HP1186
LD 1706
Session - 128th Maine Legislature
C "A", Filing Number H-653, Sponsored by
LR 2647
Item 2
Bill Tracking, Additional Documents Chamber Status

Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:

‘An Act To Enhance Rehabilitation and Provide a Pathway to Reentry’

Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:

Sec. 1. 34-A MRSA §1402, sub-§10,  as enacted by PL 1991, c. 355, §3, is amended to read:

10. Rehabilitation programs; recidivism data.  Within the limits of available resources, the commissioner shall establish and maintain programs, inside and outside of correctional facilities, that provide rehabilitation services and opportunities for clients . and are designed to:
A Upon intake into a correctional facility, assess each client and provide each client with an individualized reentry program that is tailored to the client's risk of recidivism upon release and programmatic needs;
B Provide each client with opportunities for educational, vocational and life skills; substance abuse and mental health treatment; and other programs and treatments designed to address the criminogenic needs of the client and to minimize the client's risk of recidivism upon release;
C Provide to each client during the client's term of imprisonment the resources and opportunities necessary to build and maintain family relationships and to strengthen the family and community support system available to the client upon release;
D Prior to release, provide to each client comprehensive reentry-related information and access to the resources necessary for the client's successful transition into the community upon release; and
E Ensure continuity in the supervised programming available to each client during the client's transition into the community upon release.

Within the limits of available resources, the department shall collect data on and track over time the rate of recidivism of the client population served by its correctional facilities. Subject to the availability of data regarding the rate of recidivism, the commissioner shall ensure that the programs established and maintained pursuant to this subsection are designed to reduce the rate of recidivism.

summary

This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, changes the title and replaces the bill. It clarifies the scope and purpose of the rehabilitation programming offered by the Department of Corrections consistent with the department's mission to reduce the likelihood that juvenile and adult offenders will reoffend by providing practices, programs and services that are evidence-based and that hold the offenders accountable.

The amendment also requires the department, within the limits of available resources, to collect data on and track over time the rate of recidivism of the client population served by its correctional facilities and to ensure that the rehabilitation programming offered by the department is designed to reduce the rate of recidivism, thereby enhancing public safety.


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