LB348 LB348
2023 2023
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 348
Introduced by Wayne, 13.
Read first time January 12, 2023
Committee: Judiciary
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to treatment and corrections; to amend
2 sections 28-912, 47-902, 47-903, and 81-8,240, Reissue Revised
3 Statutes of Nebraska, and sections 29-2261, 81-8,244, 83-1,100,
4 83-1,102, 83-1,107, 83-901, 83-903, and 83-904, Revised Statutes
5 Cumulative Supplement, 2022; to adopt the Community Work Release and
6 Treatment Centers Act; to provide powers and duties for the Board of
7 Parole, the Office of Probation Administration, the office of
8 Inspector General of the Nebraska Correctional System, the Public
9 Counsel, the Division of Parole Supervision, and the Department of
10 Correctional Services; to change provisions relating to escape from
11 official detention; to provide for access to presentence
12 investigation reports and other records; to transfer responsibility
13 for certain programs and services from the Department of
14 Correctional Services to the Board of Parole; to require reports; to
15 redefine terms; to eliminate obsolete provisions; to harmonize
16 provisions; to repeal the original sections; and to outright repeal
17 section 83-933, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022.
18 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Sections 1 to 13 of this act shall be known and may be
2 cited as the Community Work Release and Treatment Centers Act.
3 Sec. 2. (1) The Legislature finds that studies have shown that
4 post-prison outcomes tend to be better for inmates who participate in
5 work release programs prior to discharge from custody. Specifically,
6 findings indicate that inmates who participated in work release programs
7 had a higher likelihood of obtaining post-release employment within the
8 first calendar quarter after release and also had a significantly lower
9 rate of recidivism than inmates who did not participate in work release
10 programs prior to discharge from custody. In addition, studies indicate
11 that inmates who participated in privately operated work release programs
12 were significantly more likely to become employed after release.
13 (2) In light of these findings and in order to give the Board of
14 Parole additional options for the placement of offenders other than the
15 granting of a full parole, it is the intent of the Legislature:
16 (a) To increase the number of offenders in the Nebraska correctional
17 system who are exposed to work release prior to discharge from custody;
18 and
19 (b) To do so in settings that also offer therapy, programming,
20 treatment, vocational training, and educational classes.
21 (3) To achieve these goals, the purpose of the Community Work
22 Release and Treatment Centers Act is to empower the Division of Parole
23 Supervision to contract with private providers to establish community
24 work release and treatment centers at various locations throughout the
25 State of Nebraska.
26 Sec. 3. For purposes of the Community Work Release and Treatment
27 Centers Act:
28 (1) Board means the Board of Parole;
29 (2) Committed offender has the same meaning as in section 83-170;
30 (3) Community work release and treatment center or center means a
31 residential home, halfway house, or other facility operated by a private
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1 provider pursuant to an agreement in writing with the division for
2 providing housing and supervision of committed offenders placed in the
3 center by the division for work release and for vocational training,
4 education, programming, or behavioral health or mental health treatment;
5 (4) Division means the Division of Parole Supervision;
6 (5) Individualized release plan means a detailed written plan
7 outlining a committed offender's future vocational goals, training,
8 employment, and needed treatment services following the offender's
9 release from a community work release and treatment center; and
10 (6) Private provider means a person, partnership, corporation,
11 association, joint venture, organization, or similar entity which, under
12 a contract with the division, has agreed to operate a community work
13 release and treatment center pursuant to the act.
14 Sec. 4. (1) The board may place parole-eligible committed offenders
15 at community work release and treatment centers as provided in the
16 Community Work Release and Treatment Centers Act.
17 (2) Any offender placed at a community work release and treatment
18 center pursuant to the act:
19 (a) Shall be under the continuing jurisdiction and authority of the
20 board as if the offender was selected for release on ordinary parole
21 status as provided for in section 83-192; and
22 (b) May be subsequently released by the board on ordinary parole
23 status as provided for in section 83-192.
24 Sec. 5. (1) The division may exercise all powers and perform all
25 duties necessary and proper for carrying out its responsibilities under
26 the Community Work Release and Treatment Centers Act.
27 (2) The division may use designated funds provided by the
28 Legislature to enter into agreements with private providers for the
29 development and operation of community work release and treatment centers
30 to be established at various locations throughout the state. Any such
31 agreement shall require a private provider to:
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1 (a) Assist any committed offender placed at the center to obtain and
2 maintain employment in the community;
3 (b) Provide vocational training, education, programming, and
4 treatment for issues related to the criminogenic needs of any committed
5 offender placed at the center; and
6 (c) Otherwise direct and supervise the activities and behavior of
7 any committed offender placed at the center as provided in the act.
8 (3) In an agreement under this section, the division may include
9 contractual requirements that obligate the private provider to offer to
10 any committed offender placed at the center:
11 (a) Specialized educational or vocational training; and
12 (b) Other programming that will address the mental health,
13 behavioral health, or substance abuse treatment needs of such committed
14 offender.
15 (4) An agreement under this section shall require the community work
16 release and treatment center to establish programs, rules, and
17 enforcement systems:
18 (a) Regarding the behavior of committed offenders;
19 (b) To ensure that committed offenders seek and retain continuous
20 employment;
21 (c) For the treatment of committed offenders for substance abuse;
22 (d) To ensure that committed offenders only leave the center for
23 purposes of work or for other specified and approved activities,
24 including, but not limited to, job interviews, medical appointments,
25 treatment, and outings to visit family;
26 (e) To ensure that committed offenders consistently participate in
27 all necessary therapy, programming, treatment, vocational training, and
28 educational classes; and
29 (f) To ensure that committed offenders maintain their scheduled work
30 hours.
