229A.8A  Transitional release.
  1.  The department may establish a transitional release program and provide control, care, and treatment, and supervision of committed persons placed in such a program.
  2.  A committed person is suitable for placement in the transitional release program if the court finds that all of the following apply:
  a.  The committed person’s mental abnormality is no longer such that the person is a high risk to reoffend.
  b.  The committed person has achieved and demonstrated significant insights into the person’s sex offending cycle.
  c.  The committed person has accepted responsibility for past behavior and understands the impact sexually violent crimes have upon a victim.
  d.  A detailed relapse prevention plan has been developed and accepted by the treatment provider which is appropriate for the committed person’s mental abnormality and sex offending history.
  e.  No major discipline reports have been issued for the committed person for a period of six months.
  f.  The committed person is not likely to escape or attempt to escape custody pursuant to section 229A.5B.
  g.  The committed person is not likely to engage in predatory acts constituting sexually violent offenses while in the program.
  h.  The placement is in the best interest of the committed person.
  i.  The committed person has demonstrated a willingness to agree to and abide by all rules of the program.
  3.  If the committed person does not agree to the conditions of release, the person is not eligible for the transitional release program.
  4.  A committed person who refuses to register as a sex offender is not eligible for placement in a transitional release program.
  5.  Committed persons in the transitional release program are not necessarily required to be segregated from other persons.
  6.  The department shall be responsible for establishing and implementing the rules and directives regarding the location of the transitional release program, staffing needs, restrictions on confinement and the movement of committed persons, and for assessing the progress of committed persons in the program. The court may also impose conditions on a committed person placed in the program.
  7.  The department may contract with other government or private agencies, including the department of corrections, to implement and administer the transitional release program.
2002 Acts, ch 1139, §11, 27; 2003 Acts, ch 44, §47; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §463, 468; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §542
Referred to in §229A.8
Subsections 1, 6, and 7 amended