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“THE ONE STOP SHOP COMMUNITY REENTRY PROGRAM ACT OF 2020” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H7004-H7007 on Dec. 8, 2020.
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THE ONE STOP SHOP COMMUNITY REENTRY PROGRAM ACT OF 2020
Ms. BASS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8161) to authorize implementation grants to community-based nonprofits to operate one-stop reentry centers, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 8161
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``The One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. COMMUNITY REENTRY CENTER GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Program Authorized.--The Attorney General is authorized to carry out a grant program to make grants to eligible entities for the purpose of creating community reentry centers.
(b) Application Requirements.--Each application for a grant under this section shall--
(1) demonstrate a plan to work with community leaders who interact with formerly incarcerated people and their families to--
(A) identify specific strategies and approaches to providing reentry services;
(B) develop a needs assessment tool to survey or conduct focus groups with community members in order to identify--
(i) the needs of individuals returning to the community after conviction or incarceration, and the barriers such individuals face; and
(ii) the needs of the families and communities to which such individuals are returning; and
(C) use the information gathered pursuant to subparagraph
(B) to determine the reentry services to be provided by the community reentry center;
(2) identify the correctional institutions from which individuals who are released from incarceration are likely to reenter the community served by the community reentry center, and develop a plan, if feasible, to provide transportation for such released individuals to the community reentry center, to the individual's residence, or to a location where the individual is ordered by a court to report;
(3) demonstrate a plan to provide accessible notice of the location of the reentry intake and coordination center and the services that it will provide (either directly or on a referral basis), including, where feasible, within and outside of correctional institutions identified under paragraph (1);
(4) demonstrate a plan to provide intake and reentry needs assessment that is trauma-informed and gender-responsive after an individual is released from a correctional institution, or, in the case of an individual who is convicted of an offense and not sentenced to a term of imprisonment, after such conviction, and where feasible, before release, to ensure that the individuals served by the center are referred to appropriate reentry services based on the individual's needs immediately upon release from a correctional institution or after conviction, and continuously thereafter as needed;
(5) demonstrate a plan to provide the reentry services identified in paragraph (1)(C);
(6) demonstrate a plan to continue to provide services
(including through referral) for individuals served by the center who move to a different geographic area to ensure appropriate case management, case planning, and access to continuous or new services, where necessary, and based on consistent reevaluation of needs; and
(7) identify specific methods that the community reentry center will employ to achieve performance objectives among the individuals served by the center, including--
(A) increased access to and participation in reentry services;
(B) reduction in recidivism rates;
(C) increased numbers of individuals obtaining and retaining employment;
(D) increased enrollment in and degrees earned from educational programs, including high school, GED, and institutions of higher education;
(E) increased numbers of individuals obtaining and maintaining housing; and
(F) increased self-reports of successful community living, including stability of living situation and positive family relationships.
(c) Preference.--The Attorney General shall give preference to applicants that demonstrate that they seek to employ individuals who have been convicted of an offense, or served a term of imprisonment and have completed any court-ordered supervision, or that, to the extent allowable by law, employ such formerly incarcerated individuals in positions of responsibility.
(d) Evaluation and Report.--
(1) Evaluation.--The Attorney General shall enter into a contract with a nonprofit organization with expertise in analyzing data related to reentry services and recidivism to monitor and evaluate each recipient of a grant and each community reentry center receiving funds under this section on an ongoing basis.
(2) Administrative burden.--The nonprofit organization described in paragraph (1) shall provide administrative support to assist recipients of grants authorized by this Act to comply with the conditions associated with the receipt of funding from the Department of Justice.
