In its budget proposal for the year starting October 1, the White House is seeking funds for a “Prevention and Reentry Coordinator” in each of the nation’s 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices. The budget proposal sent to Congress today also seeks to expand pre-trial diversion programs, such as reentry and drug courts, which the White House says would “ensure better and more just outcomes for low-level offenders who deserve a pre-incarceration
second chance.” The budget includes $97 million to expand training and oversight for local law enforcement, increase the use of body-worn cameras by police officers, provide “additional opportunities for police department reform,” and experiment with better “community and law enforcement engagement in 10 pilot sites.”
The President is asking Congress for $110 million for prisoner-reentry programs run by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to increase mental health staff, expand sex offender treatment programs, and provide cognitive behavioral treatment and additional residential reentry center beds. The budget provides $5 million to support a new broader reentry program that reaches out to offenders' children and families, and $20 million for innovative reentry programs in BOP facilities. In addition, the White House would nearly double the investment in the Second Chance Act Grant program to reduce recidivism by helping former inmates rejoin society successfully.