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An Act To Allow Reentry Houses as Part of Supervised Community Confinement
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  34-A MRSA §3036-B  is enacted to read:
§ 3036-B. Reentry houses
 
1.  Reentry house defined.     For purposes of this section, "reentry house" means a correctional program provided by the department through a written contract with one or more private employers under which the employers provide and maintain housing for specified prisoners, employ those prisoners and provide to those prisoners all meals, laundry facilities and transportation to and from job sites. A reentry house is not a correctional facility.
 
2.  Contract.     The commissioner may enter into contracts for the establishment of reentry houses for the purpose of providing housing and other assistance to prisoners transferred to supervised community confinement under section 3036-A.
 
3.  Other assistance.     The department shall employ, or contract for, program staff to provide other assistance to prisoners housed at a reentry house, including, but not limited to, assistance with reentry planning.
 
4.  Transfer.     A prisoner may be transferred to supervised community confinement to be housed in a reentry house only if the prisoner meets all of the eligibility requirements of section 3036-A and the rules adopted by the commissioner pursuant to section 3036-A, has successfully participated in a work release program at a department facility and has the skills necessary to perform a job available from a private employer with which the department has contracted.
 
5.  Supervision.     All of the provisions of section 3036-A and the rules adopted by the commissioner pursuant to section 3036-A apply to a prisoner housed at a reentry house, and supervision of the prisoner must be conducted by a probation officer in the same manner as for any other prisoner transferred to supervised community confinement.
 
6.  Escape.     A prisoner who is transferred to supervised community confinement who intentionally violates a requirement to reside at a reentry house or otherwise escapes is guilty of escape under Title 17-A, section 755.
 
SUMMARY
This bill allows the Department of Corrections to contract with private employers for reentry houses for the purpose of providing housing and other assistance to prisoners transferred to supervised community confinement.