End For-Profit Prisons Act of 2023 This bill establishes a framework to phase out existing Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and U.S. Marshals Service contracts with private companies for correctional facilities and community confinement facilities (e.g., halfway houses). The bill requires the Department of Justice to develop guidelines for community reintegration programs at community confinement facilities. In carrying out prerelease and reentry planning procedures, the bill requires the BOP to ensure prisoners receive information and counseling about criminal record expungement; educational, employment, and treatment programs; and applications for public assistance programs, a driver's license, and voter registration. The BOP must also provide prisoners with postrelease information about fines, assessments, surcharges, restitution, and other penalties.
Impact
The enactment of HB444 will necessitate significant changes to federal corrections management, requiring the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to develop new protocols and possibly hire an increased number of federal employees for prison staffing. The bill mandates that the BOP create guidelines for community reintegration programs, aiming to improve the support provided to individuals as they transition back into society. These changes may positively affect recidivism rates by offering former inmates better access to necessary support services, including counseling, education, and employment programs.
Summary
House Bill 444, known as the End For-Profit Prisons Act of 2023, seeks to phase out the United States government's reliance on private correctional facilities. It establishes that, starting six years after the bill's enactment, all core correctional services at federal facilities must be performed by federal employees, effectively eliminating contracts with private companies for these services. This initiative reflects an increasing movement toward reforming the prison system towards public accountability and oversight, with advocates arguing that privatization often leads to reduced standards in inmate care and safety.
Contention
Despite its objectives, the bill faces contention regarding the implications for existing community confinement facilities that currently operate under contracts with for-profit entities. Opponents of the bill may argue that the transition to a fully federal system could lead to logistical challenges and increased costs. Additionally, there are concerns from stakeholders regarding how the changes could impact the availability and quality of community confinement services in the short term during the transition period.
Adoption Information Act This bill requires federally funded family planning programs to provide each person who inquires about their services with specified information about adoption centers in their state. The Department of Health and Human Services must provide the programs with pamphlets containing the required information.
Reforming Alternatives to Incarceration and Sentencing to Establish a Better Path for Youth Act of 2023 or the RAISE Act of 2023 This bill modifies requirements and procedures related to the sentencing, confinement, and release of youth who are involved in the federal criminal justice system. The term youth means an individual who is prosecuted or sentenced for a criminal offense committed at age 21 or younger. The bill modifies federal sentencing options for youth, including by allowing courts to depart from the statutory mandatory minimum for certain nonviolent offenses, to reduce the prison term of a youth who has completed 20 years of the sentence, and to treat as discretionary a sentence of imprisonment for life. Additionally, it requires the Bureau of Prisons to separately designate youth correctional facilities, minimize contact between youth and other offenders, and establish programs regarding youth education, skills training, reentry, and mental and emotional health. Finally, the bill promotes reentry and reintegration into the community, including by providing an early release option for youth offenders who complete one half or more of their prison term and meet certain criteria; authorizing home confinement for a longer period of time; limiting the maximum prison term for technical violations of probation; establishing pilot programs for mentorship, government service, and animal service; and establishing pilot programs for diversion of high-risk, victimized, and primary caretaker youth.
Adoption Information ActThis bill requires federally funded family planning programs to provide each person who inquires about medical or abortion services with specified information about adoption centers in their region. The Department of Health and Human Services must provide the programs with pamphlets containing the required information.
Establishing the Prison Industry Enhancement Authority; providing for employment of prisoners by private industry and for subcontracts with correctional agencies; establishing guidelines for prisoner compensation; and providing for location of private sector prison industry.
Relating to the reform of solitary confinement practices and the treatment of prisoners affiliated with security threat groups in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).