Okla. Stat. tit. 57, § 57-115: Reentry program for offenders needing structured release

A. A reentry program is hereby authorized to be created within

the Department of Corrections by January 1, 2005, for offenders who

need structured release prior to completion of the sentence. The

reentry program shall be designed to provide structure and control

as offenders near release to the community without supervision. No

offender otherwise eligible for any community placement, halfway

house, work release program, or minimum security placement shall be

eligible for this program. The program shall not receive state

appropriations and shall be fully funded by federal or private

funds.

B. The reentry program shall begin in a county or counties

selected by the Department and may expand or change to other

locations within the state at the discretion of the Department. The

program shall provide a continuum of services to meet the needs of

offenders assigned or required to complete the program. The program

duration shall be eighteen (18) months composed of twelve (12)

months at minimum security level and six (6) months at community

placement prior to release. The inmate is required to complete

twelve (12) months at minimum security level prior to completing the

six (6) months at community placement. The Department is authorized

to use monitoring and supervision in all levels of security as

necessary to ensure structure, control and compliance.

C. The Department shall designate at least one medium, minimum

and community security level facility capable of serving male and

female offenders assigned or required to complete the program. Male

and female offenders shall not be housed in the same facility. Each

of the designated facilities shall be solely devoted to the program.

Nothing in this act shall require all offenders to be assigned to a

reentry program prior to release without supervision.

D. Any offender assigned or required to complete a reentry

program who subsequently fails, refuses or is noncompliant in the

reentry program shall be removed from the program, after notice of a

program failure, and placed in a higher security level facility

according to the rules established for the program. Earned credits

may be withheld for those inmates who fail to satisfactorily

complete the program as provided by rule.

E. All services available in the reentry program shall be

selected after open bid and the Department shall actively solicit

faith-based and secular providers in all service provider

categories. Offenders assigned to the reentry program shall choose

a provider of services for each service category.

F. All service providers contracting for the reentry program

shall be required to meet outcome-based standards and evaluations

and are required to measure recidivism for all offenders placed for

services with that provider according to the rules of the

Department.

G. The Department shall consider offenders with long-term

incarceration, violent offenses, repeat offenders with multiple

incarcerations, offenders ineligible for parole who will be released

without supervision, offenders with parole stipulations and

offenders having consecutive sentences longer than the calculation

of a life sentence for purposes of determing parole eligibility.

H. The Governor and the Pardon and Parole Board shall work

together with the Department of Corrections within the capabilities

of the reentry program and shall have the authority to stipulate

that an offender shall be paroled, conditioned upon completion of

the program, without further hearing recommendation or approval.

I. No offender shall be placed in the reentry program until the

offender is within eighteen (18) months of release from the custody

of the Department or is granted, by stipulation or otherwise, a

parole release upon completion of the reentry program. Nothing in

this act shall operate to reduce the length of a sentence to

ion of

the program, without further hearing recommendation or approval.

I. No offender shall be placed in the reentry program until the

offender is within eighteen (18) months of release from the custody

of the Department or is granted, by stipulation or otherwise, a

parole release upon completion of the reentry program. Nothing in

this act shall operate to reduce the length of a sentence to

incarceration, except completion of the reentry program.

J. The Department shall establish rules and procedures to

implement the provisions of this act. An annual report shall be

generated at the completion of each calendar year. This report

shall reflect the evaluation of the program based on the outcomes

designated by the Department. Copies of said report shall be

forwarded to the Governor, the Chair of the Sentencing Commission,

the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of

Representatives, and the majority and minority leaders of the

Legislature.