HB 1587

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to inmate reentry; creating s. 397.755,
3	F.S.; directing the Department of Corrections to create a
4	reentry program; providing eligibility criteria for the
5	program; requiring a recommendation for reentry at the
6	time of sentencing; directing the department to prepare a
7	postrelease treatment plan; requiring the department to
8	notify the judge and other specified parties upon
9	admission of an inmate into the program; providing
10	requirements before transitioning the inmate into the
11	community; requiring the inmate to abide by the order of
12	supervision and the rules of the department; directing the
13	department to provide special training to employees
14	working in the program; authorizing the department to
15	develop performance-based contracts to supply services to
16	the program; permitting the department to establish a
17	system of incentives in the program to promote
18	participation in rehabilitative programs; providing that
19	the section does not confer any right to placement in the
20	reentry program; directing the department to track
21	recidivism and recommitment of inmates who have
22	participated in the program; requiring an annual report to
23	the Governor and Legislature; authorizing rulemaking;
24	requiring a review and report by the Office of Program
25	Policy Analysis and Government Accountability; providing
26	an effective date.
27
28	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30	Section 1.  Section 397.755, Florida Statutes, is created
31	to read:
32	397.755  Reentry program.-
33	(1)  PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.-The department shall develop and
34	implement a reentry program for inmates. The program shall
35	provide a mechanism by which an eligible, nonviolent, low-risk
36	inmate who poses a minimal foreseeable risk to the public and
37	for whom the reentry program has been ordered as part of his or
38	her sentence may be transitioned into the community during the
39	last year of the sentence. The reentry program shall consist of
40	a prison-based treatment program for substance abuse or mental
41	health or co-occurring disorders for a minimum of 90 days and a
42	community-based aftercare treatment program. The reentry program
43	must be specifically designed to be intensive and may have a
44	work-release component as part of the program. The in-prison
45	component may be operated in secure areas in or adjacent to an
46	adult institution, a community residential facility, or a work
47	release center.
48	(2)  ELIGIBILITY.-The sentencing court must include an
49	order for the reentry program at sentencing to alert the
50	department as to this inmate's preliminary eligibility when it
51	screens incoming inmates to determine their preliminary
52	eligibility for the reentry program. The department shall then
53	consider the inmate for admission to the reentry program. When
54	considering the inmate's admission to the reentry program, the
55	department may consider an inmate's criminal history, need for
56	substance abuse or mental health treatment, general
57	rehabilitative interests, and potential risk to the public. The
58	department may also consider its operational needs and the
59	victim's comments.
60	(a)  An inmate is ineligible for consideration for
61	admission to the program if:
62	1.  The inmate was sentenced to a term of 10 years or more;
63	2.  Whether related to the current term of incarceration,
64	or a previous term of incarceration, the inmate was convicted of
65	or pled guilty or no contest to:
66	a.  Any capital, life, or first degree felony;
67	b.  Any second or third degree felony offense listed in s.
68	775.084(1)(c)1.;
69	c.  Any offense listed in s. 784.07, s. 784.021, s. 827.03,
70	or s. 843.01 or any offense that makes a person subject to sex
71	offender registration under s. 943.0435;
72	d.  Any offense for which the sentence was enhanced under
73	s. 775.087; or
74	e.  Any offense in another jurisdiction that would be an
75	offense described in sub-subparagraphs a.-c., or that would have
76	been enhanced under s. 775.087, if that offense had been
77	committed in this state.
78	(b)  An inmate is eligible for consideration for admission
79	to the program if:
80	1.  The inmate is not ineligible under paragraph (a).
81	2.  The inmate is in need of substance abuse or mental
82	health.
83	3.  The reentry program is ordered as part of the inmate's
84	sentence.
85	4.  The department has placed the inmate in minimum or
86	community custody status.
87	5.  The inmate otherwise meets the criteria for placement
88	as determined by the department. The criteria shall include, but
89	is not limited to, consideration of the inmate's criminal
90	history, need for substance abuse or mental health treatment,
91	general rehabilitative interests, and potential risk to the
92	public and the operational needs of the department.
93	(3)  ADMISSION INTO PROGRAM.-If an inmate meets the
94	criteria for program admission under subsection (2), the
95	department approves the inmate for entry into the program, and
96	space is available, the department shall give written
97	notification to the sentencing court, state attorney, counsel
98	for the inmate, and any victim of the inmate's admission into
99	the program. Admission into the program is not a right, it is a
100	matter of grace; accordingly, the department may refuse to place
101	the inmate in the reentry program.
