Providing Second Chances
America is a nation founded on the idea of second chances, yet we close doors that lead to a better life for a whole segment of the population. People with criminal convictions are stigmatized in the labor market and barred from specific jobs, unable to vote, and shut out of public housing.
But policies once rationalized as just desserts and good for public safety increasingly are viewed as counter-productive. Key arenas for creating second chances are in higher education and housing. What we’ve found: The payoff of bringing college back into prison, and using it as a sturdy bridge to support reentry. And that many people caught up in the justice system and then barred from public housing can live there safely with their families without compromising the safety of other residents—and that welcoming them is the smart thing to do.
Issues
Spotlights
Featured
Opening Doors to Public Housing
Expanding Access for People with Conviction Histories
Vera, which is guiding implementation of the largest public housing reentry pilot program in the country, is launching a national project to assist public housing authorities, community supervision agencies, and reentry service providers to work together to promote family reunification and successful reentry outcomes for formerly incarcerated peopl...
Project
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Margaret diZerega
Innovative Reentry Practices for Incarcerated People Coming Home
For an incarcerated person, leaving prison can be both exhilarating and overwhelming: freedom is finally palpable. But, for over 700,000 people leaving prisons and jails annually, the pressure of finding a home is an immediate and paramount strain. The mark of a past criminal record eliminates many housing possibilities precisely at the moment when...
Blog Post
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Kathleen Culhane
Making the Grade
Developing Quality Postsecondary Education Programs in Prison
With its July 2015 announcement of the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program, the U.S. Department of Education ushered in what could be a new era of expanded opportunities for postsecondary education in our nation’s prisons. The Second Chance Pell Pilot makes students incarcerated in state and federal prisons eligible for need-based financial aid in a l...
Related Work
#SecondChanceMonth is an Opportunity to Examine What Happens After Incarceration–and Make It Better
Welcoming people who are formerly-incarcerated home into our communities and providing them access to opportunities is the smart thing to do. Not only does it make communities safer, it creates the potential for the kinds of individual transformation that can spur community renewal and change the economic trajectories of entire families. Join us as...
Blog Post
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Vera Staff
New Report Highlights California’s Success in Expanding Access to College for Incarcerated People
And Shows the Rest of the Country How It Can Be Done
Today, California has more in-person postsecondary education programs—offered in 34 out of the state’s 35 prisons—than any other state in the nation. CDCR is offering higher education to nearly 4,500 incarcerated students. Programs that meet students outside the prison walls have expanded in correlation to inside programs, as more people who starte...
Blog Post
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Heather Erwin
Majority of Americans Say Voting Rights Should be Restored for People with Felony Convictions
Most Americans believe that people with conviction histories should have their voting rights restored as soon as they’ve completed their sentences, according to a new poll from YouGov/Huffington Post. A solid majority—63 percent—of those surveyed agreed that people with felony convictions should not be permanently barred from voting. This consensus...
Blog Post
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Karina Schroeder
Two Oscar-Nominated Films Show the Need for Compassionate Reentry and Diversion Programs
Human dignity—and the importance of providing hope and opportunity in the face of such challenges—also informs the story behind Knife Skills. Knife Skills documents the hectic days leading up to the opening of a new Cleveland-based French restaurant called Edwins. Edwins hires formerly incarcerated people and teaches them the very basics of French ...
Blog Post
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Jack W. Duran
Expanding Housing Access for Formerly Incarcerated People
Everyone deserves a place to call home. However, for many people leaving our nation’s prisons and jails, the main barrier to successful reentry is access to safe and affordable housing. Formerly incarcerated people often do not have the financial means to rent in the private market, or they wish to live with family in public housing. Yet, many publ...
Blog Post
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Hana Le
How Systemic Racism Keeps Millions of Black People from Voting
This disproportionate impact on black people is no accident: it has its roots in systemic racism that dates back to the Reconstruction Era. Many states already had disenfranchisement laws in place in some form at the end of the Civil War. However, following the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments—which, respectively, ban...
Blog Post
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Karina Schroeder
A Commonwealth of Second Chances
Sixty percent of available jobs within the Commonwealth’s diverse and growing economy now require more than a high school diploma. Since 95 percent of Virginia’s incarcerated population will eventually return to their communities, our challenge is to ensure they return home with the skills and education necessary to find long term employment, which...
Blog Post
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Gerard Robinson
First Lady of NYC Announces $6 Million Plan to Break the Cycle of Incarceration for Women at Rikers
Today, the First Lady of New York City, Chirlane McCray, announced a $6 million plan to help reduce the population of incarcerated women in the city. The proposal will provide much-needed support to NYC’s incarcerated women by improving the frequency of family visits, building access to mental health services, and providing programs such as career ...
Blog Post
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Vera Staff
Overwhelming Majority of Americans Support Criminal Justice Reform, New Poll Finds
A new poll released today reveals that three-fourths of Americans believe the country’s criminal justice system needs significant improvements. Conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of Justice Action Network, the poll also indicates that support for reform spans all sides of the political spectrum—with 68 percent of Republicans, 78 perce...
Blog Post
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Vera Staff
Graduation Instead of Incarceration
The Choice is Yours (TCY) is a felony diversion program in Philadelphia that channels young people arrested for drug possession with intent to distribute away from jail and into education and job training services. Derek Riker, former ADA in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, and Byron Cotter, from the Defender Association of Philadelphia...
More States Are Restoring Voting Rights for Formerly Incarcerated People, and That’s a Very Good Thing
Not only is the restoration of voting rights a benefit to our democracy, it's also a benefit to those who are personally impacted. While community support is essential to a person's successful reentry after incarceration, this support is—in large part—dependent on a person's ability to engage in their community in the first place. One of the most e...
Blog Post
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Karina Schroeder
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Kevin Keenan
Developing Reentry Programs
Lessons from Public Housing Authorities
My team in Vera’s Center on Sentencing and Corrections have worked with 11 of these PHAs since November 2016 to document their innovations for a new guide, Opening Doors: How to develop reentry programs using examples from public housing authorities. The guide reveals components of a reentry program that PHAs should consider (such as partners, fund...
Blog Post
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John Bae