An Act To Provide Reentry Services to Persons Reentering the Community after Incarceration
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1552
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: TALBOT ROSS, EVANS, HARNETT, PLUECKER, RECKITT, WARREN, CARNEY
Amends: 34-A MRSA §3036-C

Legislative Document
No. 1552
H.P. 1157
House of Representatives, April 22, 2021
An Act To Provide Reentry Services to Persons Reentering the 
Community after Incarceration
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 20, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: EVANS of Dover-Foxcroft, HARNETT of Gardiner, 
PLUECKER of Warren, RECKITT of South Portland, WARREN of Hallowell, Senator: 
CARNEY of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  34-A MRSA §3036-C is enacted to read:
§3036-C.  Community-based reentry services and public safety programs
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Account" means the Community-based Reentry Services Account established in 
subsection 2.
B.  "Participant" means an adult or juvenile reentering a community after incarceration 
who has applied for or is receiving reentry services from a reentry service provider. 
C.  "Reentry service provider" means a community-based nonprofit or faith-based 
organization that provides or seeks to provide reentry services.
D.  "Reentry services" means services provided to an adult or juvenile to facilitate the 
adult's or juvenile's reentry into a community after incarceration, including social 
services, mentoring, housing placement, case management, occupational and 
educational services, behavioral health treatment, substance use disorder treatment, 
family reunification and medical care services.
2.  Community-based Reentry Services Account.  The Community-based Reentry 
Services Account is established as a special account within the department.  The Legislature 
shall annually appropriate funds to the account for the purposes of this section, and all 
funds appropriated and all grants and other funds received by the department in accordance 
with subsection 3, paragraph A must be credited to the account.  Unexpended funds in the 
account may not lapse, but must carry forward into the next fiscal year to be expended for 
the purposes of this section.
3.  Funding; use of funds.  The department shall obtain funding for the account and 
distribute those funds, as available, in accordance with this subsection.
A.  The department shall apply for any federal or other grants or funding sources, 
including those available through the federal Second Chance Act of 2007 under 34 
United States Code, Chapter 605, that would allow the purposes of this section to be 
carried out.  The department may transfer other available funds to the account.  
B.  The department shall use the available funds in the account to award grants to one 
or more reentry service providers to establish or provide reentry services, including:
(1)  Assessment and planning of reentry services, including the development and 
implementation of a reentry plan for a participant identifying the participant's 
natural 
strengths, 
family 
and 
community 
connections, 
risk 
factors, 
accomplishments, goals for community life and improvements in the participant's 
well-being;
(2)  Individual case management or system navigation services, including outreach, 
orientation, intake, assessments, goal planning, resource referral and counseling;
(3)  Peer-to-peer mentoring, including intentional peer specialists certified by the 
Department of Health and Human Services' office of behavioral health, trained 
substance use disorder recovery coaches, support services and other traditional 
services essential to a participant's reentry into the community, which may be 
provided by an individual who provided mentoring services to the participant 
during the participant's incarceration, unless the department demonstrates that this 
would present a significant security risk to the participant, the mentor or any other 
individual;
(4)  Assistance finding, securing and maintaining safe and affordable housing, 
including landlord-tenant communication, conflict resolution and financial support 
for security deposits, rent, utility payments and purchase of necessary household 
items;
(5)  Acquiring, rehabilitating, constructing or leasing housing units to provide safe, 
affordable and secure housing opportunities to participants;
(6)  Job training and job placement services, including employment search 
assistance, job referrals, work readiness activities, vocational certification, 
licensure, educational services and basic skills remediation, occupational skills 
training, on-the-job training, post-placement support and connection to existing 
state and federal workforce services, businesses and educational institutions;
(7)  Medical care assessment and treatment and behavioral health treatment and 
support, including referral to mental health assessment and treatment, group and 
social supports, drug and alcohol testing and substance use disorder assessment 
from a substance use disorder professional who is approved by the State or a 
federally recognized Indian tribe and licensed by the appropriate entity to provide 
alcohol and drug addiction treatment, as appropriate, and treatment from a provider 
that is approved by the State or a federally recognized Indian tribe and licensed, if 
necessary;
(8)  Parenting skills and family support services, family support groups, kinship 
support services, educational and social-emotional support services, domestic 
violence intervention programs and family reunification services, as appropriate;
(9)  Development of a substance use disorder treatment program as an alternative 
to incarceration for primary caregivers, including the implementation and 
expansion of clinically appropriate substance use disorder treatment programs and 
providing reentry services, including aftercare and case management services, to 
families;
(10)  Organizing community impact panels, victim impact panels or victim impact 
educational classes; and
(11)  Personal financial training, including financial coaching from trained 
financial coaches, credit report searches, budgeting, saving, bill management and 
entrepreneurship, both during and after incarceration.
4.  Grant application and eligibility.  To be eligible for a grant under this section, a 
reentry service provider must submit to the department an application that adequately:
A.  Describes the reentry services program for which the reentry service provider seeks 
funding under this section and the need for the program;
B.  Describes a long-term strategy and detailed implementation plan for the reentry 
services program, including the geographical area to be served;
C.  Identifies any other entity the reentry service provider will coordinate or partner 
with, including any governmental agency, community organization or faith 
community;
D.  Identifies the reentry service provider's experience working with participants and 
individuals from marginalized populations, including African-American and 
indigenous persons and people of color, individuals with disabilities, low-income 
households and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and nonbinary gender individuals;
E.  Includes an annual budget for all operational, administrative and service expenses 
necessary to establish, implement and operate the reentry services program; and
F.  Describes the method and outcome measures that the reentry service provider will 
use to evaluate the reentry services program. 
