PRINTER'S NO. 1154
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1002
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY FIEDLER, SOLOMON, MURT, HILL-EVANS, McCLINTON,
CEPHAS, HARRIS, RABB, FRANKEL, WILLIAMS, KINSEY, SCHLOSSBERG,
MADDEN, CALTAGIRONE, STURLA, DALEY, HOWARD, FREEMAN, SANCHEZ
AND HOHENSTEIN, APRIL 2, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 2, 2019
AN ACT
Amending Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in miscellaneous provisions, providing
for mentorship program for former incarcerated individuals.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 61 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
ยง 5908. Mentorship program for former incarcerated individuals.
(a) Establishment.--The department shall promulgate
regulations to establish a mentorship program for former
incarcerated individuals. The program shall authorize former
incarcerated individuals to:
(1) mentor current incarcerated individuals; and
(2) assist current incarcerated individuals in
acclimating to society upon release or discharge from
correctional institutions.
(b) Duties.--To qualify for participation in the program
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established under subsection (a), a former incarcerated
individual shall:
(1) participate in a mentorship training course
established by the department, which shall include education
about trauma-informed care; and
(2) meet any other criteria required by the department
to successfully mentor a current incarcerated individual.
(c) Mental health services.--The department shall provide
access to mental health services for a former incarcerated
individual who mentors a current incarcerated individual under
this section and the current incarcerated individual while in
the department facilities. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to prevent a current incarcerated individual from
accessing mental health services at any other time during the
current incarcerated individual's incarceration.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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