2020 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
Title 15 - Criminal Procedure
§827. Duties of Department of Public Safety and Corrections

RS 827 - Duties of Department of Public Safety and Corrections

A. In addition to other duties imposed upon the department it shall be the duty of the department to:

(1) Establish programs of research, statistics, and planning, which shall include but not be limited to studies of the efficacy and performance of the policies, plans, and procedures of the department and studies of the treatment of offenders, and to provide information about other programs of the department.

(2) Make an annual report to the governor with respect to the work of the department, which shall include but not be limited to statistical and other data, accounts of research work performed by the department, the results of inspections of local detention and correctional facilities and statistical and other data on persons detained in such facilities, and any recommendations for legislation affecting the department.

(3) Establish a diagnostic and treatment center, which may consist of one or more branches, which shall undertake medical, educational, psychiatric, and social studies of persons committed to facilities under the jurisdiction of the department and to provide for the training of such psychiatrists, neurologists, special educators, psychologists, nurses, technicians, social workers, occupational therapists, physicians, and other professional trainees whose services shall be utilized in the operation of said center.

(4) Establish rules and regulations for the detection of controlled dangerous substances upon the person or in the blood stream of inmates returning from any labor detail, pass, furlough, or emergency leave which required the inmate to leave the grounds of a correctional institution under the jurisdiction of the department. The methods which may be employed for the detection of controlled dangerous substances may include but are not limited to the use of a police dog trained to detect controlled dangerous substances and analysis of the inmate's breath or urine.

(5) Establish a comprehensive program of released offender transition services for offenders who are about to be, or have recently been, released from the custody of the department. The program provided for by the provisions of this Paragraph shall not be construed to apply to parish or local jails. The program established shall be designed to provide efficient and effective aid to such offenders in making the transition from incarceration to free and law-abiding members of society and in completing probation or parole following their release. The program to be established shall specifically include but not be limited to the following:

(a) Job information services.

(b) Referral to available government mental health and medical assistance agencies and programs.

(c) Referral to available educational, vocational, job training, and counseling centers.

(d) Such other services as the department recommends and deems consistent with the goals described in this Subsection.

(6)(a) Establish a comprehensive program for offenders who are in the custody of the department in a state correctional facility to prepare for and take the General Education Development (GED) test. The program shall be designed to provide efficient and effective assistance to those offenders who have not graduated from high school or previously passed the GED test and who possess the educational ability and intellectual capacity to complete the courses necessary to successfully complete the program and pass the GED test.

(b) For purposes of this Paragraph, "state correctional facility" means a correctional facility owned and operated by the state of Louisiana or the Louisiana Correctional Facilities Corporation housing prisoners committed to the custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

(7) Establish a procedure that provides for each offender who is sentenced to one hundred eighty days or more in the custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, a written case plan that is based on the results of an assessment of the offender's risk and needs and includes participation in programming that addresses the needs identified in that assessment. The provisions of this Paragraph shall be implemented to the extent that funds are appropriated for this purpose and to the extent that it is consistent with the available resources.

(8)(a) Establish a system to collect data on the number of inmates who are veterans committed to its custody. Information shall be collected from all state correctional facilities and local jail facilities. Information to be collected shall include the military branch in which the incarcerated veteran served. The collected information shall be submitted annually to the legislature and the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs by the fifteenth of August, beginning on August 15, 2018.

(b) For purposes of this Paragraph, "veteran" means a former or current member of the United States Armed Forces.

(9)(a) Establish a system to collect information and data on inmates participating in any program that offers the inmate compensation for services or work performed, on-the-job training, or industry certification, including but not limited to information and data for all of the following: inmates assigned to Prison Enterprises' industrial, agricultural, service, or other programs; inmates who are Certified Academic Tutors and Certified Vocational Tutors; inmates assigned to a certified Private Sector/Prison Industry Enhancement program; inmates participating in a work release program established and administered by a sheriff; inmates participating in the work release program established and administered by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections; and inmates participating in a program established and administered pursuant to the Reentry Advisory Council and Offender Rehabilitation Workforce Development Act.

(b) The department shall annually report to the legislature, by July first of each year, the information and data collected pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph.

(c) The information and data collected and reported pursuant to this Paragraph shall include but not be limited to the following: the number of inmates participating in each program, the rate of compensation and the amount of each inmate's wages, the amount deducted from the wages of each inmate, the maximum number of inmates that can participate in each program, the number of inmates that receive industry certification or credentials for participating in a program, and the cost of obtaining training or certification by the inmate. The information shall also include the amount of funds deposited into and disbursed from the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Prison Enterprises Fund.

(d) The department may adopt any regulation or rule necessary to implement the provisions of this Paragraph. Any rule adopted pursuant to the provisions of this Subparagraph shall be promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

B. No convicted felon whether in the custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections or in the physical custody of a parish sheriff shall be assigned to be housed or remain housed for any portion of his sentence at the correctional institution at Work Training Facility South. No person charged with the commission of a felony who is incarcerated pending trial shall be housed or remain housed pending trial at the Work Training Facility South.

Added by Acts 1968, No. 192, §1; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 112, §1; Acts 1995, No. 320, §1, eff. June 16, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 914, §1, eff. June 28, 1995; Acts 1999, No. 540, §1; Acts 2009, No. 266, §1; Acts 2010, No. 832, §1; Acts 2017, No. 280, §3, eff. Nov. 11, 2017; Acts 2018, No. 313, §1; Acts 2018, No. 701, §1; Acts 2019, No. 369, §2.