A Look Back at the 2024 Second Chance Act Conference

In December 2024, 700 reentry leaders, experts, and Second Chance Act (SCA) grantees from across the country gathered in Philadelphia for the 2024 Second Chance Act Conference: Building Beyond Recidivism. The event offered attendees the opportunity to celebrate 15 years of the Second Chance Act as they reflected on the incredible progress that has been made, learned and shared best practices, and discussed new strategies for supporting successful reentry.

The conference was sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the Office of Justice Programs within the U.S. Department of Justice, and hosted by the National Reentry Resource Center, The Council of State Governments Justice Center, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities’ Center for Health and Justice, the Latino Coalition for Community Leadership, and Impact Justice.

Conference Highlights

The conference was a great way to close out 2024 and plan ahead for reentry successes in 2025. Here are some key takeaways from gathering:  

Engaging Panels and Workshops:

• Reentry Simulation—an interactive experience designed to demonstrate one month in the life of someone who has just been released from prison as they try to navigate “life on the outside.” This experience highlighted the many challenges of people returning to communities following incarceration, including complying with the terms of probation, finding a job, attending treatment, managing family responsibilities, paying bills, and obtaining food and transportation.

• Successful Reentry: Best Practices for Case Planning, Engagement, and Retention—a panel discussion on how to effectively assess needs and set goals for individualized reentry planning. Experts shared practical tools and approaches to create person-centered case plans that foster strong client relationships, promote active participation, and improve long-term outcomes, as well as techniques for establishing trust, setting achievable goals, and maintaining client motivation during reentry.
• A Fair Chance to Work: Policies that Reduce Barriers to Employment for People with Criminal Records—a workshop on the legal challenges people with criminal records face when seeking employment and some of the policies that aim to mitigate these issues, including “ban the box” laws, fair hiring practices, and record expungement policies. Discussion focused on how to advance reforms that can support the reintegration of criminal-justice-involved people into the workplace.
• Networking & Connections: Attendees from across the country connected and collaborated on innovative solutions to support people who are reentering communities.

Reentry 2030 and the State Reentry Coordinators College

Reentry 2030 state teams and State Reentry Coordinators College members came together for the first time in person to build upon the foundational element of both initiatives: peer-to-peer connections. They discussed their jurisdictions' current reentry efforts and plans for the future, focusing on strategies to scale effective and innovative reentry models statewide by bringing together diverse stakeholders, creating buy-in across government agencies, and ensuring accountability through data collection. More than 50 people attended from these initiatives, representing 17 states.

Zero Returns to Homelessness

Sites participating in the first-ever Zero Returns to Homelessness technical assistance (TA) and peer learning cohort met with their TA coaches to begin developing their vision, mission, and goals. The cohort also focused on thinking through stakeholder engagement, determining metrics of success, identifying key partners and sustainable funding resources, and developing tangible steps for implementation.

Creative Expressions of Reentry: Art and Storytelling

Exhibition by Mural Arts Philadelphia

An interactive art exhibition curated by Mural Arts Philadelphia was on display throughout the duration of the conference. The exhibition, which featured artwork by people who were incarcerated or formerly incarcerated, included works that conveyed personal experiences of incarceration and reentry.

Poetry Performance and Fireside Chat with Ian Manuel

Author/Activist Ian Manuel, who was sentenced to life in prison at age 13 and was ultimately released due to Bryan Stevenson's legal efforts, performed his moving poetry interspersed with a fireside chat. Ian discussed the trauma of incarceration, including the 18 consecutive years he spent in solitary confinement, as well as his journey becoming a poet, his reentry experience, and the importance of keeping hope alive and never giving up.

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