Report Title:

Inmate Rehabilitation; Reentry System; Performance Indicators

Description:

Requires the department of public safety to establish performance indicators; requires reports, using key performance indicators, to be provided to the legislature.  (SD1)

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	213
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  Act 8, First Special Session Laws of Hawaii 2007 (Act 8), also known as the Community Safety Act of 2007 and codified as chapter 353H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, established a comprehensive offender reentry system under the purview of the department of public safety.  Act 8 also requires the department of public safety to submit annual reports through 2010 relating to the implementation, progress, and effectiveness of the program components specified in Act 8.

     While the department's annual report lists program activities and statistics, it does not include information on program outcomes.  The legislature finds that performance indicators are an effective way to track the progress of the comprehensive reentry system and to reflect the philosophical change to the department's approach to rehabilitation and reentry mandated by Act 8.

     The purpose of this Act is to direct the department of public safety to establish key performance indicators or measures to be incorporated in reports that evaluate the outcomes of program components as required in Act 8.

     SECTION 2.  The department of public safety shall develop performance measures that accurately reflect progress toward specific goals, including but not limited to:

     (1)  Improving recidivism rates;

     (2)  Decreasing prisoner assaults on correctional staff;

     (3)  Reducing correctional staff turnover; and

     (4)  Improving departmental efficiencies in staffing, budgeting, and data management and analysis.

     SECTION 3.  The department of public safety shall submit a report to the legislature within thirty days of the last working day of the months of April, August, and December, beginning with the period ending on August 31, 2009.  Each report shall reference key performance indicators that track rehabilitation and reentry efforts for individuals being prepared to exit the correctional system.

     The key performance indicators shall include, but not be limited to:

     (1)  The number of individuals enrolled in and who have completed a general education diploma or competency-based diploma;

     (2)  The number of individuals for whom a reentry plan is filed and the number of individuals who exit jail or prison with a reentry plan;

     (3)  Drug test failure rates of inmates while incarcerated and while on parole;

     (4)  The number of inmates currently enrolled in and who have completed drug treatment programs provided by the department of public safety;

     (5)  The number of inmates currently enrolled in and who have completed restorative circles;

     (6)  The number of parolees who have applied for a reduction of their minimum sentence, the number of applications approved and denied, and, when applicable, the reasons for the denial of a parolee's application; and

     (7)  The number of parole revocation hearings and the results of parole revocation hearings that, when applicable, explain why the parolees' revocation was denied.

     The department of public safety shall post the reports

electronically on the department's internet website in a timely manner.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.