1922-S AMH MORR H2213.3

SHB 1922 - H AMD 000165 ADOPTED 03-16-93

By Representatives Morris, Lemmon, Long and Tate

    Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

    "NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that high crime rates and a heightened sense of vulnerability have led to increased public pressure on criminal justice officials to increase offender punishment and remove the most dangerous criminals from the streets.  As a result, there is unprecedented growth in the corrections populations and overcrowding of prisons and local jails.  Skyrocketing costs and high rates of recidivism have become issues of major public concern.  Attention must be directed towards implementing a long-range corrections strategy that focuses on inmate responsibility through intensive work ethic training.

    The legislature finds that many offenders lack basic life skills and have been largely unaffected by traditional correctional philosophies and programs.  In addition, many first-time offenders who enter the prison system learn more about how to be criminals than the important qualities, values, and skills needed to successfully adapt to a life without crime.

    The legislature finds that opportunities for offenders to improve themselves are extremely limited and there has not been adequate emphasis on alternatives to total confinement for nonviolent offenders.

    The legislature finds that the explosion of drug crimes since the inception of the sentencing reform act and the response of the criminal justice system have resulted in a much higher proportion of substance abuse-affected offenders in the state's prisons and jails.  The needs of this population differ from those of other offenders and present a great challenge to the system.  The problems are exacerbated by the shortage of drug treatment and counseling programs both in and outside of prisons.

    The legislature finds that the concept of a work ethic camp that requires the offender to complete an appropriate and balanced combination of highly structured and goal-oriented work programs such as correctional industries based work camps and/or class I and class II work projects, drug rehabilitation, and intensive life management work ethic training, can successfully reduce offender recidivism and lower the overall cost of incarceration.

    It is the purpose and intent of sections 1 through 6 of this act to implement a regimented work ethic camp that is designed to directly address the high rate of recidivism, reduce upwardly spiraling prison costs, preserve scarce and high cost prison space for the most dangerous offenders, and provide judges with a tough and sound alternative to traditional incarceration without compromising public safety.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 1 through 6 of this act.

    (1) "Department" means the department of corrections.

    (2) "Secretary" means the secretary of corrections.

    (3) "Transition training" means written and verbal instructions and assistance provided by the department to the offender during the two weeks prior to the offender's successful completion of the work ethic camp program.  The transition training shall include instructions in the offender's requirements and obligations during the offender's period of postrelease supervision.

    (4) "First-time drug offender" means any person who is convicted of a felony for the first time in violation of chapter 69.50 RCW, or of any offense defined as a felony under federal law that relates to the possession, manufacture, or delivery of a controlled substance, or any out-of-state conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be a felony classified as a drug offense under current statute.

    (5) "Work ethic camp" means an alternative incarceration program designed to reduce recidivism and lower the cost of corrections by requiring offenders to complete a comprehensive array of real-world job and vocational experiences, character-building work ethics training, life management skills development, substance abuse rehabilitation, counseling, literacy training, and basic adult education.  The objectives of the program are to deter offenders from committing additional crimes by requiring them to experience the sobering realities of prison life and simultaneously complete an intense range of character and skill building challenges.

    (6) "Incarceration program" means the work ethic camp.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  The department of corrections shall establish one work ethic camp.  The secretary shall locate the incarceration program within an already existing department compound or facility, or in a facility that is scheduled to come on line within the initial implementation date outlined in this section.  The facility selected for an incarceration program shall appropriately accommodate the logistical and cost-effective objectives contained in sections 1 through 6 of this act.  The department shall be ready to assign inmates to the incarceration program one hundred twenty days after the effective date of this act.  The department shall establish the work ethic program cycle to last from one hundred twenty to one hundred eighty days.  The department shall develop all aspects of the incarceration program including, but not limited to, program standards, conduct standards, educational components including general education development test achievement, offender incentives, drug rehabilitation program parameters, individual and team work goals, techniques for improving the offender's self-esteem, citizenship skills for successful living in the community, measures to hold the offender accountable for his or her behavior, and the successful completion of the incarceration program granted to the offender based on successful attendance, participation, and performance as defined by the secretary.  The work ethic camp shall be designed and implemented so that offenders are continually engaged in meaningful activities and unstructured time is kept to a minimum.  In addition, the department is encouraged to explore the integration and overlay of a military style approach to the work ethic camp.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  (1) Offenders shall be recommended for consideration to participate in the incarceration program at the time of their sentencing by the sentencing judge.  Upon sentencing an offender to work ethic camp, the sentencing judge shall convert the period of work ethic camp confinement at a rate of one day of work ethic camp confinement to three days of total standard confinement.  Only those offenders who successfully complete their sentence in work ethic camp, as defined by the department, shall be eligible to convert their sentence at this ratio.  The court shall, as a component of any sentence regarding work ethic camp, also impose a term of community placement postrelease supervision.  The total time spent in the work ethic program and postrelease supervision shall not exceed the initial sentence imposed.  During the last two weeks prior to release from work ethic camp the department shall provide the offender with comprehensive transition training.  The court shall send a copy of the offender's sentence to the department within five working days of sentencing.  The department shall arrange to take custody of the offender within its established customary time frame after the documents have been provided to the department by the court.  The department shall then be responsible for determining if the offender is eligible for the incarceration program based on the following criteria:

