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.