1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crime prevention; establishing a pilot 
  1.3             program to provide services and transitional housing 
  1.4             to Native American women leaving incarceration to aid 
  1.5             reentry to society; appropriating money. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN REENTRY PILOT GRANT 
  1.8   PROGRAM.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [REENTRY PILOT PROGRAM.] The commissioner 
  1.10  of corrections, with the assistance of the commissioner of 
  1.11  children, families, and learning, shall develop and administer a 
  1.12  Native American women reentry grant program to provide 
  1.13  transitional housing and services to Native American women who 
  1.14  are leaving the Minnesota correctional facility - Shakopee.  The 
  1.15  commissioners shall develop a grant application that specifies 
  1.16  the eligibility criteria for receiving grants. 
  1.17     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.] A local organization 
  1.18  must meet the following criteria to be eligible for a grant 
  1.19  under the program: 
  1.20     (1) it must be a Native American organization; 
  1.21     (2) it must provide weekly case management sessions to 
  1.22  assist the women in meeting agreed upon goals; 
  1.23     (3) it must provide education on financial, social, and 
  1.24  basic living skills; 
  1.25     (4) it must be able to initiate and continue counseling in 
  2.1   healthy living, chemical dependency, anger management, domestic 
  2.2   violence, family abuse, and posttraumatic stress; 
  2.3      (5) it must provide services to prepare the women for work 
  2.4   and/or school; 
  2.5      (6) it must provide cultural experiences and cultural 
  2.6   education, including counseling and instruction in traditional 
  2.7   parenting, where appropriate; and 
  2.8      (7) it must assist the women in restorative justice 
  2.9   projects that give something back to their community. 
  2.10     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES.] A woman who seeks to 
  2.11  receive transitional housing and services under this section 
  2.12  must meet the following criteria: 
  2.13     (1) be Native American, identify with Native American 
  2.14  culture, have Native American children, or identify her children 
  2.15  as Native American; 
  2.16     (2) complete an intake process, which includes collection 
  2.17  of general social information and an evaluation to determine the 
  2.18  woman's needs; 
  2.19     (3) complete an interview to discuss her background and 
  2.20  goals, the woman's expectations of the program, the rules and 
  2.21  expectations of the reentry program, and the woman's agreement 
  2.22  to enter and complete the program; 
  2.23     (4) be willing to participate in a restorative justice 
  2.24  project as a traditional way of giving back to her community; 
  2.25  and 
  2.26     (5) be accepted for admittance to the reentry program. 
  2.27     Subd. 4.  [REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE.] On or before January 
  2.28  15, 2001, the commissioner of corrections, with the assistance 
  2.29  of the commissioner of children, families, and learning, shall 
  2.30  submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of 
  2.31  the house and senate committees and divisions having 
  2.32  jurisdiction over criminal justice funding evaluating the 
  2.33  operating and effectiveness of the pilot grant program 
  2.34  established in this section. 
  2.35     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  2.36     Subdivision 1.  [CORRECTIONS.] $....... is appropriated 
  3.1   from the general fund to the commissioner of corrections, for 
  3.2   the fiscal biennium ending June 30, 2001, for one or more grants 
  3.3   to provide services under section 1.  This is a one-time 
  3.4   appropriation. 
  3.5      Subd. 2.  [CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND LEARNING.] $....... is 
  3.6   appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of 
  3.7   children, families, and learning, for the fiscal biennium ending 
  3.8   June 30, 2001, for transitional housing for Native American 
  3.9   women who participate in the reentry program set forth in 
  3.10  section 1.  This is a one-time appropriation.