HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

124

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of public safety to review its efforts of providing reentry services to ALL inmates RELEASED FROM CUSTODY.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, several bills have been introduced during the 2009 Regular Session relating to the provision of reentry services by the Department of Public Safety to furloughed inmates, including the reorganization and establishment of a new reentry services division that would combine the services provided by the present intake service centers with services provided to furloughed inmates to assist their reentry into the community; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety has testified in opposition to these measures, citing the fact that intake services and reentry services are dissimilar, having different basic functions and missions in the correctional field; and

 

     WHEREAS, with recidivism rates that range from forty-seven per cent to as high as ninety per cent, depending upon whether the inmate was incarcerated locally or on the mainland, it is of vital importance to the health, safety, and welfare of the community that all efforts be undertaken to ensure the successful reentry of inmates into the community; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety has provided testimony that it is currently undergoing internal reorganization efforts specifically designed to streamline and consolidate operations to more efficiently perform its core functions of correctional and inmate management and classification; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that the Department of Public Safety is requested to review its efforts of providing reentry services to all inmates released from custody by considering:

 

     (1)  Renaming the Intake Service Centers Division as the Intake and Reentry Division to fulfill the objectives of the Department's Reentry Plan by ensuring a continuum of services from correctional facilities to the community;

 

     (2)  Consolidating within the new Intake and Reentry Division, the functions of the Intake Service Centers and all reentry services provided by the furlough programs in each county preparing inmates for release and reentry into the community;

 

(3)  Utilizing the four reentry worker positions that were established in the Intake Service Centers by the 2007 Regular Session of the Legislature, to enable the new Intake and Reentry Division to provide case management for the Department's reentry process, provided that positions do not include the security staff associated with the furlough programs, any services under the Corrections Program Services Division, such as education, library, food services, and substance abuse treatment, and volunteer services; and

 

(4) Authorizing the Intake and Reentry Division to work closely and collaborate with the furlough programs of each county under the jurisdiction of the Institution Division, the Corrections Program Services Division, Correctional Industries, the Hawaii Paroling Authority, the Adult Client Services Branch of the Judiciary, the Department of Health, Adult Mental Health Division, and county and community partners; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations on the internal reorganization and creation of the proposed Intake and Reentry Division, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2010 Regular Session; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Governor; and the Director of Public Safety who, in turn, is asked to transmit copies to the Institution Division, the Corrections Program Services Division, Correctional Industries, and the Hawaii Paroling Authority; the Director of Adult Mental Health of the Department of Health; and the Administrator of the Adult Client Services Branch of the Judiciary.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Department of Public Safety; Intake Service Centers