HB 1363

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to inmate re-entry to the workforce;
3	amending s. 944.012, F.S.; revising an agency reference;
4	amending s. 944.024, F.S.; requiring that an offender's
5	postsentence intake include a vocational assessment;
6	amending s. 944.705, F.S.; requiring the Department of
7	Corrections to include specified information in a release
8	orientation program; creating s. 944.7055, F.S.;
9	authorizing the Department of Corrections to issue
10	photographic identification cards to all inmates
11	immediately prior to release; requiring acceptance of such
12	cards by state agencies; prohibiting specified offenses
13	relating to such cards; providing penalties; requiring the
14	department to assist inmates in obtaining specified
15	documents prior to release; amending s. 944.707, F.S.;
16	requiring the department to develop partnerships with the
17	Florida Community College System to secure vocational
18	training and potential financial aid for releasees;
19	amending s. 944.708, F.S.; revising provisions concerning
20	rulemaking; amending s. 944.801, F.S.; requiring the
21	department to select vocational training programs in
22	conjunction with specified information from the Agency for
23	Workforce Innovation; requiring the department to develop
24	a plan to identify which inmates have education levels
25	below ninth grade levels for specified purposes; requiring
26	the department to include certain inmates in specified
27	reading programs; providing legislative intent concerning
28	disqualification of ex-offenders from occupations;
29	requiring state agencies and regulatory boards to submit
30	to legislative officers and committees a report that
31	states current restrictions on the employment of ex-
32	offenders and possible alternatives that are compatible
33	with protecting public safety; directing the Department of
34	Corrections to study and prepare a report and
35	recommendations concerning work-release programs;
36	providing an effective date.
37
38	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
39
40	Section 1.  Subsection (5) of section 944.012, Florida
41	Statutes, is amended to read:
42	944.012  Legislative intent.--The Legislature hereby finds
43	and declares that:
44	(5)  In order to make the correctional system an efficient
45	and effective mechanism, the various agencies involved in the
46	correctional process must coordinate their efforts. Where
47	possible, interagency offices should be physically located
48	within major institutions and should include representatives of
49	the Agency for Workforce Innovation Florida State Employment
50	Service, the vocational rehabilitation programs of the
51	Department of Education, and the Parole Commission. Duplicative
52	and unnecessary methods of evaluating offenders must be
53	eliminated and areas of responsibility consolidated in order to
54	more economically use utilize present scarce resources.
55	Section 2.  Subsection (5) of section 944.024, Florida
56	Statutes, is amended to read:
57	944.024  Adult intake and evaluation.--The state system of
58	adult intake and evaluation shall include:
59	(5)  The performance of postsentence intake by the
60	department. Each offender's postsentence intake shall include a
61	vocational assessment to identify appropriate placement in
62	vocational programming as early as possible. Any physical
63	facility established by the department for the intake and
64	evaluation process prior to the offender's entry into the
65	correctional system shall provide for specific office and work
66	areas for the staff of the commission. The purpose of such a
67	physical center shall be to combine in one place as many of the
68	rehabilitation-related functions as possible, including pretrial
69	and posttrial evaluation, parole and probation services,
70	vocational rehabilitation services, family assistance services
71	of the Department of Children and Family Services, and all other
72	rehabilitative and correctional services dealing with the
73	offender.
74	Section 3.  Subsection (7) is added to section 944.705,
75	Florida Statutes, to read:
76	944.705  Release orientation program.--
77	(7)  The department shall provide inmates and potential
78	employers with information concerning federal bonding and tax
79	credits for former inmates.
80	Section 4.  Section 944.7055, Florida Statutes, is created
81	to read:
82	944.7055  Identification cards.--
83	(1)(a)  The department may issue photographic
84	identification cards to all inmates immediately prior to
85	release. Such cards must be accepted by state agencies as a
86	valid form of identification.
87	(b)1.  It is unlawful for any person to:
88	a.  Knowingly have in his or her possession or to display
89	any blank, forged, stolen, fictitious, counterfeit, or
90	unlawfully issued department identification card for a released
91	inmate, or any instrument in the similitude of a department
92	identification card for a released inmate, unless possession by
93	such person has been duly authorized by the department; or
94	b.  Knowingly sell, manufacture, or deliver, or knowingly
95	offer to sell, manufacture, or deliver, a blank, forged, stolen,
96	fictitious, counterfeit, or unlawfully issued department
97	identification card for a released inmate, or an instrument in
98	the similitude of a department identification card for a
99	released inmate, unless that person is authorized to do so by
100	the department.
101	2.  It is unlawful for any person to barter, trade, sell,
102	or give away any department identification card for a released
103	inmate, or to perpetrate a conspiracy to barter, trade, sell, or
104	give away any such identification card, unless such person has
105	been duly authorized to issue the identification card by the
106	department.
107	3.  It is unlawful for any person to agree to supply or to
108	aid in supplying any person with a department identification
109	card for a released inmate by any means whatsoever not in
110	accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
111	4.  It is unlawful for any person to have in his or her
112	possession a department identification card for a released
113	inmate upon which the date of birth or any other data has been
114	altered.
