Bill Text: DE SR14 | 2021-2022 | 151st General Assembly | Draft


Bill Title: Recognizing The Month Of June 2021 As Reentry Awareness Month In The State Of Delaware.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-05-20 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES [SR14 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2021-SR14-Draft.html

SPONSOR:

Sen. Brown

Sens. Ennis, Hansen, Paradee, Walsh, Wilson

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 14

RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF JUNE 2021 AS “REENTRY AWARENESS MONTH” IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.

WHEREAS, over 600,000 individuals in the United States are released annually from prison and two-thirds may recidivate within 3 years; and

WHEREAS, the Delaware Department of Correction (“DOC”) operates a unified correctional system that in fiscal year 2020 held approximately 4,000 offenders in its 10 correctional facilities and supervised approximately 12,000 offenders in the community; and

WHEREAS, within this unified system, DOC maintains five offender supervision levels: Level I to Level V; and

WHEREAS, a 2020 DOC Annual Report indicated that in the Level V offender supervision category there were 3,894 inmates, of which 65% were serving sentences longer than 1 year, 6% were sentenced less than 1 year, 18% were detainees awaiting trial, and 11% were serving life sentences; and

WHEREAS, the same report indicated that among Level V offender supervision category, there were 2,396 Black inmates (62%), 1,284 White inmates (33%), 208 Hispanic or Latino inmates (5%), and 6 Asian/Pacific Islander inmates (<1%); and

WHEREAS, males comprise 95% of the Level V population, while females comprise 5%; and

WHEREAS, in 2020, a total of 9,937 individuals were admitted to Level V facilities and 11,399 were released from them; and

WHEREAS, Delawareans returning to the community after incarceration can experience a difficult transition and often face socio-economic challenges such as homelessness, difficulty finding work, lack of job skills, and limited education; and

WHEREAS, an effective reentry process is important to providing those in Delaware’s correctional system with renewed opportunities for success; and

WHEREAS, reentry, when fully implemented, empowers returning citizens to refrain from crime and incentivizes law-abiding behavior; and

WHEREAS, Governor Carney created the Delaware Correctional Reentry Commission and announced additional grant funding (fiscal year 2020) to support reentry initiatives aimed to address recidivism through effective coordination of housing, vocational training, and healthcare access; and

WHEREAS, non-profits, government, businesses, and advocates in the State support the recognition of June as “Reentry Awareness Month”, as a time to remind our community that returning residents should be afforded their full rights, be prepared for and find life supporting employment, and be afforded access to decent, affordable housing.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 151st General Assembly of the State of Delaware that the month of June 2021 is recognized as “Reentry Awareness Month” in the State of Delaware.

SYNOPSIS

This Resolution recognizes the month of June 2021 as “Reentry Awareness Month” in the State of Delaware.

Author: Senator Brown

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