TITLE I
THE STATE AND ITS GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER 21-H
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Section 21-H:4

    21-H:4 Internal Organizational Units. –
The department shall include the following internal organizational units performing the following major functions:
I. The unclassified chief financial and operating officer shall, in accordance with applicable laws, be responsible for:
(a) Accounting, purchasing, and budget control.
(b) Property, contracts, and grant management.
(c) Assistance to the commissioner with short and long range department-wide planning activities.
(d) Logistics, facilities management, and food service.
(e) Business information and technology.
(f) Other duties assigned by the commissioner.
I-a. The unclassified director of personnel and information shall be renamed the director of operations and project management and shall report directly to the chief financial and operating officer.
II. The division of field services, under the supervision of an unclassified director of field services, who shall, in accordance with applicable laws, be responsible for:
(a) Supervising adults placed on probation and inmates placed on parole.
(b) Collection of restitution from individuals under the department's supervision.
III. The division of medical and forensic services, under the joint supervision of a medical director and an unclassified non-medical director, who shall respectively have the duties and responsibilities provided in RSA 622:43, and who shall act in an advisory and coordinative capacity in assisting other agencies and activities in the provision of mental health and psychiatric services to persons involved in the criminal justice system.
IV. The bureau of investigations and professional standards, under the supervision of an unclassified bureau chief of investigations of professional standards, who shall, in accordance with applicable laws:
(a) Conduct and supervise investigations and audits relating to all aspects of the operations and programs of the department, including but not limited to, complaints and grievances.
(b) Advise the commissioner concerning problems or deficiencies relating to the administration of departmental programs and operations, and provide advice on the necessity for, and progress of, correctional action.
(c) Perform other duties as assigned by the commissioner.
V. The human resources bureau under the direction of a classified human resources director, who shall, in accordance with applicable laws, be responsible for the following functions:
(a) Personnel management, recruitment, and retention. The department shall develop a program for the recruitment, selection, placement, and retention of qualified applicants for the New Hampshire department of corrections.
(1) The program may include expenditures for recruitment and retention activities and incentives, including but not limited to:
(A) National Corrections Professionals Week recognition activities at all departmental sites to support employee retention, which may include a paid meal for the site during the week, physical awards and gift cards with a value of less than $25 as performance incentives based on departmental policies for employee recognition, and items issued to employees that are within the financial scope of the department's current expense appropriations in expenditure class 020.
(B) Referral fees or bonuses for active employees or newly hired applicants who have not been employed by the state through a policy approved by the commissioner.
(2) Any recruitment or retention incentives received by an employee pursuant to this subparagraph shall not be considered gifts under RSA 15-B.
(3) Referral of applicants by current department employees for the purpose of receiving a referral fee pursuant to this subparagraph shall not be considered a misuse of position under RSA 21-G:23, provided that any rules adopted by the commissioner and any directives issued by the director regarding the referral program shall require that the benefits of the program shall be equally available to all department employees, except as specified in subparagraph (1)(B), and subject to uniform criteria established by the director.
(4) Any expenditures made for recruitment or retention incentives pursuant to this subparagraph shall be considered a matter of legislatively-enacted public policy designed to benefit employees and the state, and that is confined exclusively to the public employer by statute as provided in RSA 273-A:1, XI, and which shall not be subject to collective bargaining. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to invalidate any portion of a collective bargaining agreement entered into by the state.
(b) Other duties as assigned by the commissioner.
VI. The division of rehabilitative services, under the supervision of an unclassified director of rehabilitative services, who shall, in accordance with applicable laws:
(a) Direct and oversee departmental rehabilitative services for inmates to prepare them for release from institutional settings into the community.
(b) Coordinate with community organizations to provide a continuity of rehabilitative services for individuals under probation or parole supervision in order to achieve stability within the community and reduce recidivism.
(c) Operate and administer all transitional work and housing units where inmates are assigned for minimum security and work release.
(d) Serve as the primary liaison between the department and community-based service providers, and municipal, county, and state entities with common issues and responsibilities, including educational and vocational or career-path opportunities.
(e) Work with the department of justice and other state and federal agencies to identify, secure, and manage grant funds to supplement services available to individuals under departmental supervision, including but not limited to housing and employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, and medical and prescription services.
VII. The division of communications and external affairs, under the supervision of an unclassified director of communications and external affairs, who shall, in accordance with applicable laws be responsible for:
(a) Internal and external communications, including management of the department's public communications portals.
(b) The victim-offender dialogue program, which shall be a victim-initiated, voluntary program to assist crime victims who seek access to restorative justice programs as provided under RSA 21-M:8-k, II(u), under the direction of the victim services coordinator, who shall:
(1) Implement and oversee the program.
(2) Advocate for the rights of crime victims.
(3) Provide corrections-based victim services including but not limited to:
(A) Notification of offender status changes.
(B) Victim-initiated victim offender dialogue.
(C) Advocacy, safety, and support for victims during reduced custody, offender re-entry, and hearings of the adult parole board. Participation in the program shall not affect the court's decision relative to sentencing, parole, or other types of supervised or unsupervised release programs.
(c) Coordinate and recommend policies designed to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of the department, and to detect and prevent fraud and abuse in departmental programs and operations.
(d) Provide legislative oversight for the department.
(e) Other duties as assigned by the commissioner.
VIII. The bureau of training under the direction of a classified training bureau chief, who shall, in accordance with applicable laws, be responsible for employee training and development.

Source. 1983, 461:1. 1988, 170:1. 1993, 321:1, 2. 1996, 159:8. 1998, 270:1. 2008, 313:1, 2. 2009, 144:184, eff. July 1, 2009; 222:2, 8, eff. June 30, 2009; 283:2, eff. Sept. 27, 2009. 2022, 146:1, eff. June 7, 2022. 2023, 79:379, eff. July 1, 2023. 2026, 41:2, eff. April 28, 2026.