(3) Report.--Not later than one year after the date on which grants are initially made under this section, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the program, which shall include--
(A) the number of grants made, the number of eligible entities receiving such grants, and the amount of funding distributed to each eligible entity pursuant to this section;
(B) the location of each eligible entity receiving such a grant, and the population served by the community reentry center;
(C) the number of persons who have participated in reentry services offered by a community reentry center, disaggregated by type of services, and success rates of participants in each service to the extent possible;
(D) the number of persons who have participated in reentry services for which they received a referral from a community reentry center, disaggregated by type of services, and success rates of participants in each service;
(E) recidivism rates within the population served by each community reentry center, both before and after receiving a grant under this section;
(F) the numbers of individuals obtaining and retaining employment within the population served by each community reentry center, both before and after receiving a grant under this section; and
(G) the number of individuals obtaining and maintaining housing within the population served by each community reentry center, both before and after receiving a grant under this section.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``eligible entity'' means a community-based nonprofit organization that--
(A) has expertise in the provision of reentry services; and
(B) is located in a geographic area that has disproportionately high numbers of residents, when compared to the local community, who--
(i) have been arrested;
(ii) have been convicted of a criminal offense; and
(iii) return to such geographic area after incarceration.
(2) The term ``community reentry center'' means a center that--
(A) offers intake, reentry needs assessments, case management, and case planning for reentry services for individuals returning to the community after conviction or incarceration;
(B) provides the reentry services identified under subsection (b)(1)(C) at a single location; and
(C) provides referrals to appropriate service providers based on the assessment of needs of the individuals.
(3) The term ``reentry services'' means comprehensive and holistic services that improve outcomes for individuals returning to the community after conviction or incarceration, and may include--
(A) seeking and maintaining employment, including through assistance with drafting resumes, establishing emails accounts, locating job solicitations, submitting of job applications, and preparing for interviews;
(B) placement in job placement programs that partner with private employers;
(C) obtaining free and low-cost job skills classes, including computer skills, technical skills, vocational skills, and any other job-related skills;
(D) locating and maintaining housing, which may include counseling on public housing opportunities, assisting with applications for public housing benefits, locating and securing temporary or long-term shelter, and applying for home energy and utility assistance programs;
(E) obtaining identification cards and driver's licenses;
(F) registering to vote, and applying for voting rights to be restored, where permitted by law;
(G) applying for or accessing GED courses;
(H) applying for loans for and admission to institutions of higher education;
(I) financial counseling;
(J) legal assistance or referrals for record expungement, forfeiture of property or assets, family law and custody matters, legal aid services (including other civil legal aid services), and relevant civil matters including housing and other issues;
(K) retrieving property or funds retained by the arresting agency or facility of incarceration, or retrieving property or funds obtained while incarcerated;
(L) transportation, including through provision of transit fare;
(M) familial counseling;
(N) problem-solving, in coordination with counsel where necessary, any difficulties in compliance with court-ordered supervision requirements, including restrictions on living with certain family members, contact with certain friends, bond requirements, location and residency restrictions, electronic monitoring compliance, court-ordered substance abuse, and other court-ordered requirements;
(O) communication needs, including providing a mobile phone, mobile phone service or access, or internet access;
(P) applying for State or Federal government benefits, where eligible, and assisting in locating free or reduced cost food and sustenance benefits;
(Q) life skills assistance;
(R) mentorship;
(S) medical and mental health services, and cognitive-behavioral programming;
(T) substance abuse treatment;
(U) reactivation, application for, and maintenance of professional or other licenses; and
(V) providing case management services, in connection with court-orders terms of release, or other local publicly supported social work case management.
(4) The term ``community leader'' means an individual who serves the community in a leadership role, including--
(A) a school official;
(B) a faith leader;
(C) a social service provider;
(D) a member of a neighborhood association;
(E) a public safety representative;
(F) an employee of an organization that provides reentry services;
(G) a member of a civic or volunteer group related to the provision of reentry services;
(H) a health care professional; or
(I) an employee of a State, local, or tribal government agency with expertise in the provision of reentry services.
(5) The term ``success rate'' means the rate of recidivism
(as measured by a subsequent conviction or return to prison), job placement, permanent housing placement, or completion of certification, trade, or other education program.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to carry out this section.
(2) Equitable distribution.--The Attorney General shall ensure that grants awarded under this section are equitably distributed among the geographical regions and between urban and rural populations, including Indian Tribes, consistent with the objective of reducing recidivism.
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR REENTRY SERVICES ASSISTANCE HOTLINES.
(a) Grants Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General is authorized to make grants to States and units of local government to operate reentry services assistance hotlines that are toll-free and operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
(2) Grant period.--A grant made under paragraph (1) shall be for a period of not more than 5 years.
