Second Congressional U.S. Representative French Hill, R-Little Rock, says historically black colleges and universities can be “a key arrow in the quiver” for helping prisoners re-enter society successfully, so he’s hoping to redirect $5 million in Department of Justice grants toward programs run by those schools.

Hopefully, doing so will create more success stories like Terrance Knowlton, who spent three years in prison for selling drugs and is earning an associate’s degree in entrepreneurship at Shorter College.

Hill’s “Shift Back to Society Act” would establish a pilot program authorizing the DOJ to award discretionary grants to HBCUs to create innovative programs for inmates and offenders who are transitioning back to society. It would use already appropriated DOJ funds.

The funding could create pilot programs that help determine best practices for widespread use. Hill wants community coalitions to scale up programs.       MORE