By Shannon Day, Senior Grants Development Consultant
The criminal justice process is a series of interconnected phases, each with its own unique challenges. In this series, we will break down that process piece by piece. We are starting at the end and working backward, because the ultimate goal for everyone in the field is sustainable crime reduction, which is reached through education, reentry, and recidivism prevention.
At the federal level, there are numerous funding opportunities for state, local, and tribal correctional institutions, nonprofit organizations, and educational entities working towards successful reentry initiatives. The primary source of funding is through the Department of Justice (DOJ), specifically its Second Chance Act suite of grant programs.
The Second Chance Act, first signed into law in 2008 and reauthorized in 2018, mandates grant funding for programs that improve the reentry process. Since 2009, grants have been administered through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) for adult initiatives and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) for youth initiatives.
While the overarching aim of the Second Chance Act remains unchanged, individual grant programs may vary from year to year. In 2026 (Federal Fiscal Year 2025), grant programs through BJA include:
- Community-based Reentry provides funding for nonprofit organizations and tribal governments to provide comprehensive reentry services to individuals who have been incarcerated.
- Improving Reentry Education & Employment Outcomes provides funding for nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and state, local, and tribal governments to expand education and employment programs that serve individuals during incarceration and throughout their period of reentry into the community.
- Pay for Success provides funding for state, local, and tribal governments to enter into or convert to performance- and outcomes-based contracts for reentry services.
- Family-based Substance Use Disorder Treatment provides funding for nonprofit organizations and state, local, and tribal governments to deliver treatment and recovery support services for parents with substance use disorder (SUD) who have minor children or are pregnant, and are under correctional control in a facility or community-based setting.
- Smart Reentry Demonstration provides funding for state, local, and tribal governments to implement comprehensive, collaborative reentry strategies to increase the likelihood of successful reentry for adults leaving prison, jail, or supervision, and establish or expand a program or service to reduce recidivism.
- Strengthening Community Supervision Agency Operations provides funding for state, local, and tribal community supervision agencies to develop more effective probation and parole programs and improve supervision outcomes by strengthening operations to prevent recidivism and reduce violent crime.
In 2026 (Federal Fiscal Year 2025), grant programs through OJJDP include:
- Youth Reentry provides funding for states, local, and tribal governments in partnership with federal corrections and supervision agencies, service providers, and community-based organizations to provide comprehensive reentry services for moderate- to high-risk youth before, during, and after release from confinement, and support transitional services to assist youth to reenter the community successfully.
- Addressing the Needs of Incarcerated Parents and Their Minor Children provides funding for state, local, and tribal governments to develop or expand programs in juvenile and adult detention or correctional facilities to respond to the needs of incarcerated parents and their children to reduce the likelihood of antisocial behaviors, future involvement in the juvenile justice system, and recidivism; and support responsible parenting that leads to healthy child development, resiliency, and improved interactions among incarcerated parents and their minor children, family, and community members.
Second Chance Act programs are an excellent starting point for grant research, but they are not the only source. Diversifying your search beyond these programs will uncover additional resources to support successful reintegration and recidivism reduction. There may be other opportunities through the DOJ, like the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Site-based Program (COSSUP), which can help provide treatment and recovery support services for individuals with SUD in correctional settings and upon reentry.
Beyond the DOJ, other federal agencies provide grant funding opportunities. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program can help state correctional institutions provide education, training, and healthcare resources for inmates in rural hubs and end-user sites and the Department of Labor (DOL) Reentry Employment in Trades, Manufacturing, Apprenticeship & Training (RESTART) supports the advancement of workforce readiness skills and the attainment of employment for youth, young adult, and adult ex-offenders.
Reintegration is a collaborative, long-term endeavor. Beyond simply reducing recidivism, the objective is to empower individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to mentor others and break the cycle of incarceration at its source.
In our next installment, we will move inside the courthouse to examine funding opportunities available to prosecutors, defense counsel, and the courts.