![]() Last summer, I released my Safer America Plan, which calls on the Congress to invest $15 billion more in mental health and substance use services, job training, affordable housing, and other resources to help people rebuild their lives. Once they are released, we are helping them to find jobs rebuilding America through our historic infrastructure law and we have expanded access to small business loans, so no one’s past keeps them from building a better future. We are implementing changes to the Pell Grant program so people can earn a college degree while still in prison, jumpstarting new lives. My Administration is, for example, investing nearly $1 billion in job training, recovery, and reentry services. To do that, we need education, job, and substance use programs, during and after incarceration. It will keep families whole, build stronger and safer communities, grow our economy, and reduce recidivism long-term. Instead of giving people $25 and a bus ticket when they are released, we have to help them address their underlying needs as they re-enter society. Our justice system should instead be based on the simple premise that once someone completes their sentence, they should have the chance to earn a living, build a life, and participate in our democracy as fellow citizens. We are not giving people a real second chance. As a result, three-quarters of formerly incarcerated people remain unemployed a year after their release - and joblessness is a top predictor of recidivism. It can keep them from ever getting a loan to buy a home, start a business, or build a future. ![]() A criminal record can prevent them from landing a steady job, a safe place to live, quality health care, or the chance to go to back school. I believe in redemption - but for hundreds of thousands of Americans released from State and Federal prisons each year, or the nearly 80 million who have an arrest or conviction record, it is not always easy to come by. ![]() ![]() During Second Chance Month, we recommit to helping people forge the new beginnings they have earned and building a safer and more just society.
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