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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 875
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 2840
Referred to Committee on HOUSING
Introduced by:
(HSG)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E RISK OF HOMELESSNE SS FOR THOSE
RELEASED FROM THE CU STODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 18-81z of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2
(a) The Department of Correction, the Board of Pardons and Paroles 3
and the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Branch shall 4
develop a risk assessment strategy for offenders committed to the 5
custody of the Commissioner of Correction that will (1) utilize a risk 6
assessment tool that accurately rates an offender's likelihood to (A) 7
recidivate upon release from custody, and (B) become homeless upon 8
release from custody, in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, 9
and (2) identify the support programs that will best position the 10
offender for successful reentry into the community. Such strategy shall 11
incorporate use of both static and dynamic factors and utilize a gender-12
responsive approach that recognizes the unique risks and needs of 13
female offenders. In the development of such risk assessment strategy, 14 Raised Bill No. 875
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the department, board and division may partner with an educational 15
institution that has expertise in criminal justice and psychiatry to 16
evaluate risk assessment tools and customize a risk assessment tool to 17
best meet the state's needs. 18
(b) As part of such strategy, the Commissioner of Correction shall 19
screen all offenders committed to the custody of the commissioner to 20
assess their housing needs and homelessness risk. Such assessment shall 21
include the offender's homelessness history, family and other supports, 22
prior tenancy and rental history, income and employment and 23
experience with conducting housing searches and maintaining a 24
household. Such assessment shall be used to inform the offender's 25
reentry plan under section 2 of this act. 26
(c) On or before January 1, 2009, and annually thereafter, the 27
department, board and division shall report to the Governor and the 28
joint standing committee of the General Assembly on judiciary, in 29
accordance with section 11-4a, on the development, implementation 30
and effectiveness of such strategy. 31
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) The Department of 32
Correction, in consultation with the Department of Housing, shall 33
establish the returning home program to provide housing assistance for 34
persons released to parole or a supervised community setting. Such 35
program shall use evidence-based practices to prevent and reduce 36
homelessness. The Department of Correction shall determine a person's 37
eligibility for the program using the risk assessment tool for 38
homelessness conducted under section 18-81z of the general statutes, as 39
amended by this act. The Department of Correction shall be given access 40
to the state's homeless management information system, as defined in 41
24 CFR 578.3. 42
(b) The Department of Correction shall contract with nonprofit 43
community or locally based organizations that are qualified to provide 44
housing search and navigation services, housing-related case 45
management and rapid rehousing and related services, provided such 46 Raised Bill No. 875
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program shall not be used to fund halfway houses. Such program shall 47
provide housing assistance to persons who lack a plan for housing after 48
release. Any housing provided under this section shall confer rights and 49
responsibilities of tenancy pursuant to a rental agreement and shall 50
meet any applicable federal housing quality standards. 51
(c) Not later than January 2, 2022, and annually thereafter, the 52
Department of Correction shall submit a report concerning the housing 53
needs and homelessness of incarcerated persons, the impact of housing 54
instability on incarceration length and the results of the program 55
established under this section, in accordance with the provisions of 56
section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of 57
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to housing 58
and the judiciary. Such report shall include (1) the number of 59
incarcerated persons screened for housing status and risk of 60
homelessness relative to the total number of persons eligible for such 61
screening, (2) the number of incarcerated persons reporting a lack of 62
stable housing or a high risk of homelessness, (3) the number of persons 63
receiving housing assistance under the program established under this 64
section and the cost of service and duration per capita, (4) the number 65
of incarcerated persons identified as having housing needs, but who did 66
not receive any housing assistance, (5) the number of persons staying 67
beyond their discharge date pursuant to section 18-101b of the general 68
statutes and the length of such additional stay, (6) the rate of housing 69
placement and retention for the total population served, (7) the types of 70
housing assistance services delivered and the basis in evidence-based 71
practices, and (8) the impact of the housing assistance services provided 72
under this section on incarcerated persons' use of a correctional facility 73
or halfway house beds and incarcerated persons' release to the 74
community without parole or a supervised community setting and 75
diversion from emergency shelter programs. The department shall also 76
submit a copy of such report to the Criminal Justice Policy and Planning 77
Division within the Office of Policy and Management. 78
Sec. 3. Section 18-81w of the general statutes is repealed and the 79
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 80 Raised Bill No. 875
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(a) The Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division within the 81
Office of Policy and Management shall develop and implement a 82
comprehensive reentry strategy that provides a continuum of custody, 83
care and control for offenders who are being supervised in the 84
community, especially those offenders who have been discharged from 85
the custody of the Department of Correction, and assists in maintaining 86
the prison population at or under the authorized bed capacity. The 87
reentry strategy shall support the rights of victims, protect the public 88
and promote the successful transition of offenders from incarceration to 89
the community by (1) maximizing any available period of community 90
supervision for eligible and suitable offenders, (2) identifying and 91
addressing barriers to the successful transition of offenders from 92
incarceration to the community, including, but not limited to, lack of 93
housing, (3) ensuring sufficient criminal justice resources to manage 94
offender caseloads, (4) identifying community-based supervision, 95
treatment, educational, housing and other services and programs that 96
are proven to be effective in reducing recidivism among the population 97
served by such services and programs, and (5) establishing employment 98
initiatives for offenders through public and private services and 99
partnerships by reinvesting any savings achieved through a reduction 100
in prison population. 101
(b) The success of the reentry strategy shall be measured by: (1) The 102
rates of recidivism and community revictimization, (2) the number of 103
inmates eligible for release on parole, transitional supervision, 104
probation or any other release program, (3) the number of inmates who 105
make the transition from incarceration to the community in compliance 106
with a discharge plan, (4) prison bed capacity ratios, (5) the adequacy of 107
the network of community-based treatment, vocational, educational, 108
housing, supervision and other services and programs, and (6) the 109
reinvestment of any savings achieved through a reduction in prison 110
population into reentry and community-based services and programs. 111
(c) Not later than February 15, 2008, and annually thereafter, the 112
Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division within the Office of Policy 113
and Management shall submit a report, in accordance with the 114 Raised Bill No. 875
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provisions of section 11-4a, on the success of the reentry strategy based 115
on the measures set forth in subsection (b) of this section to the joint 116
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 117
matters relating to corrections, public safety, housing and 118
appropriations and the budgets of state agencies. Any such report 119
submitted on or after February 15, 2022, shall (1) also address the rate of 120
inmates released from incarceration who experience homelessness, and 121
(2) be posted on the Internet web site of the Office of Policy and 122
Management and presented to the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory 123
Commission, including any information obtained from the report of the 124
Department of Correction pursuant to section 2 of this act. 125
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 18-81z
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2021 18-81w
Statement of Purpose:
To require the Department of Correction to assess the risk of
homelessness for incarcerated persons released from its custody and to
create a program to address such homelessness and to require
additional reports to measure the extent of such homelessness.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]