115	5.  Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
116	paragraph commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as
117	provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
118	(2)  A violation of this section may be investigated by any
119	law enforcement agency.
120	(3)  Prior to release, the department shall assist inmates
121	in obtaining identification cards issued under s. 322.051 and
122	social security cards.
123	Section 5.  Section 944.707, Florida Statutes, is amended
124	to read:
125	944.707  Postrelease special services; job placement
126	services.--
127	(1)  The department shall generate and provide to every
128	releasee, identified by the prerelease needs assessment,
129	prerelease preparation and support services such as, but not
130	limited to, substance abuse counseling, family counseling, and
131	employment support programs. The department may select and
132	contract or partner with public or private organizations,
133	including faith-based service groups, for the provision of these
134	basic support services. When selecting a partner or provider,
135	the department shall consider faith-based service groups on an
136	equal basis with other private organizations. Provider Selection
137	criteria include, but are not limited to:
138	(a)  The depth and scope of services provided.
139	(b)  The geographic area to be served.
140	(c)  The number of inmates to be served and the cost of
141	services per inmate.
142	(d)  The individual partner's or provider's record of
143	success in the provision of inmate services.
144	(2)  The department, with the assistance of the State
145	Office on Homelessness, shall maintain and regularly update a
146	comprehensive directory of support services offered by private
147	organizations and faith-based service groups for the purpose of
148	assisting transition assistance specialists and chaplains in
149	making individualized placements and referrals.
150	(3)  The department shall develop partnerships with the
151	Florida Community College System to secure vocational training
152	and potential financial aid for releasees.
153	Section 6.  Section 944.708, Florida Statutes, is amended
154	to read:
155	944.708  Rules.--The Department of Corrections and the
156	Agency for Workforce Innovation may adopt rules pursuant to ss.
157	120.536(1) and 120.54 Department of Labor and Employment
158	Security shall promulgate rules to implement the provisions of
159	ss. 944.701-944.707.
160	Section 7.  Subsection (3) of section 944.801, Florida
161	Statutes, is amended to read:
162	944.801  Education for state prisoners.--
163	(3)  The responsibilities of the Correctional Education
164	Program shall be to:
165	(a)  Develop guidelines for collecting education-related
166	information during the inmate reception process and for
167	disseminating such information to the classification staff of
168	the department of Corrections. The information collected shall
169	include the inmate's areas of educational or vocational
170	interest, vocational skills, and level of education.
171	(b)  Monitor and assess all inmate education program
172	services and report the results of such evaluation in the annual
173	report of activities.
174	(c)  Develop complete and reliable statistics on the
175	educational histories, the city or intracity city/intracity area
176	and school district where the inmate was domiciled prior to
177	incarceration, the participation in state educational and
178	training programs, and the occupations of inmates confined to
179	state correctional facilities. The compiled statistics shall be
180	summarized and analyzed in the annual report of correctional
181	educational activities required by paragraph (f).
182	(d)  Approve educational programs of the appropriate levels
183	and types in the correctional institutions and develop
184	procedures for the admission of inmate students thereto.
185	(e)  Enter into agreements with public or private school
186	districts, entities, community colleges, junior colleges,
187	colleges, or universities as may be deemed appropriate for the
188	purpose of carrying out its duties and responsibilities and
189	ensure that agreements require minimum performance standards and
190	standards for measurable objectives, in accordance with
191	established Department of Education standards.
192	(f)  Report annual activities to the Secretary of
193	Corrections, the Commissioner of Education, the Governor, and
194	the Legislature.
195	(g)  Develop and maintain complete and reliable statistics
196	on the number of general educational development (GED)
197	certificates and vocational certificates issued by each
198	institution in each skill area, the change in inmate literacy
199	levels, and the number of inmate admissions to and withdrawals
200	from education courses. The compiled statistics shall be
201	summarized and analyzed in the annual report of correctional
202	education activities required by paragraph (f).
203	(h)  Develop a written procedure for selecting programs to
204	add to or delete from the vocational curriculum. The procedure
205	shall include and correlate with the Agency for Workforce
206	Innovation labor market studies that labor market analyses which
207	demonstrate the projected demand for certain occupations and the
208	projected supply of potential employees. In conducting these
209	analyses, the department shall evaluate the feasibility of
210	adding vocational education programs that which have been
211	identified by the Agency for Workforce Innovation the Department
212	of Labor and Employment Security or a regional coordinating
213	council as being in undersupply in this state. The department
214	shall periodically reevaluate the vocational education programs
215	in major institutions to determine which of the programs support
216	and provide relevant skills to inmates who could be assigned to
217	a correctional work program that is operated as a Prison
218	Industry Enhancement Program.
219	(i)  Ensure that every inmate who has 2 years or more
220	remaining to serve on his or her sentence at the time that he or
221	she is received at an institution and who lacks basic and
222	functional literacy skills as defined in s. 1004.02 attends not
223	fewer than 150 hours of sequential instruction in a correctional
224	adult basic education program. The basic and functional literacy
225	level of an inmate shall be determined by the average composite
226	test score obtained on a test approved for this purpose by the
227	State Board of Education.
228	1.  Upon completion of the 150 hours of instruction, the
229	inmate shall be retested and, if a composite test score of
230	functional literacy is not attained, the department is
231	authorized to require the inmate to remain in the instructional
232	program.
