Bush signs prisoners' Second Chance act

WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush Wednesday signed the Second Chance Act, saying the legislation will help prisoners "reclaim their lives."

The act authorizes the administration's Prison Re-entry Program, which expands job training and placement services, to help ex-prisoners find transitional housing. It also provides mentoring, including help from faith-based groups, Bush said during the signing ceremony.

"Our government has a responsibility to help prisoners to return as contributing members of their community," Bush said.

Most of the assistance provided for in the legislation happens in faith-based communities and community-based groups, he said.

"The bill I'm signing today," Bush said, "will build on work to help prisoners reclaim their lives. In other words, it basically says: 'We're standing with you, not against you.'"

During the past three years, congressional appropriations supported a series of pilot programs in 20 states, Bush said.

In the first two years of the program, more than 12,800 offenders enrolled in the prisoner re-entry program. Of that total, 18 percent were arrested within a year, Bush said, while more 7,900 were placed in jobs.