1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to corrections; requiring commissioners of corrections and human 
1.3 	services to offer reentry planning services upon discharge to offenders leaving 
1.4 	correctional facilities;proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
1.5 	chapter 244.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. [244.0538] DISCHARGE PLANS.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Offer to develop plan. Except for an offender with serious and 
1.9 	persistent mental illness who receives a discharge plan under section 244.054, the 
1.10 	commissioner of human services, in collaboration with the commissioner of corrections, 
1.11 	shall offer to develop a discharge plan for community-based services for every offender 
1.12 	who is being released from a correctional facility. If an offender is released pursuant to 
1.13 	section 244.05, the offender may choose to have the discharge plan made one of the 
1.14 	conditions of the offender's supervised release and shall follow the conditions to the extent 
1.15 	that services are available and offered to the offender.
1.16 		Subd. 2.Content of plan. If an offender chooses to have a discharge plan 
1.17 	developed, the commissioner of human services shall develop and implement a discharge 
1.18 	plan, which must include at a minimum the following:
1.19 	(1) at least 90 days before the offender is due to be discharged, the commissioner of 
1.20 	human services shall designate an agent of the Department of Human Services with social 
1.21 	services training to serve as the primary person responsible for carrying out discharge 
1.22 	planning activities;
1.23 	(2) at least 75 days before the offender is due to be discharged, the offender's 
1.24 	designated agent shall:
2.1 	(i) obtain informed consent and releases of information from the offender that are 
2.2 	needed for transition services;
2.3 	(ii) contact the county human services department in the community where the 
2.4 	offender expects to reside following discharge, and inform the department of the offender's 
2.5 	impending discharge and the planned date of the offender's return to the community, 
2.6 	determine whether the county or a designated contracted provider will provide social 
2.7 	services to the offender, refer the offender to the social services provider, and confirm that 
2.8 	the social services provider will have opened the offender's case prior to the offender's 
2.9 	discharge; and
2.10 	(iii) refer the offender to appropriate staff in the county human services department 
2.11 	in the community where the offender expects to reside following discharge, for enrollment 
2.12 	of the offender if eligible in programs for housing, financial support, benefits assistance, 
2.13 	employment counseling, and other available services;
2.14 	(3) at least 30 days before discharge, the offender's designated agent shall convene a 
2.15 	predischarge assessment and planning meeting of key staff from the programs in which 
2.16 	the offender has participated while in the correctional facility, the offender, the supervising 
2.17 	agent, and the social services provider assigned to the offender. At the meeting, attendees 
2.18 	shall provide background information and recommendations for the offender, including 
2.19 	information on the offender's risk for recidivism, therapy and behavioral goals; diagnostic 
2.20 	and assessment information, including results of a chemical dependency evaluation; needs 
2.21 	for housing, employment, and finance support and assistance; and recommendations for 
2.22 	successful community integration, including chemical dependency treatment or support if 
2.23 	chemical dependency is a risk factor. The offender's designated agent shall summarize 
2.24 	the background information and continuing care recommendations in a written report 
2.25 	immediately following the meeting;
2.26 	(4) immediately following the predischarge assessment and planning meeting, the 
2.27 	provider of social services who will serve the offender following discharge shall offer 
2.28 	to make arrangements and referrals for housing, financial support, benefits assistance, 
2.29 	employment counseling, and other services as needed;
2.30 	(5) upon discharge, the offender's designated agent shall ensure that the offender 
2.31 	leaves the correctional facility with a secured appointment with a local social or 
2.32 	human services provider as well as a copy of the written discharge plan. The agent 
2.33 	shall also ensure that the offender is provided with a list of community resources 
2.34 	including information on housing and shelter options, employment counseling, education 
2.35 	opportunities, health care, childcare, and legal services providers; and
3.1 	(6) if an offender is a parent of a minor child and wishes to establish a relationship 
3.2 	with that child upon discharge, the offender's designated agent shall include in the 
3.3 	offender's discharge plan a secured appointment for consultation with an appropriate legal 
3.4 	services provider or social services worker to discuss parental rights and reunification.