102	(4)  PROCEDURE UPON ADMISSION TO PROGRAM; IN-PRISON
103	TREATMENT.-If the reentry program is ordered by the sentencing
104	court, the department shall commence an in-prison treatment
105	component. Before the inmate completes the in-prison treatment
106	component, the department shall evaluate the inmate's needs and
107	develop a postrelease treatment plan that includes substance
108	abuse or mental health aftercare services. If, after placement
109	in the reentry program, the inmate appears unable to participate
110	due to medical or other reasons, he or she must be examined by
111	qualified medical personnel or qualified nonmedical personnel
112	appropriate for the inmate's situation, as determined by the
113	department. The qualified personnel shall consult with the
114	director of the reentry program, and the director shall
115	determine if the inmate may continue with treatment or if the
116	inmate must be discharged from the program. An inmate in the
117	reentry program is subject to the rules of conduct established
118	by the department and may have sanctions imposed, including loss
119	of privileges, restrictions, disciplinary confinement,
120	forfeiture of gain-time or the right to earn gain-time in the
121	future, alteration of release plans, termination from the
122	reentry program, or other program modifications in keeping with
123	the nature and gravity of the program violation. The department
124	may place an inmate in the reentry program in an administrative
125	or protective confinement, as necessary.
126	(5)  PROCEDURE UPON COMPLETION OF IN-PRISON TREATMENT.-
127	Following completion of the in-prison treatment component, the
128	inmate shall be transitioned into the community on drug
129	offender-mental health probation for the last 12 months of his
130	or her sentence.
131	(a)  While in the community, the inmate shall be subject to
132	all standard terms of drug offender probation, any special
133	conditions of supervision ordered by the sentencing court,
134	including participation in an aftercare substance abuse or
135	mental health program, residence in a postrelease transitional
136	residential halfway house, or any other appropriate form of
137	supervision or treatment.
138	(b)  If the county in which sentencing occurred has a drug
139	court and it is willing to accept the case, the inmate's case
140	shall be transferred to the drug court for supervision for the
141	last 12 months of his or her sentence. The drug court judge
142	shall be deemed the sentencing judge for purposes of ensuring
143	compliance with this section, and the department shall be
144	responsible for collecting the cost of supervision, as
145	appropriate, from the inmate.
146	(c)  An inmate on probation under this section must comply
147	with all conditions of supervision imposed and must comply with
148	all orders of the drug court or other supervising court.
149	Violation of any condition or order may result in revocation of
150	supervision by the court and imposition of any sentence
151	authorized under the law, subject to time served in prison.
152	(d)  While on probation under this section, the inmate
153	shall pay all appropriate costs of supervision to the
154	department. An inmate who is financially able to shall also pay
155	all costs of substance abuse or mental health treatment. The
156	court may impose on the inmate additional conditions requiring
157	payment of restitution, court costs, and fines; community
158	service; and compliance with other special conditions.
159	(e)  Time spent on probation under this section as part of
160	the reentry program shall be considered in-custody time in
161	calculating the 85 percent requirement of s. 944.275.
162	(6)  DEPARTMENT DUTIES.-The department shall implement the
163	reentry program to the fullest extent feasible within this
164	section and available resources. The department shall provide a
165	special training program for staff members selected to serve in
166	the reentry program.
167	(7)  CONTRACTORS.-The department may develop and enter into
168	performance-based contracts with qualified individuals,
169	agencies, or corporations to supply any or all services provided
170	in the reentry program. However, a contract may not be entered
171	into or renewed unless the contract offers a substantial savings
172	to the department. The department may establish a system of
173	incentives within the reentry program to promote participation
174	in rehabilitative programs and the orderly operation of
175	institutions and facilities.
176	(8)  NO RIGHTS CONFERRED UPON INMATES.-This section does
177	not create or confer any right to any inmate to placement in the
178	reentry program or any right to placement or early release under
179	supervision of any type. No inmate shall have a cause of action
180	against the department, a court, the state attorney, or a victim
181	related to the reentry program.
182	(9)  REPORTING.-The department shall develop a computerized
183	system to track recidivism and recommitment of inmates who have
184	participated in the reentry program. On October 1, 2011, and on
185	each October 1 thereafter, the department shall submit an annual
186	report of the results of the collected data to the Governor, the
187	President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
188	Representatives.
189	(10)  RULEMAKING.-The department may adopt rules pursuant
190	to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement its duties under this
191	section and to administer the reentry program.
192	Section 2.  The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
193	Government Accountability shall review the reentry program under
194	s. 397.755, Florida Statutes, as created by this act, and report
195	its findings to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
196	the House of Representatives before the commencement of the 2011
197	legislative session.
198	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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