justice Department is an active member of the committee. The Department is also partnering with the Department of Education to ensure that the field is ready for full Pell implementation for incarcerated individuals under the Second Chance Pell Initiative.

“The safety of our communities greatly depends on the educational, employment, treatment and other opportunities we afford to all who come into contact with the justice system,” said Director Moore. “We are pleased to make these resources available to our state, local and Tribal partners so that they can continue the vital work of welcoming recently incarcerated individuals back into society and providing them the tools they need to succeed.”

“The road to a more humane and effective juvenile justice system begins with a collective commitment to keeping young people out of the system and helping those who are already there find a path to a productive and successful future,” said OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan. “These investments will open the door for youth to rejoin their communities, reconnect with their families and neighborhoods, and fulfill their true potential.”

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