| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to inmates who are parents of minor |
| 3 | children; providing legislative findings and intent with |
| 4 | respect to the importance of an inmate maintaining a |
| 5 | relationship with his or her minor child; requiring the |
| 6 | Department of Corrections to collect certain information |
| 7 | concerning the minor children of inmates in the state |
| 8 | correctional system; requiring that the department analyze |
| 9 | the institutional assignment of each inmate who is a |
| 10 | parent and determine the inmate's proximity to his or her |
| 11 | minor child; providing an exception if the court has |
| 12 | restricted an inmate's contact with his or her child; |
| 13 | amending s. 944.17, F.S.; requiring the department to |
| 14 | consider an inmate's proximity to his or her minor child |
| 15 | when transferring the inmate; amending s. 944.24, F.S.; |
| 16 | requiring that a female inmate be assigned to a facility |
| 17 | in as close proximity as possible to her minor child; |
| 18 | providing an exception if the court has restricted the |
| 19 | inmate's contact with the child; amending s. 944.8031, |
| 20 | F.S.; revising legislative findings with respect to the |
| 21 | need for an inmate to maintain relationships with his or |
| 22 | her minor children; providing an effective date. |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 25 |
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| 26 | Section 1. Inmates who are parents of minor children.-- |
| 27 | (1) The Legislature finds that it is important that each |
| 28 | inmate in the state correctional system maintain contact with |
| 29 | each of his or her minor children through visitation in order to |
| 30 | prepare the inmate to be reunited with his or her family upon |
| 31 | release. Although the Department of Corrections may limit the |
| 32 | activities of an inmate, the inmate may fulfill parental |
| 33 | responsibilities through visits and telephone and mail |
| 34 | communication with his or her family. The Legislature also finds |
| 35 | that the support provided by an inmate's family can be an |
| 36 | important resource in combating crime and reducing recidivism. |
| 37 | (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that an inmate be |
| 38 | assigned, whenever possible, to a correctional facility that is |
| 39 | located within close proximity to where the inmate's child or |
| 40 | children reside. |
| 41 | (3)(a) The Department of Corrections shall collect |
| 42 | information concerning the minor children of all inmates |
| 43 | committed to the state correctional system. At a minimum, the |
| 44 | information must include: |
| 45 | 1. The number of minor children of each inmate. |
| 46 | 2. The date of birth of each minor child. |
| 47 | 3. The residential address of each minor child. |
| 48 | 4. The custodial status of each minor child. |
| 49 | (b) Based on the information provided in paragraph (a), |
| 50 | the department shall annually analyze the institutional |
| 51 | assignments of inmates in order to determine whether each inmate |
| 52 | who is the parent of a minor child is being housed in an |
| 53 | institution that is located within as close proximity as |
| 54 | possible to where the minor child resides. The analysis must |
| 55 | include mapping and distance calculations. |
| 56 | (4) The department need not reassign an inmate to an |
| 57 | institution located in close proximity to where the inmate's |
| 58 | minor child resides if the court has restricted the inmate's |
| 59 | contact with his or her minor child. |
| 60 | Section 2. Subsection (7) of section 944.17, Florida |
| 61 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 62 | 944.17 Commitments and classification; transfers.-- |
| 63 | (7) Pursuant to such regulations as it may provide, the |
| 64 | department may transfer prisoners from one institution to |
| 65 | another institution in the correctional system and classify and |
| 66 | reclassify prisoners as circumstances may require. In |
| 67 | transferring a prisoner from one institution to another, the |
| 68 | department shall consider, along with important security and |
| 69 | medical considerations, whether the prisoner would benefit from |
| 70 | being housed in close proximity to his or her minor children. |
| 71 | Section 3. Subsection (7) is added to section 944.24, |
| 72 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 73 | 944.24 Administration of correctional institutions for |
| 74 | women.-- |
| 75 | (7) Each woman inmate who has one or more minor children |
| 76 | shall, whenever possible, be assigned to a correctional facility |
| 77 | that is within close proximity to the child or children. This |
| 78 | subsection does not apply if the court has restricted the |
| 79 | inmate's contact with her child or children. |
| 80 | Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 944.8031, Florida |
| 81 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 82 | 944.8031 Inmate's family visitation; legislative intent; |
| 83 | minimum services provided to visitors; budget requests.-- |
| 84 | (1) The Legislature finds that maintaining an inmate's |
| 85 | relationships with his or her family, minor children, and the |
| 86 | community relationships through enhancing visitor services and |
| 87 | programs and increasing the frequency and quality of the visits |
| 88 | is an underutilized correctional resource that can improve an |
| 89 | inmate's behavior in the correctional facility and, upon an |
| 90 | inmate's release from a correctional facility, will help to |
| 91 | reduce recidivism. |
| 92 | Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2005. |