The Second Chance Act Explained

If you were to sit down and read the Second Chance Act in its entirety, (you can read it here):

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-110publ199/html/PLAW-110publ199.htm

you would think that it was a massive Federal Grant Program giving away Millions of Tax Payer Dollars to Federal, State, Tribal and Local Governments, Non-Profits and other Agencies to assuage the Prison Reform initiative that took place in the 110th Congressional Legislation (2007).

And you would be correct. But, The Second Chance goes far beyond grants and federal funding programs.

Deep inside Title 42 of the Public Health and Welfare Act is Chapter 153, titled “The Second Chance Act of 2007: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention” also known as The Second Chance Act. Enacted on April 18, 2008 during the last two years of then President George W. Bush’s occupation of the White House, this legislation was considered one of the greatest Prison Reform initiatives ever taken to reduce prison populations, reduce recidivism rates, help those incarcerated with drug abuse problems and create programs to develop skill sets needed in the work place. The Second Chance Act is an amendment to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the same law that created Felon in Possession crimes and legalized Wire Tapping. The Second Chance Act went beyond creating laws to put people in jail, it was created to assist those already incarcerated with an emphasis on Reentry initiatives and to help those in preparation for a successful reentry back into society.

There are a great many benefits to The Second Chance Act that help individuals who are facing the incarceration path on all levels of Government. The Act requires that the agency incarcerating you must assist you with obtaining a Valid ID, State Drivers License and Social Security Card prior to your release. The Act requires that any individual needing Drug and Alcohol Treatment be permitted to participate in offered treatment programs within the confines of incarceration as well as during prerelease custody within Community Corrections Centers (Halfway Houses). Additionally, the Act granted funding to support the Alternatives to Incarceration program which allowed non violent first time offenders to avoid incarceration (and a conviction) by participating in drug treatment programming.

The Act also created the “Elderly and Family Reunification for Certain Nonviolent Offenders Pilot Program”, which allowed elderly (65 years and above) offenders who have completed a large portion of their sentence (10 years or 75%) to complete their sentences while on Home Confinement. The Act limited the Pilot Program to 2 years, FY 2009 and 2010, but was later extended by other Congressional actions up to 2023 (expired on 9/30/2023).

Perhaps the most important part of The Second Chance Act that directly affects those on the path of incarceration is Chapter 3, Section 251. Titled “Clarification of Authority to Place Prisoners in Community Corrections”; this law gives specificity to the requirements of Halfway House and Home Confinement releases. It is in itself, considered the most important law because it establishes the rules to leaving incarceration earlier than your Statutory Release Date. It is also the most misunderstood law within The Second Chance Act.

Now codified in 18 USC § 3624-Release of a Prisoner, the law states the following: 

18 USC § 364(c)(1)

The Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that a prisoner serving a term of imprisonment spends a portion of the final months of that term (not to exceed 12 months), under conditions that will afford that prisoner a reasonable opportunity to adjust to and prepare for the reentry of that prisoner into the community. Such conditions may include a community correctional facility.

18 USC § 3624(c)(2)

The authority under this subsection may be used to place a prisoner in home confinement for the shorter of 10 percent of the term of imprisonment of that prisoner or 6 months. The Bureau of Prisons shall, to the extent practicable, place prisoners with lower risk levels and lower needs on home confinement for the maximum amount of time permitted under this paragraph.

So what does that mean? Simply put, the BOP SHALL ensure, “TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE” that you spend a portion of your sentence (the final months, AND no more than 12 Months total) in a Community Corrections (Halfway House) setting (although not necessarily a Halfway House, read the last sentence of 18 USC § 3624(c)(1) again). The maximum amount of time that you can be released early is 12 months, however, that is not guaranteed. The BOP is not required to release you early, only “to the extent practicable”.

If you re-read 18 USC § 3624(c)(2), you will also notice that the BOP is not required to release you to Home Confinement, only that the authority given the BOP is that they “MAY” place you into Home Confinement for the shorter of 10% of your Full Term Sentence or 6 Months. For the purposes of BOP numbers, 6 Months is 182 Days. Again, while 18 USC § 3624(c)(2) states SHALL, it is released from SHALL with “TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE”. There is no mandate that you will be released to Home Confinement.

The most misunderstood portion of this law is the time allotted towards early release. A lot of people read the law and believe they are allowed early release to a Halfway House of up to 12 months and then allowed up to 10% to a maximum of 6 months towards time in Home Confinement. The law is clear: The MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF TIME A PERSON CAN BE RELEASED EARLY TO PRE-RELEASE CUSTODY IS 12 MONTHS AND INCLUDES HOME CONFINEMENT.

