Bush Gives Prisoners Second Chance to Better Life

Source: Christian Post

President Bush signed the Second Chance Act Wednesday to fund programs that can help inmates become productive citizens when they come out of prison.

The legislation, which was passed unanimously in the Senate, aims to reduce recidivism and increase public safety. It authorizes $362 million to improve the way U.S. prisons prepare inmates when they reenter society.

"These grants allow churches and community groups to recruit, train and match returning inmates with mentors," said Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship. "Prison Fellowship knows – from 30 years of outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families – that pairing returning inmates with loving mentors from local churches is the best way to help them stay on the straight and narrow."

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The Second Chance Act encourages community and faith-based organizations to deliver mentoring and transitional services; connects former inmates to mental health and substance abuse treatment programs; expands job training and placement services; and facilitates transitional housing and case management services.


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Read more: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080410/31898_Bush_Gives_Prisoners_Second_Chance_to_Better_Life.htm

I hope that, like congressional pay raises, there's a provision that says only future presidents can take advantage of this program.

But we don't really need to worry about helping them get stabilised post-release. Right? Right?

"Second Chance", hell, he's on chance number 7,667.

:evilgrin:

Just wondering.

innocent Iraqis his war crime either killed, orphaned, tortured, or displaced

Not one chance to the tens of thousands troops either dead or maimed for life because he and the dicktatortot LIED for O i L either

:mad:

He spent 5 minutes reading a prepared speech and he signed a piece of paper. And now all the credit goes to him?

and passed it unanimously.

:eyes:

at the same time. Is that the best Bush can do? With over 2 1/2 Million people behind bars, many millions more on parole or probation, the job market and economy falling dangerously, this feable attempt to do something remotely good, Bush has fallen well short as usual. That money will go to big firms that will contract the work out to smaller ones for pennies on the dollar...

For God's Sakes Bush, don't touch anything else...

faith based are almost always christian groups that get funds it is very suspect.

I spent a fair amount of time in the Federal system. I'm not a holy roller by any means.

That said, I participated in intensive groups like Kairos; I knew lots of people who were helped by faith-based programs; I respected my friends who were devoted in their Black Muslim studies . . .

After the trauma of violent arrest; trial (The United States of America vs You); imprisonment; separation; spouse and family slipping away; living under the boots of hacks and vicious, incompetent prison staff; the continuing love and acceptance of these religion-based volunteers is important. They contribute more than you could ever know. I respect Chuck Colson, believe it or not. He got out, and didn't forget those left behind.

When you've been disintegrated in every way, it's good to have someone to help you re-integrate.

..."living under the boots of hacks and vicious, incompetent prison staff..."

And how did it get that way? Movie portrayals like "Cool Hand Luke" aside, back in the 60's before prisons became private, for profit entities they were run by the state (or Fed for the BIG ones), more closely regulated and the religion-based volunteers would work as an advocate for the prisoners within the system. My family and neighbors were very involved in the religion-based visitations of those imprisoned in the penitentiary, the mental health facilities and the "boys school" while I was growing up. Advocating for their humane and just treatment was their first calling, befriending was second and that included teaching to readin' writin' and 'rithmetic - that was how they shared their "love and acceptance".

Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship Ministries strikes me as a scam, pure and simple, and they were the force behind this bill.

http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=68

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According to the Virginian-Pilot, PFM's InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI - website) was launched in Texas in 1997 "with the goal of reducing recidivism through acceptance of 'the life-transforming power of Jesus Christ.'" According to the IFI website, the initiative "is a revolutionary, Christ-centered, Bible-based prison program supporting prison inmates through their spiritual and moral transformation beginning while incarcerated and continuing after release."

George W. Bush, then a governor busy executing death row prisoners at an unprecedented clip, "agreed to provide a prison, guards and basic operating services at taxpayer expense. The ministry promised to pay for all prisoner programs and religious training."

snip>

While Colson's commitment to prisoners and their families is certainly admirable, and while some believe PFM provides a beacon of light in the dark and hopeless world of prisons, there are numerous critics of Colson's faith-based approach.

Colson's faith-based projects -- Christian-centered as they are -- do not appear interested in servicing participants that are either uninterested in religion or affiliated with other religions. In a June 2002 Wall Street Journal column, Colson specifically took aim at Muslims in prison, especially those who made jailhouse conversions to Islam. Colson claimed that he had witnessed a "growing Muslim presence" in prisons and these "alienated, disenfranchised people are prime targets for radical Islamists who preach a religion of violence, of overcoming oppression by jihad."

Colson also claimed that al-Qaeda training manuals "specifically identify America's prisoners as candidates for conversion because they may be 'disenchanted with their country's policies'." Colson also pointed out "terrorism experts fear these angry young recruits will become the next wave of terrorists. As U.S. citizens, they will combine a desire for 'payback' with an ability to blend easily into American culture."

The best way to prevent conversions to radical Islam would be for prison officials to "deny radical imams access to inmates," Colson argued.

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http://slate.msn.com/id/2086617/

Faith-Based Fudging
How a Bush-promoted Christian prison program fakes success by massaging data.

The White House, the Wall Street Journal, and Christian conservatives have been crowing since June over news that President George W. Bush's favorite faith-based initiative is a smashing success.

When he was governor of Texas, Bush invited Charles Colson's Prison Fellowship to start InnerChange Freedom Initiative, a Bible-centered prison-within-a-prison where inmates undergo vigorous evangelizing, prayer sessions, and intensive counseling*. Now comes a study from the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society reporting that InnerChange graduates have been rearrested and reimprisoned at dramatically lower rates than a matched control group.

For those who know how hard it is to reduce recidivism, the reported results were impressive. Colson celebrated the report by visiting the White House for a photo op with the president. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay issued a triumphal press release. The Journal smacked critics of faith-based programs for "turning a blind eye to science" by opposing InnerChange. The report heartened officials in the four states that have InnerChange programs and buttressed President Bush's plan to introduce the Christian program in federal prisons.

You don't have to believe in faith-healing to think that an intensive 16-month program, with post-release follow-up, run by deeply caring people might be the occasion for some inmates to turn their lives around. The report seemed to present liberal secularists with an unpleasant choice: Would you rather have people "saved" by Colson, or would you rather have them commit more crimes and go back to prison?

But when you look carefully at the Penn study, it's clear that the program didn't work. The InnerChange participants did somewhat worse than the controls: They were slightly more likely to be rearrested and noticeably more likely (24 percent versus 20 percent) to be reimprisoned. If faith is, as Paul told the Hebrews, the evidence of things not seen, then InnerChange is an opportunity to cultivate faith; we certainly haven't seen any results.

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edit for spelling...

even with all that faith-based-for-profit loving training. They will be permanent targets for airlines to service industries, and as said by other posters here, its just another means of funnelling money to anyone but the actual people in need.

Correct as to Bush should just not touch anything else.
Weak attempt to put something "humanitarian-like" in his stupid fucking library.

Can't this finally be over with Bush..??? pleeease

Uhm...

Most of these criminals were ALREADY chirstian when the committed their crimes.

What's the point?

for right leaning disgused propaganda and agenda marching orders.