Re-entry has been a hot topic for corrections practitioners and lawmakers for years.  Now, with the Second Chance Act of 2005 on the table in the House of Representatives, the national buzz over the topic is getting a little bit louder. 

The bipartisan prisoner re-entry legislation was introduced in April by Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL), Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) and former Congressman Rob Portman (R-OH), who has since been appointed United States Trade Representative by President George W. Bush.  It aims to reduce recidivism by helping states better address the needs of ex-offenders who are reintegrating back into their communities.

"My experience has taught me that it is very difficult to rehabilitate offenders unless we give them a second chance," said Tubbs Jones.  "Our legislation, we believe, is comprehensive.  It addresses drug treatment for ex-offenders; it addresses housing issues for ex-offenders; it addresses family counseling and job opportunities," she said.  "We believe that, if we can address all of these issues, then we are likely to have a lower recidivism rate in our country."

According to statistics, nearly two thirds of all state prisoners will recidivate within the first three years of their release back in the community.  With over 600,000 inmates transitioning from incarceration back into society each year, the sheer numbers of ex-offenders making their way back into communities have lawmakers and corrections professionals alike seeking to enhance re-entry programs across the country.

"I think it's everyone's hope that, when they come back, they are going to be successful," said Kansas Department of Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz.  "[But] we have put a lot of barriers in place for people returning from prison that make it more difficult for them to live the kind of life we want them to.  The Second Chance Act can certainly go a long ways towards providing some resources to help remove some of those barriers."

In Kansas, Werholtz said that there are already some small scale efforts underway to help offenders who are being released back into the community get their feet on the ground and stay on the right side of the law.  What he hopes is that the legislation can help to replicate some of these successful, pilot re-entry programs nationwide.

"[The Second Chance Act] will, I think, bring more resources to the table and get us [away from] the point of little pilot programs and institutionalize [re-entry programs]," said Werholtz.

Massachusetts State Representative Mike Festa agrees with Werholtz and believes that this legislation is a step in the right direction towards creating effective programs to help get ex-offenders on the right track and prevent them from re-offending.

"The name of the game is fighting crime and the states are pretty much in the forefront of doing that on a daily basis," Festa said.  "We just know that it makes a lot more sense and is a lost less costly to ensure that [people's] transitions from prison to the community are done in a way, which is sensible.  We don't want to spend lots of money on things that don't work."

Festa also pointed out that this legislation is proof that lawmakers from both sides of the political fence are willing to join forces when it comes to important issues, like prisoner re-entry.

"Bipartisanship is alive and well when good faith efforts are embraced," said Festa.

And Tubbs Jones believes that because of wide-ranging political support for the Second Chance Act, it has a very good chance of passing in its current form, or at least as part of another piece of legislation.  Either way is fine with her.

"However it comes, I'll be happy that we had success," said Tubbs Jones.