Let’s take a sample case: Meet Charlie. He was convicted of a crime and sentenced to 60 months imprisonment and given 2 years of supervised release. Charlies sentence full term is 1826 days. Charlie will receive 54 days of Good Conduct Time per year (270 days total). Charlie has a Statutory Sentence of 1556 Days (1826-270 = 1556), or 51 months total. Charlie participated in all available reentry programming and vocational classes while incarcerated. Approximately 17 to 19 months prior to Charlies release date, he will meet with his Case Manager and they should begin to discuss his reentry needs. While 18 USC § 3624(c)(1) states that Charlie should receive a maximum of 12 months consideration for release to a Halfway House, there is no guarantee that Charlie will be given the full 12 months consideration. Additionally, 18 USC § 3624(c)(2) states that Charlie should receive the maximum of 182 days towards release to Home Confinement, but again, there is no guarantee of that either. The portion of Home Confinement days is INCLUDED in the total 12 months, TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE.

What affects the outcome of how many Pre-Release days are given? Quite a few things play a role in the Pre-Release decisions that are made by the BOP. The first key item is the individuals participation in institutional programming as well as the individuals actions (incidents, hiccups, etc) while incarcerated. Equally important is the individuals Pre-Release needs. Does Charlie have a place to live? Does Charlie have an acceptable release plan? Another consideration that is beyond the individuals (and at present, the BOPs control) is bed space availability at a Halfway House. 

Experience has shown that those individuals with a proven release plan that includes a stable place to live, a job and family support do not receive the maximum benefits of The Second Chance Act. A person who does not have a job or living arrangements and is approaching release may need more time to get reestablished in the community and is considered more in need of Second Chance Act time than those with an established release plan. Additionally, the issue with bed space availability is becoming a bigger problem within Residential Re-Entry Centers (RRCs, the new name for Halfway Houses and Community Correction Centers) as more people are being released early under The First Step Act of 2018, filling beds at a faster rate than anticipated.

Now there is a neat little surprise to The Second Chance Act’s 18 USC § 3624(c)(1) & (2) that was modified by The First Step Act’s 18 USC § 3624(g)(10). Under The Second Chance Act releases, The Second Chance Act is considered a “normal” release. Under 18 USC § 3624(g) - titled “Pre-Release Custody or Supervised Release for Risk and Needs Assessment System Participants”, the Time Limitations within 18 USC § 3624(c)(1) & (2) are negated with the following law: 

18 USC § 3624(g)(10) Time limits inapplicable.—The time limits under subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to prerelease custody under this subsection. 

What The First Step Act effectively states is that if you were to earn in excess of 365 Days towards release to a Halfway House under the Risk and Needs Assessment program as a participant (in addition to the FSA Time Credits towards early release to Supervised Release), the limitation of 12 months Pre-Release custody to a Halfway House/Home Confinement rule does not apply. This is huge, but, unfortunately this practice is not being instituted by the BOP at this time.

While this page only discusses only a small portion of the programs within The Second Chance Act, listed below is a list of all programs and initiatives created by The Second Chance Act. 

• Reauthorization of adult and juvenile offender State and local reentry demonstration projects.
• Improvement of the residential substance abuse treatment for State offenders program.
• Definition of violent offender for drug court grant program.
• Use of violent offender truth-in-sentencing grant funding for demonstration project activities.
• State, tribal, and local reentry courts.
• Prosecution drug treatment alternative to prison programs.
• Grants for family-based substance abuse treatment.
• Grant to evaluate and improve education at prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities.
• Technology Careers Training Demonstration Grants.
• Offender reentry substance abuse and criminal justice collaboration program.
• Mentoring grants to nonprofit organizations.
• Responsible reintegration of offenders.
• Bureau of prisons policy on mentoring contacts.
• Bureau of prisons policy on chapel library materials.
• Federal prisoner reentry initiative.
• Bureau of prisons policy on restraining of female prisoners.
• Offender reentry research.
• Grants to study parole or post-incarceration supervision violations and revocations.
• Addressing the needs of children of incarcerated parents.
• Study of effectiveness of depot naltrexone for heroin addiction.
• Authorization of appropriations for research.
• Clarification of authority to place prisoner in community corrections.
• Residential drug abuse program in Federal prisons.
• Contracting for services for post-conviction supervision offenders.
• Extension of national prison rape elimination commission.

We will cover all of The First Step Act in The First Step Act tab.