Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 158 - Arkansas Parole Board › Rule 158.00.14-001 - Early Release Program for Offenders to Transitional Housing Facilities

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
2.19 - Early Release Program for Offenders to Transitional
			 Housing Facilities
Offenders held in the Department of Correction (ADC), other than
			 those excluded below, shall be eligible for early release to a transitional
			 housing facility, or an equivalent entity, licensed by the Department of
			 Community Correction (ACC) up to one (1) year prior to the offender's date of
			 eligibility for parole or transfer. An offender's home or the residence of an
			 offender's family member shall not be considered a transitional housing
			 facility for the purposes of this program. Offenders released under this
			 program must reside at an approved transitional housing facility until they
			 reach their parole or transfer eligibility date.
It is determined that there is a reasonable probability that an
			 offender within one (1) or more of the following categories cannot be placed in
			 a transitional housing facility under the provisions of this program without
			 posing a detriment to the community or themselves. Therefore an offender is not
			 ineligible for this program if:
1.
		  They have failed to maintain Class I or II status at the time of application or
		  between the time of their hearing and release to the transitional housing
		  facility.
2. They have served less
		  than 6 months in the ADC. Time served in the county jail shall not be counted
		  toward program eligibility.
3. They
		  have an active conviction for a felony involving violence, as defined under
		  §
							5-4-501(d)(2)
4. They have ever been convicted
		  of any offense requiring registration under §
							12-12-903
		  (Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997).
5. They have an active conviction for, or
		  documented criminal history of, any offense determined by the Board to, by its
		  nature or definition, involve violence, the threat of violence, the potential
		  threat of violence, or the disregard for the safety of the lives of
		  others.
6. They have ever received
		  a disciplinary while incarcerated, or conviction (§§
							5-54-110 -
		  5-54-112 ),
		  for behavior related to an escape, or an attempted escape, from the ADC, ACC,
		  or another law enforcement agency.
7. They have an active detainer or felony
		  warrant lodged against them by another law enforcement agency or jurisdiction.
The Board may, upon request by the Director of ACC or their
			 designee, consider granting a waiver to an offender otherwise excluded by the
			 program's eligibility rules. The request shall be based at minimum on the
			 following factors:
1. The results of a
		  validated risk-needs assessment.
2.
		  The recommendation of field supervision staff, staff trained in area of
		  offender reentry, and/or institutional or community-based treatment
		  professionals;
3. The belief of the
		  Director, or their designee, that placement in a transitional housing facility
		  will not pose a detriment to the community or the offender.
Prior to implementation of the above process, the Director of ACC
			 shall provide the Board with an outline of the procedures that will be utilized
			 in making this determination. The Board shall, in an open meeting, adopt said
			 procedures prior to their implementation. The same process of notification and
			 adoption shall be utilized for any subsequent changes in any procedure
			 previously adopted by the Board.
Eligible offenders shall submit a written request to the Board
			 for consideration under this program through their unit Institutional Release
			 Officer (IRO). The request shall at minimum be accompanied by confirmation that
			 the offender has been accepted as a resident of a licensed transitional housing
			 facility upon release. Once a request has been received and the offender's
			 eligibility has been determined, the offender shall be scheduled for an Act 679
			 hearing before the Board. Offenders granted a waiver by the Board based upon
			 the request of the Director of ACC, or their designee, shall be scheduled once
			 the unit IRO is notified of the decision by the Chairman or their designee.
			 Hearings scheduled under this program shall follow the distribution of all
			 applicable notices under §
								16-93-615
			 and all applicable policies established by the Board pertaining to a
			 parole/transfer hearing and by ACC pertaining to parole plan approval.
Inmates released under this program shall be supervised by
			 officers of the ACC under the guidelines of the Act 679 Conditions of Release
			 established by the Board (see Board Manual Attachments). The conditions must be
			 based on a reasoned, rational plan developed in conjunction with validated
			 risk-needs assessment and include at minimum a curfew requiring an offender
			 placed in a transitional housing facility under this program to present
			 themselves at a scheduled time to be confined in the transitional housing
			 facility. Prior to release, ACC shall require offenders to sign a statement
			 acknowledging:
(1) their receipt and
		  understanding of the Act 679 Conditions of Release
(2) their receipt and understanding of, and
		  willingness to adhere to, facility rules and
(3) their parole or transfer eligibility
		  date.
An offender who without permission leaves the custody of the
			 transitional housing facility in which he or she is placed, prior to their
			 parole or transfer eligibility date, may be subject to criminal prosecution for
			 escape, §§
									5-54-110 -
			 5-54-112.
			 Facilities receiving an offender released under this program shall be provided
			 with information by OACC on reporting an offender who without permission leaves
			 the custody of the facility prior to their eligibility date.
Revocation of placement in transitional housing must follow the
			 revocation proceedings established in §
									16-93-705.