ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
community transition program
Creates a prerelease program and a community
transition program for incarcerated criminal offenders and released offenders
and appropriates a total of $3 million in each of FY 2001-2002 and FY 2002-2003
to implement and provide services through the two programs.
Numerous states provide prisoner transition programs prior to release. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice offers programs throughout its facilities, including some faith-based programs. One Texas program, Project RIO (Re-Integration of Offenders), is specifically designed to reduce the recidivism rate in Texas, which is the state with the second highest prison population. Project RIO has more than 100 staff members in 62 offices who provide job placement services for nearly 16,000 parolees each year in every Texas county. Idaho offers the Family Reunification Program designed to integrate incarcerated parents back into society and their families for the benefit of their children.
As of February 8, 2001, Arizona Department of
Corrections (ADC) facilities contained 26,803 incarcerated persons. The average number of incarcerated persons
released annually over the last three years is 13,090.
H.B. 2563 appropriates a total of $3 million in each of FY 2001-2002 and FY 2002-2003 to fund the prerelease program and the community transition program.
1. States the purpose of the program is to provide detoxification and literacy services to persons incarcerated in a facility under ADC jurisdiction.
2. Requires ADC to establish the prerelease program by contracting with any private entity inside or outside of the state.
3. Requires ADC to evaluate a person before determining the person’s eligibility to participate in the program and provide the information to the private entity, which then makes the final determination of program eligibility.
4. Requires the ADC Director to adopt rules that must include the following:
·
eligibility
criteria, including that a program participant must be an adult offender who
will be released in 12 months and is incarcerated in a facility under ADC
jurisdiction and that the person agrees in writing to provide specific
information after release.
·
services
that will be offered.
5. Establishes the prerelease fund, to be administered by ADC, to pay for implementation costs of the prerelease program.
6. Terminates the prerelease program on July 1, 2011.
7. States the purpose of the program is to prepare for release into the community persons who are incarcerated in a facility under ADC jurisdiction.
8. Requires the Department of Economic Security to establish the community transition program by contracting with any private entity inside or outside of the state.
9. Requires a contracted private entity to establish a network of community and faith-based organizations to make mentoring services and assistance available to eligible persons both before and after the incarcerated person is released.
10. Requires the ADC Director to adopt rules that must include the following:
·
eligibility
criteria, including that a program participant must be an adult or juvenile
offender who will be released in 12 months and is incarcerated in a facility
under ADC jurisdiction and that the person agrees in writing to provide
specific information after release.
·
that
the private entity must train mentors or certify that mentors are trained.
·
services
that will be offered.
11. Requires all services to be coordinated between the private entity and ADC.
12. Requires ADC to conduct an annual study to determine recidivism of participants in the community transition program, to evaluate the person before determining eligibility and to provide the eligibility information to the private entity, which will then make the final determination of program eligibility.
13. Requires that after a program participant is released, the private entity must assist in placing the person in employment and job training, must assist with other transitional needs such as housing, food, health insurance coverage and medical assistance if necessary, and must provide at least one mentor.
14. Requires the private entity to coordinate with ADC in placing eligible persons in training programs that may include education courses, anger management, communication skills, drug treatment or character education.
15. Requires DES to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with ADC to locate at least two offices for the contracting private entity in any two facilities under ADC jurisdiction and requires the entity to also have at least two offices located in at least two different cities and not located in a facility under ADC jurisdiction.
16. Creates the community transition program coordinating committee to advise ADC in developing guidelines for a prerelease program for incarcerated persons and to review prerelease programs that provide detoxification and literacy services.
17. Requires the committee to submit a written report to various officials and agencies and repeals the community transition program coordinating committee on July 1, 2002.
18. Appropriates a total of $3 million to the prerelease fund and the community transition fund in each of FY 2001-2002 and FY 2002-2003 from the alcohol abuse treatment fund, the drug treatment and education fund and the community transition fund.
19. Requires ADC to conduct an annual study to determine the recidivism rate of persons who receive services under either program.
20. Requires ADC to submit an annual written report on each of the programs to various elected officials and others that contains information including but not limited to recidivism rates of persons receiving services, the number of program participants and the number of persons on a waiting list to receive services.
21. Prohibits religious discrimination in awarding contracts.
22. Defines eligible person.
23. Makes technical and conforming changes.
24. Provides for a general effective date.
3rd Read 46-7-7-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 23, 2001