(b) Hotline Requirements.--A grant recipient shall ensure, with respect to a hotline funded by a grant under subsection
(a), that--
(1) the hotline directs individuals to local reentry services (as such term is defined in section 2(e));
(2) any personally identifiable information that an individual provides to an agency of the State through the hotline is not directly or indirectly disclosed, without the consent of the individual, to any other agency or entity, or person;
(3) the staff members who operate the hotline are trained to be knowledgeable about--
(A) applicable Federal, State, and local reentry services; and
(B) the unique barriers to successful reentry into the community after a person has been convicted or incarcerated;
(4) the hotline is accessible to--
(A) individuals with limited English proficiency, where appropriate; and
(B) individuals with disabilities;
(5) the hotline has the capability to engage with individuals using text messages.
(c) Best Practices.--The Attorney General shall issue guidance to grant recipients on best practices for implementing the requirements of subsection (b).
(d) Preference.--The Attorney General shall give preference to applicants that demonstrate that they seek to employ individuals to operate the hotline who have been convicted of an offense, or have served a term of imprisonment and have completed any court-ordered supervision.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to carry out this section.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass) and the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Armstrong) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Ms. BASS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. BASS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to be the author of H.R. 8161, The One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act of 2020, and I urge my colleagues to support this important reentry measure and pass this bipartisan bill today.
I would like to take a moment to give a special thanks to Representative Guy Reschenthaler for his support.
H.R. 8161 will provide much-needed resources to especially communities with a disproportionate number of returning citizens. The idea of the bill is to provide grants to establish a centralized process to assist individuals returning to their communities after incarceration. It acts as a bridge by providing guidance to those who are leaving prison and jails on how to become productive members of their communities.
The concept of the bill is that funding would be provided to communities and neighborhoods to establish programs where people who are formerly incarcerated can run the program to essentially be a hand-
holding bridge for people who are coming out of facilities to help them reintegrate into the community.
Many things that we might take for granted, such as getting your ID, getting a driver's license, paying your back child support, learning how to use transportation or the latest technology are things that can lead to recidivism for people if they are not able to reintegrate.
If you don't have a driver's license and you come from communities like mine in Los Angeles, without a car, it is virtually impossible to have a job that would allow you to support yourself.
Establishing a one-stop center where formerly incarcerated people are involved in every aspect of the management and running of the center will allow people to be reintegrated.
This Congress, in a series of hearings, the Judiciary Committee heard the challenges faced by people who are recently released. Sadly, these stories have only gotten worse over the years because, as we have incarcerated more people, we have also passed laws that essentially do not allow them to function in the legal economy, and we shouldn't be surprised when people recidivate.
For example, in some prisons, we have training programs. In California, we had a training program to teach people who were incarcerated how to be barbers, but then we passed laws that said we wouldn't allow formerly incarcerated people to get a barber's license. So that type of reintegration bridge is what this bill addressed.
As we have passed policies that lead formerly incarcerated people outside of the legal economy, in these communities where there is a disproportionate number, you actually can see an increase in crime rate, because people will do whatever is needed to survive, and many times that means going back to illegal activity.
Each year, over 650,000 people are released from custody. Finding jobs, job training, housing, and placement, or even finding a hot meal can be challenging. For many, these barriers seem insurmountable. This is especially true for individuals who are returning to their communities and might have substance abuse, mental health disorders, or educational challenges.
We already know that many people who are incarcerated do not have a high school diploma. So a one-stop community center can help them get the resources and the training that they need so that they can become productive citizens.
During our hearings, we heard great examples of community leaders who are doing this work with minimal resources. Susan Burton, for example, the founder of A New Way of Life in Los Angeles, transports women as soon as they are released and provides them a safe place to live.
Criminal justice advocates Andrea James, Conan Harris, and Big John, from Los Angeles, have testified before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. They highlighted the importance of starting reentry services on the very first day someone enters into custody.
H.R. 8161 transforms obstacles into bridges. That is why having all reentry services in one place is so critical. Trained staff and peer mentors can guide returning individuals through the process of finding a safe place to sleep, apply for benefits, addressing family reunification, and starting the process of gaining employment.
