WASHINGTON, Iowa, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- President George W Bush called for $300 million to help integrate convicts back into U.S. society.
Calling prisoners "another group of Americans in need of help" Bush said in his State of the Union address Tuesday that some 600,000 inmates will be released from jail this year.
"America is the land of the second chance and when the gates of the prison
open, the path ahead should lead to a better life," he said, in a return to the "compassionate conservatism" he pledged in his election campaign three years ago.
He called for a Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative to expand job training and placement services, to provide transitional housing, and to help newly released prisoners get mentoring, including from faith-based groups.
"We know from long experience that if they can't find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit more crimes and return to prison," Bush added.
