An Act to Establish a Community-based Reentry Program in All Department of Corrections Facilities
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1633
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: BEEBE-CENTER, GEIGER, BAILEY, DOUDERA, GRAMLICH, HASENFUS, MADIGAN, MATLACK, SHAGOURY
Amends: 5 MRSA §12004-I, 34-A MRSA §3036-D, 34-A MRSA §3036-C

Legislative Document
No. 1633
S.P. 650
In Senate, April 12, 2023
An Act to Establish a Community-based Reentry Program in All 
Department of Corrections Facilities
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BEEBE-CENTER of Knox.
Cosponsored by Representative GEIGER of Rockland and
Senator: BAILEY of York, Representatives: DOUDERA of Camden, GRAMLICH of Old 
Orchard Beach, HASENFUS of Readfield, MADIGAN of Waterville, MATLACK of St. 
George, SHAGOURY of Hallowell.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §12004-I, sub-§4-D is enacted to read:
4-D.   
Corrections 
Peer Reentry Review Board 
Not Authorized 
34-A MRSA 
§3036-D 
Sec. 2.  34-A MRSA §3036-C is enacted to read:
§3036-C.  Community-based reentry program
1. Community-based reentry program. The commissioner shall establish a 
community-based reentry program, referred to in this section as "the program," at each 
correctional facility. The commissioner shall enter into a contract with a community-based 
organization to administer the program.  The program assists clients in reintegrating with 
the community, providing peer recovery support, reentry planning and post-release support 
and follow-up on an individualized basis for each client participating in the program.
2. Staff. Staffing for the program includes the positions of:
A. Peer recovery supporter, who is a trained resident peer supporter currently 
incarcerated at a facility, a recovery coach or a certified intentional peer support 
specialist;
B. Community reintegration specialist, who is a certified intentional peer support 
specialist under paragraph A and acts as a peer, mentor and resource navigator and 
connector; and
C. Forensic intensive case manager, who is a community reintegration specialist under 
paragraph B and possesses lived experience of being incarcerated.
3. Prerelease process.  The program's prerelease process includes:
A. Serving a client who has requested to participate in the program, has been referred 
to the program by department personnel or has otherwise made contact, directly or 
indirectly, with the program indicating interest in participating in the program.  
Participation in the program is voluntary. Program services must commence at least 2 
years before the participant's release unless the participant's remaining term of 
incarceration is less than 2 years, in which case the program services must commence 
as soon as practicable.
B. Maintaining for each correctional facility a:
(1) Forensic intensive case manager to provide information regarding training, 
educational or other resources and to maintain contact with a participant at the 
facility between scheduled meetings with the participant; and 
(2) Resident peer recovery supporter who shall provide advice, support and contact 
with a participant incarcerated at the facility.  
C. Conducting an orientation meeting with the participant by the forensic case manager 
and peer recovery supporter for that correctional facility under paragraph B to: 
(1) Provide program information to the participant, including the mission, 
processes and ultimate goals of the program; 
(2) Conduct an initial assessment of the participant and any issues or characteristics 
of the participant to match the participant with appropriate available resources and 
to develop the participant's reentry plan under subsection 5, including: 
(a) Housing plans or needs of the participant upon release; 
(b) Employment goals and past employment experience of the participant; 
(c) Educational goals and career aspirations of the participant; 
(d) Hobbies or interests of the participant; and
(e) Substance use and recovery status and recovery plan of the participant;
(3) Establish a rapport with the participant and address any issues, concerns or 
questions of the participant; 
(4) Discuss a basic plan for prerelease integration planning until the final prerelease 
meeting of the participant under paragraph D, subparagraph 3; and
(5) Prior to the end of the orientation meeting, schedule the next meeting with the 
participant.
D. Assigning 2 community reintegration specialists to work with the participant who, 
along with the forensic intensive case manager and resident peer recovery supporter, 
as necessary, subsequent to the orientation meeting, shall: 
(1) Meet with the participant to develop a reentry plan under subsection 5 tailored 
to the participant's needs and intentions based upon the information obtained in the 
orientation meeting under paragraph C and with the participant's active 
participation and input; 
(2) Schedule further meetings as time allows and as necessary to: 
(a) Develop the reentry plan under subsection 5; 
(b) Maintain contact and rapport with the participant; 
(c) Address developments and updates to the reentry plan under subsection 5 
or issues that may have arisen with the participant; 
(d) Introduce the participant to resources and community partners representing 
programs or services available to the participant after release or to gather 
required signatures, formalize post-release arrangements or agreements or 
exchange contact information; or
(e) Obtain a temporary email address or other details necessary to be completed 
prior to release; and
(3) Hold a final release meeting with the participant to: 
(a) Provide support for the participant; 
(b) Share with the participant lived release experiences of the program staff or 
others; 
(c) Schedule a post-release meeting within 7 days of release; and 
(d) Otherwise ensure that the participant's release goes as smoothly and with 
as little trauma to the participant as possible. 
