LB631 LB631
2024 2024
LEGISLATIVE BILL 631
Approved by the Governor April 16, 2024
Introduced by McKinney, 11; Hunt, 8.
A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to criminal justice; to amend section 83-190,
Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, sections 28-936, 83-171, 83-184,
83-192, 83-1,100, 83-1,100.03, 83-1,101, 83-1,102, 83-1,107, 83-901,
83-903, 83-904, and 83-962, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022,
and sections 29-2269, 83-1,114, 83-1,122.02, and 83-1,135, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2023; to adopt the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act; to require reports concerning reentry service center pilot programs and post-release supervision; to prohibit exclusion of current and former parolees and probationers from grant programs; to change provisions relating to bringing electronic communication devices into prisons; to provide for performance metrics for probation, parole, and correctional staff; to transfer the Division of Parole Supervision to the Department of Correctional Services; to change provisions relating to the powers and duties of the Board of Parole; to provide powers and duties for the department, board, and Director of Supervision and Services; to change provisions relating to parole eligibility; to provide for Parole School and book donations; to create the National Career Readiness Certificate Pilot Program; to state legislative intent regarding appropriations; to provide for reentry plans; to change provisions relating to the Vocational and Life Skills Programming Fund; to eliminate obsolete provisions; to eliminate, change and transfer provisions relating to reentry programs and providing identification cards or operator's licenses; to harmonize provisions; to repeal the original sections; and to outright repeal section 83-933, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022.
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
Section 1. Sections 1 to 19 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act.
Sec. 2. (1) The Legislature finds that studies have shown that post-
prison outcomes tend to be better for committed offenders who participate in
work release programs prior to discharge from custody. Specifically, findings indicate that committed offenders who participated in work release programs had
a higher likelihood of obtaining post-release employment within the first calendar quarter after release and also had a significantly lower rate of
recidivism than committed offenders who did not participate in work release programs prior to discharge from custody. In addition, studies indicate that committed offenders who participated in privately operated work release programs were significantly more likely to become employed after release.
(2) In light of these findings, and in order to give the Board of Parole and the Department of Correctional Services additional options for the placement of committed offenders, it is the intent of the Legislature:
(a) To increase the number of committed offenders in the Nebraska correctional system who are exposed to work release prior to discharge from custody; and
(b) To do so in settings that also offer therapy, programming, treatment,
vocational training, and educational classes.
(3) To achieve these goals, the purpose of the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act is to empower the Division of Parole Supervision and the Department of Correctional Services to contract with private providers to
establish community work release and reentry centers at various locations throughout the State of Nebraska.
Sec. 3. For purposes of the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act:
(1) Advisory board means the Reentry Continuity Advisory Board established in section 17 of this act;
(2) Board means the Board of Parole;
(3) Committed offender has the same meaning as in section 83-170;
(4) Community work release and reentry center or center means a residential home, halfway house, or other facility operated by a private provider pursuant to an agreement in writing either with the division or the department for providing housing and supervision of committed offenders placed in the center by the division for work release and for vocational training,
education, programming, or behavioral health or mental health treatment;
(5) Department means the Department of Correctional Services;
(6) Division means the Division of Parole Supervision;
(7) Individualized release plan means a detailed written plan outlining a committed offender's future vocational goals, training, employment, and needed treatment services following the committed offender's release from a community work release and reentry center;
(8) Private provider means a partnership, corporation, association, joint venture, organization, or similar entity which is operated on a nonprofit basis and which, under a contract with either the division or the department, has agreed to operate a community work release and reentry center pursuant to the
-1-
LB631 LB631
2024 2024
act;
(9) Probation administration means the Office of Probation Administration;
(10) Reentering person means an individual who is subject to supervision by the division or probation administration, not including juvenile probation,
or who was recently in the custody of the department or a county jail and was released with no supervision;
(11) Reentry housing means temporary housing for reentering persons,
generally in the first year following a period of incarceration; and
(12)(a) Reentry housing facility means a facility which is owned or
operated by a private organization, whether nonprofit or for-profit, that receives direct payment from the board, division, probation administration, or department to provide reentry housing.
(b) Reentry housing facility includes, but is not limited to, a community work release and reentry center.
(c) Reentry housing facility does not include a health care facility as
defined in section 71-413.
Sec. 4. (1) The division may place a parole-eligible committed offender at a community work release and reentry center as provided in the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act.
(2) Any parole-eligible committed offender placed at a community work release and reentry center pursuant to the act:
(a) Shall be under the continuing jurisdiction and authority of the department and board as if the committed offender was selected for release on
ordinary parole status as provided for in section 83-192; and
(b) May be subsequently released by the board on ordinary parole status as
provided for in section 83-192.
(3) The department may place a committed offender whose sentence includes
a term of post-release supervision and who is within three years of his or her release date at a community work release and reentry center as provided in the act. Any such committed offender placed at a center shall be under the continuing jurisdiction and authority of the department.
Sec. 5. (1) The division and the department may exercise all powers and perform all duties necessary and proper for carrying out their responsibilities under the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act.
(2) The division and the department may use designated funds provided by
the Legislature to enter into agreements with private providers for the development and operation of community work release and reentry centers to be established at various locations throughout the state. Any such agreement shall require a private provider to:
(a) Establish a contract with public or private employers to provide employment for committed offenders placed at the center;
(b) Assist any committed offender placed at the center to obtain and maintain employment in the community;
(c) Provide vocational training, education, programming, and treatment for issues related to the criminogenic needs of any committed offender placed at
the center; and
(d) Otherwise direct and supervise the activities and behavior of any committed offender placed at the center as provided in the act.
(3) In an agreement under this section, the division or the department may include contractual requirements that obligate the private provider to offer to
any committed offender placed at the center:
(a) Specialized educational or vocational training; and
(b) Other programming that will address the mental health, behavioral health, or substance abuse treatment needs of such committed offender.
(4) An agreement under this section shall require the community work release and reentry center to establish programs, rules, and enforcement systems:
(a) Regarding the behavior of committed offenders;
(b) To ensure that committed offenders seek and retain continuous employment;
(c) For the treatment of committed offenders for substance abuse;
(d) To ensure that committed offenders only leave the center for purposes of work or for other specified and approved activities, including, but not limited to, job interviews, medical appointments, treatment, and outings to
visit family;
(e) To ensure that committed offenders consistently participate in all necessary therapy, programming, treatment, vocational training, and educational classes; and
(f) To ensure that committed offenders maintain their scheduled work hours.
Sec. 6. The division and the department shall set standards for the appropriate staffing levels of community work release and reentry centers. The division and the department shall require each center to:
(1) Be under the supervision and control of a designated center director approved by the division or the department;
(2) Be adequately staffed twenty-four hours per day, including on weekends and holidays; and
(3) Assign an individual counselor to each committed offender assigned to
the center.
Sec. 7. (1) The division and the department shall require each community work release and reentry center to establish an individualized release plan for each committed offender assigned to the center. The staff of a center shall assist the division and the department in making reasonable advance
-2-
LB631 LB631
2024 2024
preparations for the release of such committed offenders.
(2) If a parole-eligible committed offender is released from a center, the offender shall be subject to parole conditions set by the board and under the supervision of a district parole officer assigned by the division pursuant to
section 83-1,104. The individualized release plan for a parole-eligible committed offender shall be developed in coordination with the assigned district parole officer.
(3) If a committed offender whose sentence includes a term of post-release supervision is released from a center, the offender shall be subject to the conditions of his or her order of post-release supervision and under the supervision of a district probation officer. The individualized release plan for such an offender shall be developed in coordination with the assigned district probation officer.
Sec. 8. (1) The division and the department shall set requirements for the maintenance of the individual records of committed offenders assigned to a community work release and reentry center.
(2) The division and the department shall require each community work release and reentry center to make periodic reports to the division and the department on the performance of each committed offender assigned to the center.
Sec. 9. The division and the department shall establish an internal system for assessing the achievements of community work release and reentry centers and the effectiveness of the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act as a whole. The division and the department shall develop and maintain measurable goals and objectives for such assessment.
Sec. 10. (1) The division shall designate a parole officer to monitor the performance of each parole-eligible committed offender who is assigned to a community work release and reentry center. The designated parole officer shall be required to periodically report to the division on the progress of the committed offender.
(2) The department shall designate a correctional officer to monitor the performance of each committed offender who is assigned to a community work release and reentry center under subsection (3) of section 4 of this act. The designated correctional officer shall be required to periodically report to the department on the progress of the committed offender.
Sec. 11. The division and the department shall develop an internal program to conduct annual reviews of the performance of each community work release and reentry center. A senior staff person of the division and the department shall visit each center at least twice each year.
Sec. 12. (1) A committed offender assigned to a community work release and reentry center shall obey the center's rules of behavior and shall consistently maintain such offender's scheduled work hours.
(2) The intentional failure of a committed offender to abide by the rules of such offender's assigned center may result in internal disciplinary sanction, termination of the committed offender's placement with the center,
and the immediate return of such offender to the custody of the department.
(3) No committed offender who is employed in the community under the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act or otherwise released from custody shall, while working in such employment in the community, going to or from such employment, or during the time of such release, be deemed to be an
agent, employee, or servant of the State of Nebraska.
Sec. 13. The division and the department may allow a community work release and reentry center to have access to all of the records, documents, and reports in the custody of the division or the department, other than presentence investigation reports, that relate to any committed offender who is
assigned to the center.
Sec. 14. (1) By July 1, 2026, the division and the department shall develop a strategic plan and procedure to allow private providers to bid on
agreements to establish community work release and reentry centers pursuant to
the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate one million dollars from the General Fund to carry out the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act.
Sec. 15. (1) The department, with the assistance of the board, shall establish a program to encourage the development of reentry housing, coordinate the provisions of reentry services, and provide standards for reentry housing.
Through this program, the department shall:
(a) Establish minimum standards for reentry housing facilities, including requirements related to health and safety, insurance, evaluations, and inspections, with input from the advisory committee;
(b) Monitor compliance with these minimum standards and investigate suspected violations;
(c) Coordinate evaluations of reentry housing facilities based on living conditions, staffing, programming, and other criteria;
(d) Communicate with relevant agencies regarding evaluation results and compliance with minimum standards;
(e) Facilitate communication between the department, division, board,
probation administration, and reentry housing facilities regarding reentering persons in need of housing and the availability of housing to meet such needs;
(f) Engage in regular discussions with entities which organize and prioritize housing services for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of
homelessness in Nebraska;
(g) Track data on costs, utilization, and outcomes for reentry housing
-3-
LB631 LB631
2024 2024
within the state and use this data to determine trends and project future needs and costs; and
(h) Electronically submit an annual report to the Legislature, the Supreme Court, and the Governor which describes the status of housing for reentering persons in Nebraska. The report shall include details on housing-related expenditures, characteristics of reentry housing facilities and other places which provide housing for reentering persons, characteristics of the individuals receiving financial assistance for housing, and recommendations for improving the quality and availability of housing for reentering persons in the state.
(2) The department and board may use available funds to encourage development of quality, safe reentry housing and to assist existing reentry housing facilities in making improvements for the benefit of reentering persons and public safety.
Sec. 16. (1) Reentry housing facilities shall cooperate with investigations and evaluations conducted pursuant to the Community Work Release and Reentry Centers Act and shall provide the department, board, division,
probation administration, and the Office of Public Counsel with reasonable access to facilities and records related to the provision of reentry housing.
(2) The department or board may request the State Fire Marshal to
investigate any reentry housing facility for fire safety under section 81-502.
The State Fire Marshal shall assess a fee for such inspection under section
81-505.01 payable by the facility. The State Fire Marshal may delegate the authority to make such inspections to qualified local fire prevention personnel under section 81-502.
(3) The department or board may request a county, city, or village to
inspect any reentry housing facility for the purpose of administering or
enforcing the state building code or an applicable local building or
construction code enacted pursuant to the Building Construction Act, if the county, city, or village has taken on the responsibility of code enforcement. A
county, city, or village may assess fees for such an inspection under section
71-6406.
(4) The department or board shall promptly notify a reentry housing facility and relevant agencies if there is reason to believe conditions in the facility present an imminent threat to the health or safety of reentering persons residing at the facility.
(5) The department shall work with the board, division, probation administration, and the advisory board to establish a spee