Second Chance Act

In other countries, federal governments use grants to encourage experimentation by states.

For example, in the US, the Second Chance Act which funds strategies to help prisoners re-enter community, sets aside 2% of program funds for evaluations that include, to the maximum extent possible, random assignment, and generate evidence on which re-entry approaches and strategies are most effective.

That approach recognises that rigorous evaluation by states is a public good whose benefits spill over to other jurisdictions.

That's why the US federal government chose to subsidise states that conduct randomised trials.

In 2004, George Bush, the president at the time, stated America is the land of second chances.

And in 2008, he signed the Second Chance Act to help former prisoners rebuild their lives.

And regardless of how you politically respond to that, theologically, we should all rejoice that God is the God of second chances.

We see this in the recommission of Jonah.