Committee hears bill to create Office of Reentry Services in Department of Labor and Industry

House Business and Labor opened a hearing on House Bill 718, which would establish an Office of Reentry Services in the Department of Labor and Industry, sponsor Representative Kerri Seekins‑Crow told the committee.

Representative Kerri Seekins‑Crow, the bill sponsor, said the office is intended to help “those who are justice involved” finish their transition out of corrections and reduce recidivism by coordinating services from pre‑release through “off paper” supervision and into employment.

Sarah Swanson, commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, told the committee the bill would place a small office in the department’s Workforce Services Division and coordinate multiple state agencies. “This directs one small team to be established within the Workforce Service Division of the Department of Labor and it requires…