4. Post-release process. The program's post-release process includes:
A. A post-release meeting under subsection 3, paragraph D in which program personnel 
check with the participant to: 
(1) Assess the participant's well-being; 
(2) Discuss the participant's initial release experience; 
(3) Ensure that appointments and provision of services and program participation 
under the reentry plan under subsection 5 and other obligations under the program 
are being met; and
(4) Provide the participant a cellular telephone, the number of which must be 
provided to the program and to the participant's probation officer; and
B. Follow-up meetings to: 
(1) Assess the participant's well-being; 
(2) Discuss with the participant progress on post-release goals; 
(3) Actively encourage the participant to participate in community activities; 
(4) Ensure that the participant's basic needs in housing, employment, education, 
training, support system, treatment of or recovery from substance use disorder and 
other elements of the participant's reentry plan under subsection 5 are being met; 
and
(5) If the participant is serving probation, maintain regular contact with the 
participant's probation officer.
Meetings under this paragraph must be scheduled every 3 months for the first year after 
the participant's release and a checkup of the participant to assess the participant's well-
being and any issues the participant is experiencing must be conducted every 3 months 
from 12 months to 36 months after the participant's release and annually thereafter for 
a period determined necessary under the program.
5. Reentry plan.  As part of the prerelease process under subsection 3, the program 
with the active participation of the participant shall develop a reentry plan to accomplish 
an effective reintegration of the participant into the community subsequent to release from 
incarceration.  The community reintegration specialists assigned to the participant shall 
develop a working relationship with the participant to formulate the reentry plan based 
upon the participant's expressed goals and opportunities and based upon information 
obtained through the orientation meeting, participant information received from the 
department and other sources providing information about the participant. The reentry plan 
must include, as applicable:
A. A treatment and recovery plan for substance use disorder;
B. Peer support;
C. A pathway to meaningful employment;
D. Housing and transitional housing options;
E. Education and job training opportunities;
F. Constructive activities and activities that align with interests of the participant; and
G. The development of productive relationships with probation officers, family 
members and community partners and peers with lived experience of incarceration, 
reentry and recovery.
6. Individual-centered approach to reentry. The program shall align its processes 
and each reentry plan to focus on the individual participant the program is serving in 
assisting and supporting the participant's reentry into the community. The program shall as 
much as practicable include the participant in planning, decision making and determining 
the most effective course in establishing a reentry plan under subsection 5 that meets the 
participant's individual needs and requirements in making a successful reintegration into 
the community and preventing the possibility of recidivism.  The program's staff shall make 
the best effort in listening to the participant, providing peer and emotional support and 
being responsive to issues, needs and questions of the participant.  Peer support is necessary 
from the orientation meeting throughout the entire process until the final post-release 
meetings and follow-up to provide a continuity required to most effectively implement 
reintegration of the participant into the community and to prevent recidivism. 
7. Department support.  The department shall support the program by providing:
A. Referrals of appropriate clients to the program;
B. Access for the program to the correctional facility, facility resources, meeting or 
conference space, office space and other physical amenities required for the proper 
administration of the program;
C. Access to a participant by program staff as required, including access within the 
secure perimeter of the facility for prerelease engagement with the participant, subject 
to department and facility policies, eligibility, rules and training;
D. Relevant data on a participant including appropriate release information, risk level, 
all correctional programming completed during the participant's time of incarceration, 
the participant's release date and status upon release and data required for tracking 
under subsection 8;
E. Technological support for remote and electronic access and communication with 
participants and program staff;
F. Facilitation or coordination with the program of a participant's training, education 
and other similar activities during the participant's incarceration; 
G. Security for program staff and participants; and
H. Cooperation with and responsiveness to programming needs, requests and activities 
of the program.
