Bill > H1486

This bill expands the use of community corrections programs, which are alternatives to traditional incarceration, for both pre-trial detainees (individuals held before their trial) and convicted criminal defendants. Specifically, it allows the commissioner of corrections or administrators of county correctional facilities to place female prisoners held for trial into these programs, and permits sheriffs or jail officials to place individuals charged with a crime and awaiting trial into community corrections. The bill also clarifies that community corrections can be used for inmates eligible for education, training, or employment programs, and for those being reintegrated into the community after serving their sentence. Furthermore, it enables courts to order participation in community corrections as an alternative to bail or as a condition of release, and allows probation departments to use these programs for pre-trial supervision. The bill also makes a technical correction to change the term "sentence" to "court-ordered sentence" in one section.