Section 5120.035 | Community-based substance use disorder treatment for qualified prisoners.

• Effective: April 4, 2023
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 288 - 134th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Community treatment provider" means a program that provides substance use disorder assessment and treatment for persons and that satisfies all of the following:

(a) It is located outside of a state correctional institution.

(b) It shall provide the assessment and treatment for qualified prisoners referred and transferred to it under this section in a suitable facility that is licensed pursuant to division (C) of section 2967.14 of the Revised Code.

(c) All qualified prisoners referred and transferred to it under this section shall reside initially in the suitable facility specified in division (A)(1)(b) of this section while undergoing the assessment and treatment.

(2) "Electronic monitoring device" has the same meaning as in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) "State correctional institution" has the same meaning as in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Qualified prisoner" means a person who satisfies all of the following:

(a) The person is confined in a state correctional institution under a prison term imposed for a felony of the third, fourth, or fifth degree that is not an offense of violence.

(b) The department of rehabilitation and correction determines, using a standardized assessment tool, that the person has a substance use disorder.

(c) The person has not more than twelve months remaining to be served under the prison term described in division (A)(4)(a) of this section.

(d) The person is not serving any prison term other than the term described in division (A)(4)(a) of this section.

(e) The person is eighteen years of age or older.

(f) The person does not show signs of drug or alcohol withdrawal and does not require medical detoxification.

(g) As determined by the department of rehabilitation and correction, the person is physically and mentally capable of uninterrupted participation in the substance use disorder treatment program established under division (B) of this section.

(B) The department of rehabilitation and correction shall establish and operate a program for community-based substance use disorder treatment for qualified prisoners. The purpose of the program shall be to provide substance use disorder assessment and treatment through community treatment providers to help reduce substance use relapses and recidivism for qualified prisoners while preparing them for reentry into the community and improving public safety.

(C)(1) The department shall determine which qualified prisoners in its custody should be placed in the substance use disorder treatment program established under division (B) of this section. The department has full discretion in making that determination. If the department determines that a qualified prisoner should be placed in the program, the department may refer the prisoner to a community treatment provider the department has approved under division (E) of this section for participation in the program and transfer the prisoner from the state correctional institution to the provider's approved and licensed facility. Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(3) of this section, no prisoner shall be placed under the program in any facility other than a facility of a community treatment provider that has been so approved. If the department places a prisoner in the program, the prisoner shall receive credit against the prisoner's prison term for all time served in the provider's approved and licensed facility and may earn days of credit under section 2967.193 or 2967.194 of the Revised Code, but otherwise neither the placement nor the prisoner's participation in or completion of the program shall result in any reduction of the prisoner's prison term.

(2) If the department places a prisoner in the substance use disorder treatment program, the prisoner does not satisfactorily participate in the program, and the prisoner has not served the prisoner's entire prison term, the department may remove the prisoner from the program and return the prisoner to a state correctional institution.

(3) If the department places a prisoner in the substance use disorder treatment program and the prisoner is satisfactorily participating in the program, the department may permit the prisoner to reside at a residence approved by the department if the department determines, with input from the community treatment provider, that residing at the approved residence will help the prisoner prepare for reentry into the community and will help reduce substance use relapses and recidivism for the prisoner. If a prisoner is permitted under this division to reside at a residence approved by the department, the prisoner shall be monitored during the period of that residence by an electronic monitoring device.

(D)(1) When a prisoner has been placed in the substance use disorder treatment program established under division (B) of this section, before the prisoner is released from custody of the department upon completion of the prisoner's prison term, the department shall conduct and prepare an evaluation of the prisoner, the prisoner's participation in the program, and the prisoner's needs regarding substance use disorder treatment upon release. Before the prisoner is released from custody of the department upon completion of the prisoner's prison term, the parole board or the court acting pursuant to an agreement under section 2967.29 of the Revised Code shall consider the evaluation, in addition to all other information and materials considered, as follows:

(a) If the prisoner is a prisoner for whom post-release control is mandatory under section 2967.28 of the Revised Code, the board or court shall consider it in determining which post-release control sanction or sanctions to impose upon the prisoner under that section.

(b) If the prisoner is a prisoner for whom post-release control is not mandatory under section 2967.28 of the Revised Code, the board or court shall consider it in determining whether a post-release control sanction is necessary and, if so, which post-release control sanction or sanctions to impose upon the prisoner under that section.

(2) If the department determines that a prisoner it placed in the substance use disorder treatment program successfully completed the program and successfully completed a term of post-release control, if applicable, and if the prisoner submits an application under section 2953.32 or the prosecutor in the case submits an application under section 2953.39 of the Revised Code for sealing or expungement of the record of the conviction, the director may issue a letter to the court in support of the application.

(E)(1) The department shall accept applications from community treatment providers that satisfy the requirement specified in division (E)(2) of this section and that wish to participate in the substance use disorder treatment program established under division (B) of this section, and shall approve for participation in the program at least four and not more than eight of the providers that apply. To the extent feasible, the department shall approve one or more providers from each geographical quadrant of the state.

(2) Each community treatment provider that applies under division (E)(1) of this section to participate in the program shall have the provider's alcohol and drug addiction services that provide substance use disorder treatment certified by the department of mental health and addiction services under section 5119.36 of the Revised Code. A community treatment provider is not required to have the provider's halfway house or residential treatment certified by the department of mental health and addiction services.

(F) The department of rehabilitation and correction shall adopt rules for the operation of the substance use disorder treatment program it establishes under division (B) of this section and shall operate the program in accordance with this section and those rules. The rules shall establish, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) Criteria that establish which qualified prisoners are eligible for the program;

(2) Criteria that must be satisfied to transfer a qualified prisoner to a residence pursuant to division (C)(3) of this section;

(3) Criteria for the removal of a prisoner from the program pursuant to division (C)(2) of this section;

(4) Criteria for determining when an offender has successfully completed the program for purposes of division (D)(2) of this section;

(5) Criteria for community treatment providers to provide assessment and treatment, including minimum standards for treatment.

Last updated March 8, 2023 at 1:08 PM

Available Versions of this Section

• September 29, 2015 – House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly
• July 1, 2017 – Senate Bill 319 - 131st General Assembly
• September 29, 2017 – Amended by House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly
• September 30, 2021 – Amended by House Bill 110 - 134th General Assembly
• April 4, 2023 – Amended by Senate Bill 288 - 134th General Assembly