STAND. COM. REP. NO. 993
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 932
S.D. 2
Honorable Colleen Hanabusa
President of the Senate
Twenty-Fourth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2007
State of Hawaii
Madam:
Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 932, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A COMPREHENSIVE OFFENDER REENTRY SYSTEM,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to establish a comprehensive incarcerated offender reentry system to help adult offenders prepare for release and reintegration back into the community, including a full continuum of services accessible to the offender after release from incarceration.
More specifically, this measure:
(1) Requires the Department of Public Safety to establish model programs, subject to funding by the Legislature, designed to reduce recidivism and promote successful reentry into the community;
(2) Requires the Director of Human Services and the Director of Public Safety to establish policies and practices that address the needs of families in which a parent is incarcerated and requires the Director of Public Safety to conduct research on the impact of a parent's incarceration on the well-being of the offender's children;
(3) Requires the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations to take steps to enhance the employability of ex-offenders and requires the Director of Public Safety, with the assistance of the Department of Taxation and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, to develop and propose tax incentives for hiring ex-offenders;
(4) Requires the Director of Public Safety to return out-of-state inmates one year prior to their scheduled release in order to participate in the reentry system;
(5) Permits the Director of Public Safety to establish a full-time reentry specialist position to ensure that offenders have access to reentry programming within all state facilities, monitor all state contracted reentry programs, and facilitate parent-child relationships in the context of correctional facility governance;
(6) Establishes the Offender Reentry Programs and Services Stakeholders Committee, the purpose of which shall be to monitor and review reentry programs and make recommendations to the Department of Public Safety and the Legislature;
(7) Authorizes the Director of Public Safety to award grants, in accordance with chapter 42F, for adult offender reentry demonstration projects that establish or improve the offender reentry system for which each adult offender in state correctional custody is provided an individualized reentry plan; and
(8) Appropriates an unspecified amount of general funds for both fiscal years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 to be expended by the Department of Public Safety for the planning, development, implementation, and expansion of the comprehensive reentry system.
Your Committee received comments in support of this measure from the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, the Community Alliance on Prisons, the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc., and a private citizen. The Attorney General submitted comments.
Your Committee finds that preparing incarcerated persons for reentry into the community is essential to their successful rehabilitation and for the prevention of recidivism. A system that ensures offenders exiting our prisons have acquired the skills and treatment necessary to reenter the community as law-abiding citizens will enhance public safety. Preparation for reentry must include not only educational programs, but also life skills development workshops, including budgeting, nutrition, exercise, substance abuse treatment, parenting, and job skills.
Your Committee further finds that a comprehensive reentry program will be cost-effective since the cost of incarceration greatly outweighs the cost of preparing incarcerated offenders to become productive members of society. Furthermore, research has shown that continuing treatment through a comprehensive reentry program as proposed by this measure is necessary to ensure that released offenders have the support they need to be successful.
Your Committee has amended this measure by incorporating the contents of S.B. No. 910, S.D. 1, S.B. No. 912, S.B. No. 913, S.D. 1, S.B. No. 672, and S.B. No. 855. Accordingly, the resulting omnibus bill now also:
(1) Appropriates an unspecified amount of funds to establish a two year pilot day reporting center program in the Department of Public Safety. The day reporting center will be available to serve two hundred offenders with six months to one year remaining on their sentences. Offenders assigned to the day reporting center will live at home, but be required to report to the center for training, supervision, counseling, and other skills development programs as deemed necessary. The Director of Public Safety will be required to submit a written report on the pilot program to the Legislature prior to the start of the 2009 Regular Session;
(2) Appropriates an unspecified amount of funds to expand the restorative circles pilot program to correctional facilities statewide. The restorative circles program is voluntary and only open to offenders who want to reconcile with their victims and victims who want to participate. The program brings the offender together with the victim with the guidance of an impartial, trained, and experienced community leader and the supporters of the offender and the victim. Each restorative circle lasts approximately three hours, with half the time devoted to reconciliation and the other half to developing a transition plan;
(3) Permits the Hawaii Paroling Authority to parole committed persons to the county in the State where the committed person has the greatest family or community support, opportunities for employment, job training, education, treatment, and other social services. This will allow the Hawaii paroling authority to provide meaningful opportunities for offenders to reintegrate into society and demonstrate that they have the potential to function as law-abiding citizens;
(4) Appropriates an unspecified amount of funds for a grant to the Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc., to expand reintegration programs for offenders exiting state correctional facilities and reduce the rate of recidivism. Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc., is a nationally recognized project that involves the offenders' families, community, and the cultural values of Native Hawaiians in providing a seamless continuum of care, training, and treatment. The program has dramatically and effectively reduced the recidivism rate of the offenders who successfully complete the program;
(5) Appropriates an unspecified amount of funds for a cognitive restructuring and transition pilot program to be established at the Kulani Correctional Facility, Hawaii Community Correctional Center, and the Hale Nani Reintegration Center. Cognitive restructuring has proven to be an effective means for treating substance abuse and helping released offenders find and maintain employment.
Your Committee has also amended this measure by making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 932, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 932, S.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,
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____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair |
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