1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to corrections; establishing the Peace of Hope Support for Families pilot 
1.3 	project to provide regular communication and related services between families 
1.4 	and the families' incarcerated member; providing for a report; appropriating money.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. PEACE OF HOPE SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES PILOT PROJECT.
 1.7 		Subdivision 1.Grant. (a) The commissioner of corrections shall award a grant to Peace 
1.8 	of Hope, Inc. to develop and implement the Peace of Hope Support for Families pilot project 
1.9 	to provide a full-service, regularly scheduled communication experience between a family 
1.10 	and the family's incarcerated member. The pilot project shall assist the family of the 
1.11 	incarcerated member by providing, at a minimum:
1.12 	(1) education about and assistance to access the types of communication resources 
1.13 	available for the family's incarcerated member and the member's family;
1.14 	(2) registration assistance to the family to visit and communicate with the family's 
1.15 	incarcerated member;
1.16 	(3) expense reimbursement for identification cards and child care;
1.17 	(4) chaperones for minor family members visiting the family's adult incarcerated member;
1.18 	(5) round-trip transportation for family members to visit the family's member at the 
1.19 	correctional facility or jail where the family member is incarcerated;
1.20 	(6) policy interpretation for family members; and
2.1 	(7) roundtable interactive counseling for the family members of the family's incarcerated 
2.2 	member during and following the member's incarceration.
2.3 	(b) The Peace of Hope Support for Families pilot project shall serve families of 
2.4 	incarcerated family members who are of all offender risk levels and who are incarcerated 
2.5 	in state correctional facilities or jails. The pilot project shall operate from September 1, 
2.6 	2021, through August 31, 2023.
2.7 		Subd. 2.Goals. The goals of the pilot project are to:
2.8 	(1) remove communication barriers that family members of an incarcerated family 
2.9 	member experience when trying to communicate with the family member incarcerated at 
2.10 	a correctional facility or jail by providing adequate, reliable, and consistent communication 
2.11 	resources and solutions;
2.12 	(2) promote family unity and strengthen the bonds of the family network during and 
2.13 	following the incarceration of a family member;
2.14 	(3) relieve stresses such as separation anxiety, severe depression, fear, inability to function 
2.15 	at the highest level in social settings including at a minimum work and school, and many 
2.16 	other maladies associated with family members who are unable to communicate with an 
2.17 	incarcerated family member;
2.18 	(4) improve on the state's proven reduction in recidivism record by increasing visitation 
2.19 	between family members and the family's incarcerated member which is proven quantitatively 
2.20 	and qualitatively to be a highly effective tool in reducing recidivism; and
2.21 	(5) decrease the level of agitation and possible violence within correctional facilities by 
2.22 	encouraging future family unification through consistent communication as a relevant 
2.23 	incentive.
2.24 		Subd. 3.Evaluation; report. By November 1, 2023, Peace of Hope, Inc. must report 
2.25 	to the chairs and ranking minority members of the house of representatives and senate 
2.26 	committees with jurisdiction over corrections on the development, implementation, impact, 
2.27 	and outcomes of the pilot project under this section.

2.28 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 2.29 	$800,000 in fiscal year 2022 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner 
2.30 	of corrections for a grant to Peace of Hope, Inc. for the Peace of Hope Support for Families 
2.31 	pilot project under section 1. This appropriation is available through November 1, 2023.