On April 29, 2024, Reentry Working Group and CPAC hosted a fireside chat on “Second Chances and Bipartisan Federal Reentry Policies.” 

During this briefing, people with lived experience, faith leader Prison Fellowship, and reentry provider Safer Foundation discussed the importance of supporting people returning from incarceration with practices and policies that extend beyond workforce development services alone.

Conversation highlights included:

1. How critical it is to implement and fund federal reentry programs and policies that support individuals from the first day of incarceration through their reentry and how high the returns are on these investments, including increased public safety;
2. How “second chances” include providing opportunities and interventions prior to incarceration whenever possible to prevent initial criminal legal system contact when appropriate; and
3. The importance of improving support for women, both while incarcerated and during reentry, and the critical need to support and keep families together.