U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs
Second Chance Act Reentry Initiative
Key facts
- Open now
- 2 grants
- Type of help
- Cooperative agreement (a grant with close agency involvement), project grant
- Typical award
- In each year's official notice: BJA FY 2026 Second Chance Act Community-based Reentry Program
Open now
- BJA FY 2026 Second Chance Act Community-based Reentry Program · Due Oct 30, 2026 · 23 days left
- OJJDP FY 2026 Second Chance Act Youth Reentry Program · Due Nov 2, 2026 · 26 days left
What it pays for
Goal: Support reentry from incarceration and enhance public safety.
Supports state, local, and tribal governments and non-profit organizations to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for people returning from state and federal prisons, local jails, and juvenile facilities.
Promote public safety by providing a variety of services to help ensure that the transition individuals make from prison and jail to the community is successful.
Provide transitional services to help youth and adults reintegrate into the community; implement programs to improve vocational education and/or career training in correctional settings and upon reentry; implement substance use treatment programs in correctional settings and/or as an alternative to incarceration; support connections to housing; and improve probation and parole to reduce recidivism.
How applications are judged
In each year's official notice: BJA FY 2026 Second Chance Act Community-based Reentry Program
Match
None required (federal program listing).
Who in Tennessee has won this program
28 awards to Tennessee groups since 2017. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rescue 180, Inc. | Jefferson City, Jefferson County | $1.1M | 2024 |
| Shelby County Government | Memphis, Shelby County | $999K | 2025 |
| Project Return Inc | Nashville, Davidson County | $900K | 2023 |
| Persevere | Memphis, Shelby County | $900K | 2023 |
| Knoxville Leadership Foundation | Knoxville, Knox County | $900K | 2024 |
| County of Rutherford | Murfreesboro, Rutherford County | $900K | 2023 |
| Helen Ross Mcnabb Center, Inc. | Knoxville, Knox County | $877K | 2022 |
| County of Hamilton | Chattanooga, Hamilton County | $844K | 2025 |
| Helen Ross Mcnabb Center, Inc. | Knoxville, Knox County | $825K | 2025 |
| Persevere | Memphis, Shelby County | $750K | 2023 |
| Westcare Tennessee, Inc. | Dandridge, Cocke County | $750K | 2023 |
| Hope Works, Inc. | Memphis, Shelby County | $750K | 2024 |
Source: USAspending.gov.
Tennessee groups that got this money through Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration
This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. In Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration passes it on: watch that agency for applications, not the federal agency. 7 pass-through grants on file. Largest shown:
| Past winner | Where | Through | Amount | Fiscal year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, Tennessee | Chattanooga, Hamilton County | Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs | $131K spent that year | 2025 |
| Staples Nina | Memphis, Shelby County | Hope Works, Inc. | $53K | 2023 |
| Grundy County, Tennessee | Altamont, Grundy County | Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration | $34K spent that year | 2024 |
| State of Tennessee | Nashville | Rutherford County | $28K spent that year | 2025 |
| State of Tennessee | Nashville | Hamilton County | $26K spent that year | 2025 |
| Cedar Recovery of Middle Tennessee, LLC | Mount Juliet | Rescue 180, Inc. | $11K | 2024 |
| State of Tennessee | Nashville | Shelby County Office of Reentry | $10K spent that year | 2025 |
Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).