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U.S. Congressmen Speak Today at Policy Forum on Prisoner Re-Entry
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH), and Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) urge support for re-entry research, programs, and legislation "Despite dramatic growth in corrections spending, approximately 2 out of every 3 people released from prison are re-arrested within 3 years of their release. This is a recidivism rate that has remained unchanged over the past 30 years. These rates are simply unacceptable — and they represent our failure to realize that preparing prisoners for re-entry is a major public safety issue," stated Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), one of the featured speakers at the event. Representative Rob Portman (R-OH) and Representative Danny Davis (D-IL), used the forum to announce their plan to reintroduce the Second Chance Act in the House. Rep. Portman told the audience of policymakers and practitioners who have developed and supported innovative re-entry research, programs, and legislation around the country that "the real solutions to this problem are in your innovations at the state and local level. The federal government can and should provide leadership to stimulate that locally-based action." "In the communities with the highest concentrations of returning prisoners, there is the will to do a better job helping people safely and successfully re-enter, but not the way," Rep. Davis, cosponsor of the Second Chance Act, stated. "Knowing that state budgets have been stretched to the limit, we hope that the grants to state and local entities authorized by the Second Chance Act provide that way. People released from prison can't reintegrate without resources. Money is a necessary investment to assist ex-offenders to become positive, productive, and self-sufficient contributing members of society." New York State Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D-NY), applauded the bipartisan leadership coming from these members of Congress. "State legislatures are trying to find ways to curb the growth of spending on corrections, while increasing public safety. We need Congress' help to begin to make inroads in unacceptably high recidivism rates across the country." Assemblyman Aubry, along with State Senator Eric Bogue (R-SD), chaired the Re-Entry Policy Council, which just issued a landmark report. Bogue remarked, "the recommendations in the 650-page report reflect an extraordinary consensus not just among Republicans and Democrats, but among criminal justice, health, housing, and workforce development professionals about how we can tackle a problem that many thought was hopelessly complex." The Re-Entry Policy Council's recently released report, which the Council of State Governments coordinated with the Urban Institute and nine other national organizations, was funded in part by three cabinet agencies. Its release has been preceded over the past three years by a series of reports and studies issued by the Urban Institute calling attention to the growing numbers of people released from prison and jail each year: more than 600,000 from state and federal prisons and more than 7 million people from local jails. Re-Entry Policy Council Member Reginald A. Wilkinson, Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, and former president of both the American Correctional Association and the Association of State Correctional Administrators, also addressed the group. Robert Reischauer, president of Urban Institute, introduced the speakers. ### The Council of State Governments is the nation's only organization serving every elected and appointed official in all three branches of every state government. CSG has championed excellence in state government since 1933 by advocating multi-state shared problem solving and states' rights, by tracking national conditions, trends, and innovations, and through nonpartisan, groundbreaking leadership training and support. |
THE COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS 
State News Trivia
In the United States, 84.2 percent of citizens were covered by health insurance in 2006, according to the 2008 Book of the States, published by The Council of State Governments. Which state has the highest percentage of residents covered by health insurance? Which state had the lowest percentage?
States Address Dropout Problems
Stateline Midwest examines policy strategies in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio to address those states' high school dropout problems.
CSG/ERC Supports Increases in LIHEAP
In the face of rising energy prices, which put an increased burden on low-income families throughout the U.S., The Council of State Governments/Eastern Regional Conference is supporting increased funding for low-income heating assistance program.
affecting state governments.