    (a) The offender is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-eight years.

    (b) The offender has no known physical or mental impairments that would prevent his or her ability to perform the challenging physical and mental activities associated with this program.

    (c) The offender is a first-time drug offender or an offender who is sentenced for not more than thirty-six months or less than twenty-two months.

    (d) The offender has not been convicted of any sex offenses or violent offenses.

    (e) The offender agrees to and signs the terms and conditions of the program designated by the secretary.

    The department shall develop written incarceration program offender eligibility criteria and make the information available to the appropriate sentencing courts.

    (2) The secretary shall prescribe the form and content of the agreement to be signed by the eligible offender before entering the incarceration program.

    (3) The department may place inmates eligible for the work ethic camp incarceration program in program beds that have not been utilized by the court.  The secretary shall ensure that court-referred inmates receive priority placement in the program.

    (4) An inmate who fails to complete the incarceration program, who is administratively terminated from the incarceration program, or who otherwise violates any conditions of supervision, as defined by the department, shall be reclassified to serve the unexpired term of his or her sentence as ordered by the sentencing court and subject to all rules relating to earned early release time.

    (5) An inmate who is sentenced or transferred to the incarceration program shall serve no less than one hundred twenty or more than one hundred eighty days as defined by the department to be considered a successful graduate of the incarceration program.  Because of the conversion ratio, earned early release time shall not accrue to offenders sentenced to the work ethic camp.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.  The department work ethic program facility shall employ one hundred percent of all inmates.  The employment options available for inmates shall include meaningful work opportunities that provide the offender with real-world skills that help the offender find employment when he or she successfully completes the incarceration program.  The department shall include in the incarceration program, without limitation, class I, class II, and class IV correctional programs.  No more than thirty-five percent of the total inmate population in the facility shall be employed in class III correctional industries programs in the first year and thereafter ten percent less per year until a maximum of ten percent of the inmates are working in this employment class.  In addition, work options shall also include department-supervised work crews as defined by the department.  These work crews shall have the ability to work on public roads conducting litter control, minor emergency repair or other minor tasks that do not negatively impact employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities contracted through the operation of sheltered workshops as defined in RCW 82.04.385, or have a negative impact on the local labor market or local business community as assessed by the department correctional industries advisory board of directors.  The department shall establish, to the extent possible, programs that will positively impact our natural environment such as, but not limited to, recycling programs and minor environmental cleanup programs.  If the department is directed by the legislature to increase the percentage of inmates employed in correctional industries programs, inmates employed through work ethic camps shall not be counted towards this total percentage.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.  The incarceration program established in sections 1 through 6 of this act shall be considered a pilot alternative incarceration program and remain in effect until July 1, 1998.  The department and the office of financial management shall monitor and analyze the effectiveness of the incarceration program and complete a final outcome evaluation study by January 15, 1998.  Based on the findings of this final outcome evaluation study, the legislature may extend the program.  The study shall include:  The recidivism rates of successful program graduates, analysis of the overall program costs, the ability to maintain public safety, and any other pertinent data established by the department.  The department may encourage interested universities to participate in studies that will enhance the effectiveness of the program.

    The department of corrections shall seek the availability of federal funds for the planning, implementation, evaluation, and training of staff for work ethic camp programs, substance abuse programs, and offender education programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7.  Sections 1 through 6 of this act are each added to chapter 72.09 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8.  If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9.  This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1993."

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