Bill Text: FL S7180 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Community Correction Reentry Programs

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (N/A - Dead) 2012-02-01 - Submit as committee bill by Criminal Justice (SB 2096) [S7180 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-S7180-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2012         (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL) SPB 7180
       
       
       
       FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Criminal Justice
       
       
       
       
       591-01979-12                                          20127180__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to community correction reentry
    3         programs; requiring the Department of Corrections to
    4         develop an operational plan to implement a pilot
    5         community corrections reentry program in certain
    6         designated counties; requiring that the operational
    7         plan describe the necessary facilities, staff, budget,
    8         and methods for selecting inmates to participate in
    9         the reentry program; providing examples of reentry
   10         services; requiring that all inmates who are within 36
   11         months of their release date be considered for
   12         participation in the pilot community corrections
   13         reentry program; providing criteria to assess the risk
   14         of placing an inmate in the reentry program; requiring
   15         that an inmate who is selected for participation in
   16         the reentry program be transferred into the pilot
   17         program no later than 24 months before his or her
   18         release date; amending s. 945.091, F.S.; deleting a
   19         provision limiting the modes of transportation an
   20         inmate may use when traveling to and from his or her
   21         place of employment, education, or training; repealing
   22         s. 945.0913, F.S., relating to a prohibition on the
   23         driving of inmates participating in a work-release
   24         program in state-owned vehicles; providing an
   25         effective date.
   26  
   27  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   28  
   29         Section 1. Pilot community corrections; reentry program.—
   30         (1)(a) The Department of Corrections shall develop an
   31  operational plan to implement a pilot community corrections
   32  reentry program in Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden,
   33  Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa,
   34  Wakulla, Walton, and Washington Counties within the Northern
   35  Florida Region for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
   36         (b) At a minimum, the operational plan for the pilot
   37  program must describe and document:
   38         1. The resources needed for the pilot project, including,
   39  but not limited to, specific buildings, grounds, and property
   40  that must be obtained or redesignated for residential community
   41  corrections facilities and reentry services.
   42         2. The placement of facilities and services in specific
   43  areas to maximize the opportunity for participating inmates to
   44  benefit from being located near where they plan to live after
   45  completion of their sentences.
   46         3. The additional staff or changes to staff qualifications
   47  necessary to operate the pilot program.
   48         4. The contracts the pilot project intends to use for
   49  private providers who desire to provide a portion of the reentry
   50  services and programming to eligible inmates.
   51         5. The security staffing plan.
   52         6. The programming plan.
   53         7. The proposed budget.
   54         8. The process and method for selecting an inmate to
   55  participate in the pilot project, including any initial
   56  screening process, the criteria used in the risk assessment, and
   57  any prioritization of placement.
   58         9. The changes in law that are necessary to implement the
   59  pilot project.
   60         (2)(a) The pilot program shall be designed to provide
   61  residential care, custody, control, and reentry services to
   62  eligible inmates.
   63         (b) For the purpose of the pilot program, the reentry
   64  services include, but are not limited to, substance abuse
   65  treatment, housing assistance, money management training,
   66  employment assistance, vocational education, and life skills
   67  training.
   68         (3) All inmates who are within 36 months of their release
   69  date shall be considered for participation in the pilot program.
   70  The selection shall be based upon a risk assessment process that
   71  includes, but is not limited to, whether:
   72         (a) The inmate has potential for rehabilitation and the
   73  need for reentry services.
   74         (b) The reduction of risk of harm to the community after
   75  completion of the inmate’s sentence which would result from his
   76  or her participation in the pilot program is outweighed by any
   77  risk of harm to the community which would be posed by the inmate
   78  while participating in the pilot program.
   79         (c) The inmate is from the geographic area of the pilot
   80  program, or has family or identified friends in the area, and
   81  intends to reside in the area upon release from custody.
   82         (4) An inmate who is selected for participation must be
   83  transferred into the pilot program not later than 24 months
   84  before his or her current release date. An inmate who is already
   85  within 24 months of his or her current release date when
   86  selected must be placed into the pilot program as soon as a
   87  position is available.
   88         (5) The pilot program may include an existing community
   89  work release program established pursuant to s. 945.091, Florida
   90  Statutes, as a service provider, but the existing program must
   91  provide enhanced reentry services to participating inmates.
   92         Section 2. The Department of Corrections shall submit a
   93  joint status report and proposed budget request by December 1,
   94  2012, to the Executive Office of the Governor, the President of
   95  the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The
   96  report must document the projected number of inmates to be
   97  served in the 2013-2014 fiscal year and the funding needed to
   98  implement the operational plan.
   99         Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
  100  945.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  101         945.091 Extension of the limits of confinement; restitution
  102  by employed inmates.—
  103         (1) The department may adopt rules permitting the extension
  104  of the limits of the place of confinement of an inmate as to
  105  whom there is reasonable cause to believe that the inmate will
  106  honor his or her trust by authorizing the inmate, under
  107  prescribed conditions and following investigation and approval
  108  by the secretary, or the secretary’s designee, who shall
  109  maintain a written record of such action, to leave the confines
  110  of that place unaccompanied by a custodial agent for a
  111  prescribed period of time to:
  112         (b) Work at paid employment, participate in an education or
  113  a training program, or voluntarily serve a public or nonprofit
  114  agency or faith-based service group in the community, while
  115  continuing as an inmate of the institution or facility in which
  116  the inmate is confined, except during the hours of his or her
  117  employment, education, training, or service and traveling
  118  thereto and therefrom. An inmate may travel to and from his or
  119  her place of employment, education, or training only by means of
  120  walking, bicycling, or using public transportation or
  121  transportation that is provided by a family member or employer.
  122  Contingent upon specific appropriations, the department may
  123  transport an inmate in a state-owned vehicle if the inmate is
  124  unable to obtain other means of travel to his or her place of
  125  employment, education, or training.
  126         1. An inmate may participate in paid employment only during
  127  the last 36 months of his or her confinement, unless sooner
  128  requested by the Parole Commission or the Control Release
  129  Authority.
  130         2. While working at paid employment and residing in the
  131  facility, an inmate may apply for placement at a contracted
  132  substance abuse transition housing program. The transition
  133  assistance specialist shall inform the inmate of program
  134  availability and assess the inmate’s need and suitability for
  135  transition housing assistance. If an inmate is approved for
  136  placement, the specialist shall assist the inmate. If an inmate
  137  requests and is approved for placement in a contracted faith
  138  based substance abuse transition housing program, the specialist
  139  must consult with the chaplain prior to such placement. The
  140  department shall ensure that an inmate’s faith orientation, or
  141  lack thereof, will not be considered in determining admission to
  142  a faith-based program and that the program does not attempt to
  143  convert an inmate toward a particular faith or religious
  144  preference.
  145         Section 4. Section 945.0913, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
  146         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.