(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Recidivism rates reflect not just the behavior of a person after reentry into society, but the correctional system's response to that person's behavior during his or her term of incarceration; and(2) The recidivism rate for the Department of Corrections for the 2019 cohort was forty-eight and three-tenths percent (48.3%), resulting in anticipated costs for reincarceration of over one hundred forty million dollars ($140,000,000) annually.
(1) Recidivism rates reflect not just the behavior of a person after reentry into society, but the correctional system's response to that person's behavior during his or her term of incarceration; and
(2) The recidivism rate for the Department of Corrections for the 2019 cohort was forty-eight and three-tenths percent (48.3%), resulting in anticipated costs for reincarceration of over one hundred forty million dollars ($140,000,000) annually.
(b) The General Assembly intends for the department to:(1) Harness the opportunity of incarceration by beginning reentry preparation for those incarcerated upon the first day of incarceration through the development and expansion of coordinated evidence-based programming, educational systems, and reentry services that support intended outcomes of incarceration, avert the costs of recidivism, and enhance public safety; and(2) Embrace a correctional philosophy that reentry preparation must begin on the first day of incarceration and adopt policies and rules that result in reduction of the recidivism rate of people released from the Division of Correction and under the supervision of the Division of Community Correction.
(1) Harness the opportunity of incarceration by beginning reentry preparation for those incarcerated upon the first day of incarceration through the development and expansion of coordinated evidence-based programming, educational systems, and reentry services that support intended outcomes of incarceration, avert the costs of recidivism, and enhance public safety; and
(2) Embrace a correctional philosophy that reentry preparation must begin on the first day of incarceration and adopt policies and rules that result in reduction of the recidivism rate of people released from the Division of Correction and under the supervision of the Division of Community Correction.