5.  Rulemaking.  The department shall adopt rules in consultation with appropriate 
community stakeholders, including representatives from communities of color, for the 
administration of the account, evaluation of grant applications and distribution of grants 
from the account in accordance with this section.  The department shall adopt rules 
requiring a participant in a substance use disorder treatment program as an alternative to 
incarceration, as described in subsection 3, paragraph B, subparagraph (9), who does not 
successfully complete the program to serve an appropriate sentence of imprisonment with 
respect to the participant's underlying crime and requiring that the participant be notified 
of this requirement before the participant enters into a program.  Rules adopted pursuant to 
this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A.
6.  Annual report.  A reentry service provider that receives a grant under this section 
shall submit to the department a report for each fiscal year in which funds from the grant 
are expended, at the time and in the manner as the department may reasonably require.  The 
report must contain:
A.  A summary of the activities carried out under the reentry services program assisted 
by the grant;
B.  An assessment of whether the reentry service provider is meeting the need for the 
reentry services program identified in the application submitted under subsection 4; 
and
C.  Any other information the department may require.
7.  Report on recidivism outcomes.  The commissioner shall, at the end of each fiscal 
year, submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over criminal justice and public safety matters and the Governor assessing the impact of 
the reentry services funded through the account and containing statistics on the relative 
reduction in recidivism for inmates released by the department within that fiscal year and 
the 4 prior fiscal years.  
A.  The report must assess the impact of reentry services funded through the account 
on public safety and on participants' access to community resources and employment, 
housing access and stability, individual health and social-emotional well-being and 
other appropriate measures of community integration.
B.  The report must compare the recidivism rates of participants in reentry services 
programs that received grants under this section with inmates who did not participate 
in reentry services programs.  The data must be disaggregated by race and gender and 
compiled separately for each fiscal year.
C.  The commissioner shall, in consultation with outside experts, select a measure for 
recidivism, such as rearrest, reincarceration or any other valid, evidence-based measure 
that the commissioner considers appropriate and that is consistent with prevailing 
national research methodologies.
SUMMARY
This bill:
1.  Establishes the Community-based Reentry Services Account as a special nonlapsing 
account within the Department of Corrections to issue grants to community-based nonprofit 
and faith-based organizations that provide or seek to provide reentry services to adults or 
juveniles reentering the community after incarceration, referred to as reentry service 
providers;
2.  Requires the department to administer the Community-based Reentry Services 
Account and fund it by applying for federal and grant funding, including through the federal 
Second Chance Act of 2007, or transferring other available funds;
3.  Requires the department to use the funds available in the Community-based Reentry 
Services Account to award grants to one or more reentry service providers to establish or 
provide reentry services programs, including assessment and planning of reentry services; 
individual case management or system navigation services; peer-to-peer mentoring; 
housing assistance; housing development; job training and placement services; medical and 
behavioral health assessment, treatment and support; parenting skills and family support 
services; development of a substance use disorder treatment program as an alternative to 
incarceration for primary caregivers; and organization of community and victim impact 
panels or educational classes;
4.  Permits an individual who previously provided mentoring services to an 
incarcerated adult or juvenile to continue to provide mentoring services to that adult or 
juvenile as part of a reentry services program unless the department demonstrates that doing 
so poses a significant security risk to the individual, the adult or juvenile or any other 
individual;
5.  Requires a reentry service provider to submit an application to the department that 
describes the reentry services program to be funded and the need for the program, a long-
term strategy and implementation plan for the program and the reentry service provider's 
experience working with formerly incarcerated individuals and individuals from 
marginalized communities; identifies any entity, including any governmental agency, 
community organization or faith community, the reentry service provider will coordinate 
or partner with; contains an annual budget for the program; and describes the method and 
outcome measures that the reentry service provider will use to evaluate the reentry services 
program;
6.  Requires the department to adopt rules for the administration of the Community-
based Reentry Services Account, the evaluation of grant applications from reentry service 
providers and the distribution of grants from the account;
7.  Requires the department to adopt rules requiring an individual participating in a 
substance use disorder treatment program who does not successfully complete the program 
to serve an appropriate sentence of imprisonment with respect to the underlying crime and 
requiring that the individual be notified of this requirement before the individual begins the 
program;
8.  Requires a reentry service provider that receives a grant from the Community-based 
Reentry Services Account to submit a report for each fiscal year in which the reentry 
service provider spends funds from the grant containing a summary of the activities carried 
out under the reentry services program, an assessment of whether the reentry service 
provider is meeting the need specified in its grant application and any other information 
the department may require; and
9.  Requires the Commissioner of Corrections to submit a report at the end of each 
fiscal year to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over 
criminal justice and public safety matters and the Governor containing assessments of the 
impact of reentry services funded through the Community-based Reentry Services Account 
on various factors and statistics on the relative reduction in recidivism for inmates released 
by the department within that fiscal year and the 4 prior fiscal years and comparing the 
rates of recidivism of individuals that participated in reentry services programs that 
received a grant to individuals that did not.