Senator Hirono Secures Commitment from BOP Director to Provide Regular Updates on Efforts to Re-Open a Federal Residential Reentry Center in Hawaii

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Hirono secured a commitment from Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, to provide regular updates about the status of efforts to reopen a federal Residential Reentry Center (RRC) in Hawaii during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today. In response to questioning by Senator Hirono, Director Sawyer affirmed that BOP’s timeline to reopen an RRC is within the next several months.  

The state’s only RRC, Mahoney Hale, closed on September 30, 2019, after providing transitional services and programs for nearly three decades. Those services and programs included employment counseling, case management, and skills training to help men and women successfully reenter the community after serving federal prison sentences. Mahoney Hale’s closure had a significant impact, not only on those reentering the community who will no longer receive these critical transitional services in Hawaii, but also on other community members. The nonprofit Touch A Heart, for example, has frequently worked with Mahoney Hale to recruit interns for its culinary vocational program.