HI SR55

Encourages the Department of Public Safety to continue and expand community-based work furlough programs for formerly incarcerated female inmates to assist their transition back into society.

Cites data showing that 82.4 percent of women who participate in Ka Hale Ho ala Hou No Na Wahine, the State's only community-based work furlough program, are not reincarcerated for at least two years after release.

Notes that community-based substance abuse treatment programs are more effective than in-prison treatment, and that trauma-informed, gender-responsive frameworks help break cycles of substance abuse and incarceration.

Highlights that Native Hawaiian women represent over 44 percent of Hawaii's incarcerated female population and can benefit from culturally-sensitive reentry programs.

States that at the time of passage, there were 665 women under Department of Public Safety custody with incarceration costs of $134 per day, and that reducing recidivism through community programs provides long-term cost savings.