Legislature(2019 - 2020)GRUENBERG 120
04/04/2019 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB98 | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s) | |
| Commissioner, Department of Public Safety | |
| HB115 | |
| HB118 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 118 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 115 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 98 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 118-OFFENDER REENTRY PLANNING BY CORRECTIONS
5:42:50 PM
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the final order of
business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 118, "An Act relating to the
duties of the commissioner of corrections; and relating to
planning for prisoner reentry."
5:42:59 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS, as prime sponsor, presented HB 118 with the use
of a PowerPoint presentation, entitled "House Bill 118." He
turned to slide 2, entitled "Background," which graphically
illustrates the decline in Alaska recidivism rates by calendar
year [CY2011 - CY2015]. He reviewed the bullet points on the
slide, which read:
• Reentry provides resources for citizens to
successfully transition back in to our communities by
utilizing individualized case management, programming,
and support services
• Alaska has begun to see a steady decline in recidivism
• Reentry push began in 2010 and has spanned multiple
administrations
CO-CHAIR FIELDS referred to slide 3, entitled "Offender
Management Plans (OMPs)," and described them using the bullet
points on the slide, which read:
• Used as a Case Plan for coordination between the
Department of Corrections and Reentrant and Community
Providers
• Case Plans are live documents developed after prisoner
intake and are updated prior to transition and release
into the community
• Prioritizes needs for citizens to have successful
transition out of incarceration
• Based off of risk treatment assessment
• Addresses
• Medical treatment
• Mental health
• Housing needs
• Financial issues
• Job skills
• Life skills
• Education
• And more
CO-CHAIR FIELDS pointed out that the more effective an OPM is
the fewer people reenter incarceration through recidivism.
CO-CHAIR FIELDS moved to slide 4, entitled "Reentry Coalitions
Across the State," and relayed the developments listed on the
slide, which read:
• Reentry Service: any service provided by a community
or state organization that serves individuals released
from the criminal justice system back into the
community
• Reentry coalitions:
• Facilitate community assessment of assets,
barriers, and gaps for returning citizens
• Develop solutions for case coordination
challenges using evidence based approaches
• Design and implement a Comprehensive Community
Reentry Plan
• Coordinate Offender Management Plans
• Participants in Reentry Coalitions include Alaska
Division of Public Health, Alaska House Finance
Corporation, The Salvation Army, Alaska Native
Justice Center, The Alaska Labor Exchange System,
Chanlyut, Nine Start Education & Employment
Services, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority,
Southcentral Foundation, Partners for Progress, and
Cook Inlet Tribal Council.
5:46:38 PM
CO-CHAIR FIELDS referred to slide 5, entitled "Reentry
Coalitions in Alaska," which shows the locations of reentry
coalitions on the Alaska map and lists them as follows:
• Coalitions in Anchorage, Matsu, Fairbanks, Juneau,
Kenai, Dillingham, Nome, Ketchikan
CO-CHAIR FIELDS moved on to slide 6, entitled "What is currently
in law?" and reviewed the legal requirements, which read:
• Reentry planning
• DOC must establish an institutional case plan for
every individual serving a term of 30 days or more
• DOC must establish a reentry plan for every
individual serving a term of 30 days or more
• DOC is required to work with prisoners within 90
days of their release date in order to establish a
written reentry plan
• We hope to build on long term planning for success
after release with this bill
CO-CHAIR FIELDS turned to slide 7, entitled "House Bill 118," to
summarize HB 118, which read in part:
• HB 118 requires that a written case plan take effect
within 90 days after a prisoner's sentencing
• HB 118 ensures that the DOC collaborates with
community reentry coalitions and other providers of
reentry services when developing a written case plan
5:48:45 PM
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS asked about the growth of reentry
coalitions over the past 10 years.
CO-CHAIR FIELDS replied that his recollection is that several
years ago when he worked for the Department of Labor & Workforce
Development (DOLWD), the only active community reentry
coalitions were in Southcentral Alaska; now they are all over
the state. There were individuals and groups working on reentry
issues; however, they weren't organized as reentry coalitions
comprehensively looking at wraparound services, housing,
substance abuse treatment, and employment in a community.
CO-CHAIR FIELDS continued to review slide 7, which read in part:
• HB 118 establishes new metrics tracking the results of
the program that conducts assessments of the risks and
needs of offenders and a report presented to the
legislature that includes
• Number of prisoners provided written case plans,
percentage of target population that number
represents
• Number of written case plans initiated within the
preceding year
• Number of written case plans updated in the
preceding year
CO-CHAIR FIELDS added that data will assist in measuring the
success of reentry programs - giving the state an opportunity to
strengthen programs or make changes. He also added that the
number of updated case plans speaks to how active the plans are.
5:51:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL moved to adopt the committee substitute (CS)
for HB 118, Version 31-LS0724\S, Radford, 4/3/19, as the working
document. There being no objection, Version S was before the
committee.
CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS stated that HB 118, Version S, would be
held over.