Second Chance Month®: Breaking Barriers
April is Second Chance Month®, a time to raise awareness of the many barriers to reintegration after prison in an effort to create change. This celebration is recognized nationally and by various organizations.
The United States Senate once again recognized April as Second Chance Month this year.
History of Second Chance Month
Prison Fellowship®, a Christian organization that supports criminal justice reform and the rehabilitation of prisoners, started Second Chance Month to advocate for the reduction of legal barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals and to fight the stigma that can come with incarceration. This initial advocacy campaign was very successful, with the U.S. Senate unanimously approving a resolution to make April 2017 “Second Chance Month.”
Since then, Prison Fellowship and partners have held many policy briefings and coordinated petitions as well as created social media and press campaigns. Prison Fellowship also has mobilized churches across the nation to promote second chances.
In 2024, the White House officially recognized April as Second Chance Month for the seventh consecutive year. The U.S. Senate also recognized the month, in addition to 23 states and D.C. That year, Prison Fellowship’s partners totaled 1,083, made up of various businesses, organizations, and churches. 14,992 letters were sent to Congress advocating for second chances, and over 1.1 million impressions were recorded on Prison Fellowship’s social media posts for Second Chance Month.
The Barriers
In the United States, almost 1 in 3 adults have a criminal record. Learn about some of the long-term consequences that individuals with a criminal history face and the progress that has been made to extend second chances to them.
Serving on a Jury
Many Americans are disqualified from serving on a jury due to their conviction history, which has also led to less diversity in our juries. In some states, even certain misdemeanors can bar people from serving on juries.
Multiple states in recent years have made steps to open up jury duty to individuals with felony convictions, including Florida, Connecticut, and Louisiana.
Voting
In the vast majority of states (with the exception of Maine, Vermont, and the U.S. capitol), incarceration for a felony offense impacts the right to vote. In 23 states, people who are currently incarcerated for a felony cannot vote but regain voting access after release. In 25 states, people who have been convicted of a felony lose voting access for some length of time after incarceration or forever.
There has been an overall trend toward restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions in recent years. For instance, in 2024, Nebraska reinstated the right to vote for individuals after they are released and have finished parole. Also, in 2023, Minnesota and New Mexico reinstated the right for vote for individuals on parole.
Employment
Formerly incarcerated people face unemployment at almost five times the rate of the general population in the U.S. The unemployment rate is especially high for people who were recently released—over 30% of people released within approximately the past 2 years were unemployed, according to a survey. Social stigma contributes to this high unemployment rate, as it has been found that a criminal record decreases callback rates from an employer by 50%.
Honest Jobs provides an online job board for formerly incarcerated individuals to find fair chance employers who are open to hiring individuals with a record. To help make employers feel more comfortable hiring workers with a criminal history, some government organizations provide bond insurance as well as tax incentives. CareerOneStop, a government website, offers informational resources for people searching for stable employment after prison.
In addition to social stigma, occupational licensing barriers exist and vary across states, which can ban individuals with certain offenses from specific occupational fields. There has been a trend in eliminating the automatic bans in favor of discretionary measures. Also, certain individuals in each state can legally clear their criminal record, and multiple states now have automatic expungement.
Housing
Housing is a clear issue among formerly incarcerated individuals with research showing they are nearly ten times more likely than the general population to be homeless. Homelessness is especially common among people who have recently been released. Both public and private housing can be difficult to obtain with a criminal record. Without proper housing, it can be nearly impossible to rebuild one’s life.
Fortunately, there are many resources out there to help incarcerated individuals with housing. One way to search for these resources is using the Resource Center from Honest Jobs. The website has a national database with more than 200,000 free and low-cost programs to help with housing, food, transportation, and more.
What You Can Do
Although much progress has been made to help individuals reintegrate into society after prison, there is still much work to do. Prison Fellowship’s goal with Second Chance Month is two-fold—changing policies and changing perceptions. It is important to advocate for unnecessary legal barriers to be removed, but it is equally important to help change people’s perspectives on having a criminal record.
On the legal side, you can send Congress a letter advocating for the removal of unnecessary legal barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals. On a personal note, you can continue to research the barriers and share with others around you what you learn. You can also post on social media to spread awareness.
See Prison Fellowship for other ways to get involved and promote the restoration of lives.
About Us
Blackstone Career Institute is a distance education career training school. We offer a variety of online courses to the general population. We also offer several paralegal correspondence courses for incarcerated individuals and publish blog articles about incarcerated education and the broader incarcerated community.
