If society hopes to maintain that welcome drop in crime, whatever its causes, it must now confront the fact that mass imprisonment creates a huge population of ex-convicts. About 600,000 hit the streets each year with no skills, no place to live and few family connections. These former offenders are almost always ruled out of consideration for decent jobs and are further marginalized by laws that bar them from getting student loans or driver's licenses, from voting and from becoming tenants in public housing developments. Many revert to lawlessness and end up back in prison within a few brief years.

The Times quotes President Bush and says it's good he is seeing the light:

President Bush surprised some people when he spoke sympathetically about ex-convicts during his State of the Union address and announced a proposal to furnish mentoring, job placement and transitional housing for ex-offenders. The $300 million budget is far too small, but it was heartening to hear Mr. Bush acknowledge that there was more to crime prevention than just locking up people — and that pushing ex-cons into a hostile world without help is a recipe for civic disaster.

....Mr. Bush was on point when he said that "America is the land of [the] second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life." But more money is needed to make his initiative more than a gesture. In addition, the country will need to change its attitude before it can reincorporate the millions of ex-offenders who stand at the margins of society with no clear way into the mainstream.

Not everyone agrees that Bush's program is helping, as TChris pointed out here in January. Read the editorial he links to by U.S. District Court Judge (Mass.) Nancy Gertner.

Yes, we need more money and programs to help offenders. We're still wary of Bush, though--especially his efforts to implement faith-based initiatives and turn our prisons into Jails for Jesus.