Importantly, one-stop centers will be led by and employ formerly incarcerated individuals who can act as mentors. They can provide direct services to recently released individuals. This will give them the wherewithal they need to meet the challenges before them.
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H.R. 8161 provides support for smaller or rural communities that are not large enough to support a large one-stop operation. So it authorizes the Department of Justice to establish a 24/7 reentry service assistance hotline to direct recently released individuals to appropriate reentry services in their localities.
It is important to remember that the vast majority of the 2.3 million people who are currently in custody will be released. Without the right types of support, they are highly likely to recidivate. No reentering person, regardless of where they live, should be left wondering how to establish their life and find gainful employment.
Our bipartisan bill provides communities with desperately needed resources to assist returning citizens in their efforts to successfully rejoin their communities. Between the one-stop center and the 24/7 hotline, Congress is again providing leadership on reentry issues and, in turn, promoting public safety.
This is a bipartisan effort, and again, I want to thank my colleagues for their cosponsorship and for working with me on this issue.
For the foregoing reasons, I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this important bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, successful prisoner reentry into society is critical to reducing recidivism, improving public safety, and saving taxpayer dollars.
We have seen successful criminal justice reform programs, including reentry programs, work in both Republican- and Democratic-led States, including North Dakota. Successful reentry programs often utilize community-based groups like F5 in my home State.
Likewise, President Trump has been a leader in criminal justice reform. He and his administration have signed bipartisan legislation, such as the First Step Act, to make our Federal criminal justice system fair.
The First Step Act reauthorized programs that support State, local, and Tribal governments and nonprofit organizations in their work to reduce recidivism and to help people returning to society from incarceration.
H.R. 8161, the One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act of 2020, will build on the administration's strong criminal justice reform initiatives. This bill will provide grants for the purpose of creating a unified location for reentry services in the communities that serve former prisoners. These facilities will include job training, counseling, substance abuse treatment, education, and medical services, among others.
All of the data suggests that the most vulnerable time for someone being released from incarceration is within the first 30 days after release. I have seen this frustration firsthand as clients and offenders encounter unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles when trying to rebuild their lives. They must obtain housing, find a job, adhere to probation requirements, among many other tasks. That struggle is especially difficult when the individual suffers from substance abuse or, as Congresswoman Bass suggested, lacks even a high school education.
These one-stop centers will help break the cycle of addiction and recidivism. This bill complements the recidivism reduction programs funded by the Second Chance Act and reauthorized by President Trump.
I am pleased our colleagues recognize the administration's criminal justice successes and the bipartisan effort on these bills.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BASS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).
Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, for the roughly 10 million people who, each year, reenter communities from jail or prison, the consequences of a criminal sentence can last a lifetime, creating barriers to accessing safe housing, employment, and even something as basic as a government ID.
As the mayor of Providence, I assembled a reentry council to bring together community leaders, including religious leaders, employers, and housing professionals, to help people returning to their communities with the goal of giving people a chance to fully reenter society after they have completed their sentence.
During my time as mayor, I saw how providing community-based reentry services helps to ensure that justice-involved individuals have the support they need for smooth transition back into society.
When formerly incarcerated people have access to their basic needs being met, like food assistance and employment opportunities, it can significantly reduce the likelihood they will commit a new offense and, as a result, make our communities safer. It gives returning citizens the ability to provide for themselves, for their families, and to be productive members of their communities.
That is why I am proud to support H.R. 8161, the One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act, which provides 5-year grants to community-based organizations and other eligible entities to create community reentry centers.
The One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act incentivizes community-based solutions to overcoming barriers to housing, education, employment, and healthcare. It seeks to end the revolving door of recidivism. It promotes healing by encouraging treatment and family counseling. It helps people navigate life after prison and successfully reenter their communities. It makes our communities safer and gives people a fair shot at a second chance, a chance at redemption, and a chance at success.
Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairwoman Bass for her extraordinary leadership on H.R. 8161, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this excellent legislation.
Mr. ARMSTRONG. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I just want to take this opportunity to say this is a great bill and there are great people in government at the State, Federal, and local level who really do care and help to try and do these things, and we have come a long way in the last 5 to 10 years on a lot of these issues.
