V.I. Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea has joined 35 other attorneys general in urging Congress to pass the Workforce Reentry Act, a federal bill intended to stabilize funding for programs that help formerly incarcerated individuals reenter the workforce, the Justice Department announced in a press release.
The request was detailed in a letter signed by attorneys general across the country, according to the press release.
The measure, H.R. 1633, would make permanent a series of grant programs that provide job training, skills development and other resources to people leaving prison. Supporters say the legislation would reduce recidivism, lower incarceration costs and improve public safety, the press release stated.
“Supporting individuals as they return to our communities isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes every one of us safer,” Rhea stated in the release. “The Workforce Reentry Act provides the stable funding and proven programs needed to reduce recidivism, lower taxpayer costs, and give people the tools to rebuild their lives.”
The bipartisan coalition’s letter was led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, District of Columbia Attorney General David Schwalb and Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, the release stated.
Federal data cited in the release shows the national recidivism rate is about 68 percent within three years of release and 83 percent within nine years. The DOJ noted that research links those rates to lack of employment and reentry support, it stated.
Attorneys general from more than 30 states and territories joined the letter, including California, New York, Michigan, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, it stated.