8. Data tracking.  The program, with the cooperation of the department, shall gather 
and maintain data, including:
A. Recidivism rates of individuals engaged with community-based reentry services 
compared with historic recidivism rates of individuals with reentry services provided 
by the department and similar efforts and outcomes in other jurisdictions;
B. Recidivism rates of individuals with peer support compared with historic recidivism 
rates of individuals without peer support or who have refused peer support;
C. Recidivism rates of individuals engaged with multiple community support resources 
compared with historic recidivism rates of individuals engaged with a single 
community support resource or no community support resource; and
D. Other data and analysis as determined necessary by the program or recommended 
by the Peer Reentry Review Board under section 3036-D.
9. Funding.  The program is funded by appropriations and allocations by the 
Legislature and grants, gifts and donations from public and private sources.
Sec. 3.  34-A MRSA §3036-D is enacted to read:
§3036-D.  Peer Reentry Review Board
1. Peer Reentry Review Board established.  The Peer Reentry Review Board, 
established in Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 4-D and referred to in this section as "the 
board," is created. 
2. Membership. The board consists of 22 members appointed as follows:
A. One mental health treatment provider, appointed by the President of the Senate;
B. One substance use disorder treatment provider, appointed by the President of the 
Senate;
C. Two members of a statewide victim advocacy group, appointed by the President of 
the Senate;
D. Three members of the public, each from a separate region of the State administered 
by probation and parole services administered by the department, appointed by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives;
E. Two members from a statewide organization that represents family members and 
acquaintances of incarcerated persons, appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives;
F. One formerly incarcerated person who is a member of a statewide organization that 
advocates for incarcerated persons' rights, recommended by the organization and 
appointed by the Governor;
G. One formerly incarcerated person who is a member of a statewide organization that 
assists in the transition of incarcerated persons back into the community, recommended 
by the organization and appointed by the Governor;
H. Two formerly incarcerated persons recommended by a statewide organization that 
advocates for incarcerated persons' rights and appointed by the Governor;
I. Two currently incarcerated persons recommended by a statewide organization that 
advocates for incarcerated persons' rights and appointed by the Governor;
J. One representative of the Department of Labor, appointed by the Governor;
K. One representative of the Maine State Housing Authority, appointed by the 
Governor; 
L. One representative of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of 
Child and Family Services, appointed by the Governor;
M. One representative of probation and parole services administered by the 
department, appointed by the commissioner;
N. One representative of the department who is responsible for evidence-based 
practices, appointed by the commissioner; and
O. Two members of the public with experience, education or employment in 
corrections involving reentry matters, appointed by the commissioner.
3. Terms; vacancies; chair; removal. Members serve for a term of 2 years and may 
serve 2 consecutive terms. A vacancy on the board must be filled in the same manner as 
the original appointment was made under subsection 2. Members elect a chair from among 
the membership. A member may be removed by a 2/3 vote of the membership.
4. Meetings; department support. The board shall meet quarterly. The department 
shall provide staff support and facilities for the board.
5. Duties. The board's duties are to oversee, advise and evaluate a community-based 
reentry program under section 3036-C, including:
A. Reporting to funding sources of the community-based reentry program;
B. Overseeing the operations of and advising and making recommendations to the 
community-based organization administering the community-based reentry program;
C. Studying data gathered under section 3036-C, subsection 8 and other data, studies 
and analysis from other sources and jurisdictions to inform and make recommendations 
to the community-based reentry program, the commissioner and the Legislature;
D. Ensuring that the community-based reentry program maintains a high level of peer 
engagement and the values of continuous quality improvement. For purposes of this 
paragraph, "continuous quality improvement" means an ongoing management process 
that measures, evaluates and makes improvements in an organization's activities to: 
(1) Reduce waste; 
(2) Increase efficiency; 
(3) More effectively carry out the organization's mission and activities; and 
(4) Increase internal satisfaction of the organization's staff, employees and 
volunteers and external satisfaction of the organization's clients, funding sources 
and institutional partners; and
E. Reporting on the community-based reentry program's activities, outcomes and other 
related matters to the commissioner and the joint standing committee of the Legislature 
having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters.
SUMMARY
This bill creates a community-based reentry program administered by a community-
based organization at each correctional facility operated by the Department of Corrections. 
The program is a peer-supported program that provides individualized reentry plans to 
incarcerated individuals starting from 2 years prior to an individual's release, involving 
multiple meetings to determine the individual's education, job training, substance use 
disorder treatment, housing and other needs subsequent to release and follow-up meetings 
after release to support the individual's reentry into the community and to reduce or prevent 
recidivism.  This bill also creates the Peer Reentry Review Board, which oversees, advises, 
studies data and makes recommendations to the community-based reentry program and 
reports to the Commissioner of Corrections and the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters.