RELATING TO OFFENDER REENTRY PROGRAMS.

HB1342

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1342

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

Relating to offender reentry Programs.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION 1.
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The legislature finds that House Concurrent
Resolution No. 85, H.D. 2, S.D. 1 (2016), requested the convening of a task
force to make recommendations to the legislature on ways to improve Hawaii's
correctional system.
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The final report of
the task force was submitted to the legislature in December 2018.
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According to the 2018 report, "the
State's correctional system is not producing acceptable, cost-effective, or
sustainable outcomes and needs immediate and profound change."
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Prison populations have risen noticeably
since the 1980s, with Hawaii experiencing an eight hundred and seventy per cent
increase in prison populations between 1980 and 2018.
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This increase has had a disproportionate
impact on native Hawaiians, with the task force finding that native Hawaiians
make up forty per cent of the prison population but only twenty per cent of the
overall population in the State.
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Additionally, prisons are failing to correct unwanted behavior, leading
to higher rates of recidivism.

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The legislature further finds that
the 2019 Recidivism Update to the 2002 Hawaii Recidivism Baseline Study shows
that nearly fifty-four per cent of criminals in Hawaii are repeat
offenders.
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The State correctional system's
high rate of recidivism, and the corresponding overall increase in prison
populations since the 1980s, places a serious financial burden on local
communities.
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A 2020 study evaluating the
corrections system in Hawaii estimates that it costs the State approximately
$72,000 to incarcerate an inmate for one year.
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By lowering recidivism rates, the State could save significant amounts
of money that it could invest into other programs, such as education,
infrastructure, or social services.

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The legislature further finds that
offering extensive and high-quality educational and vocational programs to
inmates is effective in reducing rates of recidivism and the overall cost of
the correctional system.

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The legislature further finds that
inmate participation in mentorship reentry programs translates to higher rates
of employment and lower rates of recidivism.
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According to a Public/Private Ventures study, inmates who participated
in mentorship programs were more than twice as likely to find a job after
release than inmates who did not.
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The
same study found that one year after release, participants who were mentored
were thirty-five per cent less likely to recidivate than inmates who were not
mentored.

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The purpose of this Act is to:

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(1)
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Encourage inmates
to participate in correctional educational programs and vocational training;

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(2)
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Increase the
quality and quantity of correctional mentorship, counseling, educational, and
vocational training programs available to interested inmates;

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(3)
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Allow inmates to
earn an income and engage in supervised apprenticeship training to obtain
licensure and increase marketability and workforce readiness upon the
completion of their sentencing; and

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(4)
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Appropriate funds
to expand model programs to include more quality educational and vocational
programs.

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SECTION
2
.
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Section 353H-4,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

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"
[
[
]�353H-4[
]
]
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Model programs; department of corrections and rehabilitation.
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Subject to funding by the legislature, the department
of corrections and rehabilitation shall enhance the State's comprehensive
offender reentry system by developing model programs designed to reduce
recidivism and promote successful reentry into the community.
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Components of the model programs shall include
but are not limited to:

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(1)
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Earn and learn programs.
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The department shall expand existing
career training
opportunities and work furlough programs to include earn and learn
programs.
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For purposes of this
paragraph, "earn and learn programs" means programs that allow
eligible offenders to participate in supervised apprenticeships to allow offenders
to work toward licensure while earning an income;

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[
(1)
]

(2)
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Highly skilled staff who are experienced in working with offender
reentry programs;

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[
(2)
]

(3)
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Individualized case management and a full continuum of care to ensure
successful reentry;

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[
(3)
]

(4)
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Life skills development workshops, including budgeting, money
management, nutrition, and exercise; development of self-determination through
education; employment training; special education for the learning disabled;
social, cognitive, communication, and life skills training; and appropriate
treatment programs, including substance abuse and mental health treatment;

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[
(4)
]

(5)
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Parenting and relationship building classes.
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The department shall institute policies that
support family cohesion and family participation in offenders' transition to
the community, and, where possible, provide geographical proximity of offenders
to their children and families; [
and
]

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[
(5)
]

(6)
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Ongoing attention to building support for offenders from communities,
community agencies, and organizations[
.
]
;

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(7)
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Programs
that encourage offenders without a high school diploma or equivalency
certificate to obtain a high school equivalency certificate while incarcerated
by matching offenders with an advisor, mentor, or guidance counselor to support
the offenders' understanding of incarceration's impact on family, emotions,
society, and the self;

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(8)
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Programs that
encourage eligible offenders to attend community college or university by
teaching offenders the benefits of a college education;

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(9)
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Programs that
shift the focus of career training programs to relevant and useful
opportunities, highlight job prospects and benefits that offenders can obtain
after completion of specific career training programs, and teach offenders about
the benefits of stable employment beyond incarceration and its benefits on
themselves, family, and society;

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(10)
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Programs that
work with non-profit organizations and the business community to secure job
positions for offenders that have completed necessary career training programs
and have the required qualifications; and

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(11)
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Programs that
compel offenders convicted of a felony to undergo emotional, academic, and
behavioral mentoring or counseling by recommending that offenders be granted
parole or early release upon completion of the program.
"

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SECTION
3.
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There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $
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or so much thereof as may be necessary for
fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary
for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the department of corrections and rehabilitation
to expand existing model programs to provide more educational and vocational
training opportunities for interested offenders.

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The sums

appropriated shall be expended by the department
of corrections and rehabilitation for the purposes of this Act.

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SECTION 4.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 5.
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This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Recidivism;

Offender Re-entry Programs; Appropriation

Description:

Expands
programming and training for the comprehensive offender re-entry program under
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to reduce the rate of recidivism
and increase inmate marketability and workforce readiness.
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Appropriates funds.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.