31 Sec. 6. The division shall set standards for the appropriate
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1 staffing levels of community work release and treatment centers. The
2 division shall require each center to:
3 (1) Be under the supervision and control of a designated center
4 director approved by the division;
5 (2) Be adequately staffed twenty-four hours per day, including on
6 weekends and holidays; and
7 (3) Assign an individual counselor to each committed offender
8 assigned to the center.
9 Sec. 7. The division shall require each community work release and
10 treatment center to establish an individualized release plan for each
11 committed offender assigned to the center. If a committed offender is
12 released from a center, the offender shall be subject to parole
13 conditions set by the board and under the supervision of a district
14 parole officer assigned by the division pursuant to section 83-1,104. The
15 individualized release plan shall be developed in coordination with the
16 assigned district parole officer. The staff of a center shall assist the
17 division in making reasonable advance preparations for the release of
18 such committed offenders.
19 Sec. 8. (1) The division shall set requirements for the maintenance
20 of the individual records of committed offenders assigned to a community
21 work release and treatment center.
22 (2) The division shall require each community work release and
23 treatment center to make periodic reports to the division on the
24 performance of each committed offender assigned to the center.
25 Sec. 9. The division shall establish an internal system for
26 assessing the achievements of community work release and treatment
27 centers and the effectiveness of the Community Work Release and Treatment
28 Centers Act as a whole. The division shall develop and maintain
29 measurable goals and objectives for such assessment.
30 Sec. 10. The division shall designate a parole officer to monitor
31 the performance of each committed offender who is assigned to a community
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1 work release and treatment center. The designated parole officer shall be
2 required to periodically report to the division on the progress of the
3 committed offender.
4 Sec. 11. The division shall develop an internal program to conduct
5 annual reviews of the performance of each community work release and
6 treatment center. A senior staff person of the division shall visit each
7 center at least twice each year.
8 Sec. 12. (1) A committed offender assigned to a community work
9 release and treatment center shall obey the center's rules of behavior
10 and shall consistently maintain such offender's scheduled work hours.
11 (2) An intentional failure by a committed offender to return to the
12 assigned center at the scheduled time following work or at the end of
13 temporary leave granted for a specific purpose or limited period or any
14 other intentional failure by a committed offender to remain within the
15 extended limits of such offender's confinement shall be deemed an escape
16 from custody punishable as provided in section 28-912.
17 (3) The intentional failure of a committed offender to abide by the
18 rules of such offender's assigned center may result in internal
19 disciplinary sanction, termination of the committed offender's parole and
20 placement with the center, and the immediate return of such offender to
21 the custody of the Department of Correctional Services.
22 (4) No committed offender who is employed in the community under the
23 Community Work Release and Treatment Centers Act or otherwise released
24 from custody shall, while working in such employment in the community,
25 going to or from such employment, or during the time of such release, be
26 deemed to be an agent, employee, or servant of the State of Nebraska.
27 Sec. 13. The division shall allow a community work release and
28 treatment center to have access to all of the records, documents, and
29 reports in the custody of the division, including presentencing reports,
30 that relate to any committed offender who is assigned to the center. A
31 center shall maintain the confidentiality of presentencing reports as
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1 provided in section 29-2261.
2 Sec. 14. (1) Beginning October 1, 2023, the Board of Parole shall
3 electronically submit a quarterly report to the Judiciary Committee of
4 the Legislature and the Appropriations Committee of the Legislature
5 regarding any reentry service center pilot programs being conducted by
6 the Board of Parole. The report shall include:
7 (a) Information regarding the Valley Hope residential substance
8 abuse pilot program, including rates of successful and unsuccessful
9 completion by participants and information on the long-term outcomes of
10 program participants;
11 (b) Information regarding parolees receiving financial assistance
12 for transitional housing, including how long parolees are receiving such
13 assistance or using such housing, success rates of parolees while in
14 transitional housing, and long-term outcomes for such parolees; and
15 (c) Information on the number of parolees who submit more than one
16 reentry transition living plan to the board.
17 (2) The report shall redact all personal identifying information of
18 parolees.
19 Sec. 15. (1) Beginning October 1, 2023, the Office of Probation
20 Administration shall electronically submit a quarterly report to the
21 Judiciary Committee of the Legislature and the Appropriations Committee
22 of the Legislature regarding individuals serving sentences of post-
23 release supervision. The report shall include:
24 (a) The number of individuals:
25 (i) On post-release supervision;
26 (ii) Successfully discharged from post-release supervision;
27 (iii) Unsuccessfully discharged from post-release supervision;
28 (iv) Whose post-release supervision is revoked for technical
29 violations;
30 (v) Whose post-release supervision is revoked for law violations;
31 (vi) Who abscond and do not complete the conditions of post-release
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1 supervision;
2 (vii) Who are sent to jails to serve custodial sanctions; and
3 (viii) Whose post-release supervision has been revoked;
4 (b) The number of jail beds utilized for custodial sanctions and the
5 number of days such beds are utilized;
6 (c) The types of programming offered to individuals on post-release
7 supervision; and
8 (d) The risk scores of individuals on post-release supervision at
9 the time they began serving a sentence of imprisonment and upon discharge
10 from post-release supervision.
11 (2) The report shall redact all personal identifying information of
12 individuals on post-release supervision.
13 Sec. 16. Section 28-912, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
14 amended to read:
15 28-912 (1) A person commits escape if he or she unlawfully removes
16 himself or herself from official detention or fails to return to official
17 detention following temporary leave granted for a specific purpose or
18 limited period. Official detention means arrest, detention in or
19 transportation to any facility for custody of persons under charge or
20 conviction of crime or contempt or for persons alleged or found to