233	2.  Highest priority of inmate participation shall be
234	focused on youthful offenders and those inmates nearing release
235	from the correctional system.
236	3.  An inmate shall be required to attend the 150 hours of
237	adult basic education instruction unless such inmate:
238	a.  Is serving a life sentence or is under sentence of
239	death.
240	b.  Is specifically exempted for security or health
241	reasons.
242	c.  Is housed at a community correctional center, road
243	prison, work camp, or vocational center.
244	d.  Attains a functional literacy level after attendance in
245	fewer than 150 hours of adult basic education instruction.
246	e.  Is unable to enter such instruction because of
247	insufficient facilities, staff, or classroom capacity.
248	4.  The department of Corrections shall provide classes to
249	accommodate those inmates assigned to correctional or public
250	work programs after normal working hours. The department shall
251	develop a plan to provide academic and vocational classes on a
252	more frequent basis and at times that accommodate the increasing
253	number of inmates with work assignments, to the extent that
254	resources permit.
255	5.  If an inmate attends and actively participates in the
256	150 hours of instruction, the department of Corrections may
257	grant a one-time award of up to 6 additional days of incentive
258	gain-time, which must be credited and applied as provided by
259	law. Active participation means, at a minimum, that the inmate
260	is attentive, responsive, cooperative, and completes assigned
261	work.
262	(j)  Recommend the award of additional incentive gain-time
263	for inmates who receive a general educational development
264	certificate or a vocational certificate.
265	(k)  Ensure that all education staff are certified in
266	accordance with the Department of Education standards.
267	(l)  Develop a plan to identify which inmates have
268	education levels below the ninth grade requirement so that they
269	can participate in GED programs.
270	(m)  In addition to or in conjunction with s. 944.024 and
271	paragraph (i), include within the department's Reading
272	Initiative or any successor reading program inmates having Test
273	of Adult Basic Education scores of seventh grade or lower.
274	(n)(l)  Develop goals and objectives relating to all phases
275	of the correctional education program.
276	Section 8.  Restrictions on the employment of ex-offenders;
277	legislative intent; state agency reporting requirements.--
278	(1)  The Legislature declares that it is the policy of this
279	state to provide to prospective employees a clear statement of
280	which crimes would disqualify ex-offenders from which
281	occupations. It is the intent of the Legislature to make
282	opportunities for employment available to ex-offenders so that
283	they will be less likely to revert to criminal behavior, insofar
284	as the employment of such persons does not place the safety of
285	the public at risk. The Legislature further declares that state
286	agencies should clearly state all restrictions on employment
287	which are imposed by agencies or boards that regulate
288	professions and occupations and should make an effort to
289	establish that each restriction is as limited as possible while
290	continuing to support the goal of public safety.
291	(2)  Each state agency, including, but not limited to,
292	professional and occupational regulatory boards, shall, by
293	December 31, 2009, submit to the President of the Senate, the
294	Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs of the
295	appropriate legislative committees a report that includes:
296	(a)  A list of all laws, rules, policies, and practices
297	that are followed by the agency or imposed by the board and that
298	disqualify from employment persons who have been convicted of a
299	crime but who have completed any incarceration and restitution
300	to which they have been sentenced for such crime.
301	(b)  The conclusions resulting from a review of these laws,
302	rules, policies, and practices which the agency has conducted,
303	including, for each law, rule, policy, and practice,
304	documentation of whether it is clearly stated in writing and is
305	readily available to prospective employees and a statement of
306	any less restrictive way to protect the safety of the public
307	while simultaneously providing employment opportunities for ex-
308	offenders.
309	(c)  If the restriction is based on a standard of good
310	moral character, crimes or acts of moral turpitude, or crimes
311	related to a specific occupation and proposed alternative
312	wording of laws, rules, and policies which more precisely
313	describes that basis for denial of employment.
314	(d)  Proposed ways of removing barriers to the employment
315	of ex-offenders which are not mandated by statute.
316	(e)  Proposed statutory amendments that would reduce
317	barriers to employment, render the remaining barriers optimally
318	consistent among jobs that have very similar characteristics and
319	require nearly identical degrees of trustworthiness and
320	responsibility, and improve the clarity of requirements
321	applicable to an ex-offender who seeks employment with a state
322	agency or in an occupation regulated by a state board.
323	Section 9.  The Department of Corrections is directed to
324	study and prepare a report and recommendations for the Governor,
325	the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
326	Representatives by December 1, 2009, concerning the following:
327	(1)  A review of work-release program eligibly criteria.
328	The department shall consider modifications to such criteria so
329	that more inmates have the opportunity to participate in work-
330	release programs.
331	(2)  An increase in the number of available work-release
332	program beds to accommodate the number of eligible inmates.
333	(3)  The establishment of work-release centers in
334	communities in which the greatest number of ex-offenders return
335	home.
336
337	The report shall also include any specific recommendations for
338	any necessary statutory changes.
339	Section 10.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.