1. A. Whenever a person is convicted of a felony and is sentenced to imprisonment that is not to be served in a county jail, the person shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections and shall be classified and assigned to a correctional facility or program designated by the Department and authorized by law.
2. B. It is the intent of the Legislature that inmates in the custody of the Department of Corrections, prior to leaving the custody of the Department, be reintegrated into society through the use of work release programs, work centers, community corrections centers, intermediate sanctions facilities, accredited halfway houses and transitional living centers, subject to the availability of space and funding.
3. C. All persons who have nonassaultive institutional records and who are convicted of only previous and current nonviolent offenses and have a nonviolent juvenile record and are sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections shall be processed for assignment to a work release program, a work center, a community corrections center, an intermediate sanctions facility, an accredited halfway house, a transitional living facility, or any combination of such placements not less than two hundred ten (210) calendar days immediately prior to release from the custody of the Department of Corrections, unless the offender is currently participating in another approved program based upon the offender’s needs assessment. Other persons may be processed for assignment according to the offender’s needs and security classification not more than one hundred eighty (180) days prior to release from the custody of the Department. This assignment shall be for the purpose of assisting the person in obtaining gainful employment, receiving reintegration skills, and locating a suitable post-release residence. For purposes of this subsection, assistance in obtaining employment, receiving reintegration skills, and a post-release residence shall be part of the function of the placement and shall not be construed to require or authorize any financial assistance or expenditure of state funds to any inmate or to any contract provider for additional program services to an individual inmate.
4. D. The provisions of subsections B and C of this section shall not be applicable to inmates, as determined on an individual basis by the Department of Corrections, who otherwise constitute a serious or immediate risk to public health and safety.
5. E. Nothing in this section shall require a county jail to provide any services that are not currently being provided.

Laws 1967, HB 566, c. 261, § 21, emerg. eff. July 1, 1967; Amended by Laws 1978, HB 1599, c. 79, § 1, emerg. eff. March 27, 1978; Amended by Laws 1993, SB 467, c. 276, § 7, emerg. eff. May 27, 1993; Amended by Laws 1993, SB 565, c. 187, § 3 (repealed by Laws 1994, HB 2299, c. 2, § 34, emerg. eff. March 2, 1994); Amended by Laws 1994, HB 2299, c. 2, § 20, emerg. eff. March 2, 1994; Amended by Laws 2000, SB 1241, c. 183, § 1, emerg. eff. May 3, 2000 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2002, SB 1336, c. 211, § 4, emerg. eff. July 1, 2002 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2003, HB 1061, c. 74, § 1, eff. November 1, 2003 (superseded document available).