RS 827.1 - Reentry preparation program; establishment
A. It is the intent of the legislature to provide persons released from incarceration with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections with certain fundamental resources in the areas of employment, life skills training, and job placement and with access to as many support services as possible in order to appreciably increase the likelihood of successful reentry into free society and to reduce recidivism.
B. In compliance with the requirements of R.S. 15:827(A)(5), the department shall identify a transition specialist at each of the state correctional facilities who shall not necessarily be a corrections officer and whose duties shall include but not be limited to:
(1) Coordination of the delivery of transition assistance programs services at the institution.
(2) Assistance in the development of each offender's post-release plan.
(3) Development of job placement information.
(4) Development of a written medical discharge plan and referral to an appropriate parish health unit for an offender prior to his release.
(5) Placement in a work release program, if requested by any eligible offender. When an offender who is nearing his date of release requests placement in a work release program, the transition specialist shall inform the offender of program availability and assess the offender's needs and suitability for work release participation. If an offender is approved for placement, the specialist shall assist the offender and coordinate the release of the offender with the selected program.
(6) Furnishing a photo identification card to an offender prior to his release.
(7) To the extent that funding is available, issuing a card to the offender that includes a list of all vocational licensing and certification programs completed by the offender while incarcerated.
C.(1) Eligible offenders shall receive a mandatory one hundred hour standardized pre-release orientation program which shall be completed prior to release.
(2) The program instruction shall include but not be limited to:
(a)(i) Employment soft skills, including but not limited to job seeking skills, interview skills, and appropriate workplace interaction skills.
(ii) Job placement assistance to an offender by providing job referrals or job placement.
(b) Money management skills.
(c) Values clarification and goal setting and achieving.
(d) Problem solving and decisionmaking.
(e) Personal development and planning, including but not limited to social situations and emotional control, sexual responsibility, parenting skills, domestic violence and family issues, and drug treatment and counseling where appropriate.
(f) Counseling on individual community reentry concerns.
(g) Information on and availability of reentry support organizations including faith-based organizations.
(h) Anger management.
(i) Victim awareness and restitution.
D.(1) The department may utilize volunteers, including faith-based service groups, for the provisions of any or all of the reentry preparation program.
(2) The department shall investigate the possibility of providing the transitional program through distance learning programs as a cost-effective method of program delivery to reach a larger audience at a reduced expense.
E.(1) The department shall offer an entrepreneurial educational curriculum to eligible offenders selected by the department to facilitate successful reentry into society. The entrepreneurial educational curriculum shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) Basic business concepts.
(b) Marketing and advertising.
(c) Product development.
(d) Negotiation and pricing.
(e) Development of business plans for their own individual businesses.
(2) The department may enter into cooperative endeavors or contracts with the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the Louisiana Department of Education, and the Louisiana community and technical colleges, educational institutions, training facilities, and service providers to provide entrepreneurial educational opportunities for eligible offenders.
(3) An offender convicted of any of the following offenses shall not be eligible for participation in the program:
(a) A sex offense as defined in R.S. 15:541(24).
(b) Repealed by Acts 2016, No. 509, §5.
(c) A habitual offender in accordance with R.S. 15:529.1.
(4) An offender who is eligible for participation in the entrepreneurial skills curriculum may be selected for participation based upon the following criteria:
(a) The skills, interests, and abilities of the offender.
(b) The availability of training facilities, instructors, and the number of offenders enrolled in the program.
(c) The staff at the adult reception and diagnostic centers, after a thorough evaluation, determine that the offender is suitable and appropriate for participation in the program.
(d) The secretary, or his designee, determines that the offender meets the guidelines and criteria established by rule for participation in the program.
(e) The secretary, or his designee, after an evaluation, determines that the offender is particularly likely to respond affirmatively to participation in the program.
(f) The offender meets other conditions of participation or rules or regulations adopted by the department.
(g) The offender voluntarily enrolls in the program after having been advised by the department of the rules and regulations governing participation in the program.
F. The department shall adopt and promulgate rules and guidelines as it deems necessary for the administration and implementation of the reentry preparation program.
Acts 2003, No. 822, §1; Acts 2009, No. 185, §1; Acts 2016, No. 509, §5; Acts 2020, No. 226, §1.