But I think it is really important to recognize that, oftentimes, the best people in organizations to help people reenter into society are often former felons themselves who have gone through these processes and have started community-based organizations and have continued to work with new people coming out of prison.
While we have to treat criminal justice and we have to treat serious offenses in the manner that is deserving of what they are, we also believe in rehabilitation; and what we do with that, particularly more than anything else, is a return on investment because, as we can get these people through this process and keep them out of the revolving door that can sometimes occur in the criminal justice system, we save people's lives, we save families, and we actually save taxpayer money.
This is a great bill, and I appreciate everybody's work on it.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. BASS. Madam Speaker, the overwhelming majority of incarcerated individuals are released from jail or prison and returned to their communities. This bill would take meaningful steps to make the reentry process more efficient and, ultimately, more successful.
Along with the 24/7 reentry hotline, community-funded reentry programs, like the services included in this bill, will reduce recidivism and improve overall community safety. These individuals will be able to successfully rejoin and contribute to their families and communities. That is why this bill is so important.
In our Nation, we used to believe that, if you committed a crime and you served your time in prison, you were able to reenter society. This bill is a return to that time period.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. I thank my colleague, Representative Armstrong, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary, Committee, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8161, the ``One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act of 2020,'' which creates a new grant program that will provide money to States, Tribes, local governments, and community-based non-profits to create one-stop reentry centers to assist people who were recently released from jail or prison.
The bill would also create a grant program for a toll-free hotline for returning individuals to access reentry services.
As one who has worked on community reentry and recidivism reduction for most of tenure on this Committee, I am proud to join Crime Subcommittee Chair Karen Bass (D-CA) as a cosponsor of this legislation.
There are currently over 2.1 million people incarcerated in local, state, and federal correctional facilities, a number that represents a more than 500 percent increase in the incarcerated population over the last 40 years.
Over 95 percent of people currently incarcerated will eventually be released back to their communities.
In fact, approximately 600,000 people are released from custody every year and at the end of 2016, an estimated 4.5 million adults were under community supervision, which includes probation or parole.
Reentry services are essential for this population, to ensure that these individuals transition smoothly out of jail and prison and to keep recidivism to a minimum.
The recidivism rates for individuals leaving prisons remain high, and a large number of those released from prison will ultimately find themselves back in the criminal legal system.
A 2018 study found that 83 percent of people released from prisons in 2005 were arrested at least once during the nine years following their release, and of those released from state prisons, 44 percent were arrested at least once in the year immediately following their release.
Lack of access to resources upon release leads to a cycle of rearrest and reincarceration that some scholars call the ``revolving door'' to prison.
This cycle of recidivism has tremendous financial consequences--the United States spends over $80 billion dollars a year on incarceration--
not to mention the human toll it takes on families and communities.
The cycle of release, rearrest, and reincarceration, also costs state and local communities over $100 million in policing and judicial administration costs.
While some returning individuals have a release plan, many people are released from custody with only their personal property, little money, and no place to go.
The result of not having a reentry plan can be ruinous.
In the last decade, policymakers have begun to measure the effects of reentry on returning individuals, their families, and their communities.
Studies show that most people enter the prison system with low levels of education, limited work experience, substance abuse issues, and mental health infirmities, and that these same issues are still present when a person is released from prison.
Without appropriate reentry services to assist them, many returning citizens find themselves back in the criminal justice system.
H.R. 8161 provides grants to community-based organizations for the creation of one-stop reentry centers, which would combine the provision of various reentry services in one location, thus making it easier for returning citizens to access them.
The one-stop shop model that this legislation promotes would aim to provide complete reentry services to address the critical elements of the reentry process that promote long-term reentry success.
The one-stop centers would include support personnel, who themselves are formerly incarcerated individuals, to provide direct support for recently released individuals.
In addition, where reentry services may not logistically be able to be placed in a single geographic location, this legislation authorizes the Attorney General to fund States and local jurisdictions to establish 24/7 reentry service assistance hotlines that direct recently released individuals to appropriate reentry resources.
I urge all Members to join me in voting for H.R. 8161, the ``One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act of 2020.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8161, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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