Presidential Document2022-07276
Second Chance Month, 2022
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 5, 2022
Signed
March 31, 2022
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19593-19594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07276]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 5, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 19593]]
Proclamation 10362 of March 31, 2022
Second Chance Month, 2022
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
April marks Second Chance Month, when we reaffirm the
importance of helping people who were formerly
incarcerated reenter society. America is a Nation of
second chances, and it is critical that our criminal
and juvenile justice systems provide meaningful
opportunities for rehabilitation and redemption. It is
also vital that we address both the root causes of
crime and the underlying needs of returning citizens
using resources devoted to prevention, diversion,
reentry, trauma-informed care, culturally-specific
services, and social support. By supporting people who
are committed to rectifying their mistakes, redefining
themselves, and making meaningful contributions to
society, we help reduce recidivism and build safer
communities.
Every year, over 640,000 people are released from State
and Federal prisons. More than 70 million Americans
have a criminal record that creates significant
barriers to employment, economic stability, and
successful reentry into society. Thousands of legal and
regulatory restrictions prevent these individuals from
accessing employment, housing, voting, education,
business licensing, and other basic opportunities.
Because of these barriers, nearly 75 percent of people
who were formerly incarcerated are still unemployed a
year after being released.
We must rethink the existing criminal justice system
and whom we send to prison and for how long; how
unaddressed trauma and abuse create pipelines to
incarceration; how people are treated while
incarcerated; how prepared they are to reenter society
once they have served their time; and how the racial
inequities that lead to disproportionate numbers of
incarcerated people of color and other underserved
groups.
My Administration recognizes that making the criminal
and juvenile justice systems more equitable, just, and
effective requires a holistic approach. It requires
eliminating exceedingly long sentences and mandatory
minimums that keep people incarcerated longer than they
should be. It requires quality job training and
educational opportunities during incarceration. It
requires providing formerly incarcerated individuals
with opportunities to enter the workforce, reunite with
their families, find stable and safe homes, and access
health care. It requires expunging and sealing certain
criminal records so that people's futures are not
defined by their past.
That is why my Administration is working across Federal
agencies to eliminate barriers to reentry. We are
expanding avenues for employment, housing, education,
health services, civic engagement, and other benefits.
Last fall, the Department of Justice convened the
Reentry Coordination Council in collaboration with the
Departments of Housing and Urban Development,
Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services,
Veterans Affairs, and Labor. I am confident that our
collective efforts will help make our communities safer
and stronger by reducing crime, recidivism, mass
incarceration, and elements of the justice system that
foster harmful disparate impacts on people of color and
other historically disadvantaged communities.
But despite our progress, much more work remains. Our
Federal, State, local, territorial, and Tribal
governments, private employers, philanthropies,
[[Page 19594]]
and community leaders play a significant role in
preparing individuals returning to our communities for
success. Together, let us recommit to empower Americans
who have paid their debt to society and to provide them
with a second chance to participate, contribute, and
succeed.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2022 as
Second Chance Month. I call upon all government
officials, educators, volunteers, and all the people of
the United States to observe the month with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
sixth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2022-07276
Filed 4-4-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 5, 2022.
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