(a) A commitment shall be treated as a commitment to the Department of Correction and subject to regular transfer eligibility unless:

(1) The commitment specifies that the inmate is to be judicially transferred to the Department of Community Correction; or

(2) If the court indicates on the commitment that the Department of Correction shall administratively determine the transfer of an inmate, the Department of Correction may administratively transfer a statutorily eligible inmate to the Department of Community Correction in accordance with rules promulgated by the Board of Corrections.

(b)

(1) In accordance with rules and procedures promulgated by the Board of Corrections and the orders of the committing court, the Director of the Department of Community Correction shall assign a newly transferred inmate to an appropriate facility, placement, program, or status within the Department of Community Correction.

(2) The director may transfer an inmate from one facility, placement, program, or status to another facility, placement, program, or status consistent with the commitment, applicable law, and in accordance with treatment, training, and security needs.

(3)

(A) An inmate may be administratively transferred back to the Department of Correction from the Department of Community Correction by the Parole Board following a hearing in which the inmate is found ineligible for placement in a Department of Community Correction facility as he or she fails to meet the criteria or standards established by law or policy adopted by the Board of Corrections or has been found guilty of a violation of the rules of the facility.

(B) Time served in a community correction facility or under supervision by the Department of Community Correction shall be credited against the sentence contained in the commitment to the Department of Correction.

(c) (1) In accordance with rules and procedures promulgated by the Board of Corrections, or except as otherwise prohibited by subdivision (c)(4) of this section, upon receipt of a referral from the director or his or her designee, the Parole Board may release from confinement an inmate who has been:

(A) Sentenced and judicially or administratively transferred to the Department of Community Correction;

(B) Incarcerated for a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) days; and

(C) Determined by the Department of Community Correction to have successfully completed its therapeutic program.

(2) (A) The General Assembly finds that the power granted to the Parole Board under subdivision (c)(1) of this section will:

(i) Aid the therapeutic rehabilitation of the inmates judicially or administratively transferred to the Department of Community Correction; and

(ii) More efficiently use the correctional resources of the State of Arkansas.

(B) The power granted to the Parole Board under subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall be the sole authority required for the accomplishment of the purposes set forth in this subdivision (c)(2), and when the Parole Board exercises its power under this section, it shall not be necessary for the Parole Board to comply with general provisions of other laws dealing with the minimum time constraints as applied to release eligibility.

(3) This subsection does not grant the Parole Board or the Department of Community Correction the authority either to detain an inmate beyond the sentence imposed upon him or her by a transferring court or to shorten that sentence.

(4) An inmate may not be released from confinement under this section if the inmate was sentenced and judicially or administratively transferred to the Department of Community Correction at a time earlier than that which would otherwise be possible if the inmate was sentenced to the Department of Correction, regardless of any program completed by the inmate.

(d)

(1) An inmate of the Department of Correction who is to be released on parole may be administratively transferred to the Department of Community Correction when the inmate is within eighteen (18) months of his or her projected release date for the purpose of participating in a reentry program of at least six (6) months in length.

(2) Each inmate administratively transferred under this subsection shall be thoroughly screened and approved for participation by the director or his or her designee.

(3) In accordance with rules promulgated by the Board of Corrections, upon receipt of a referral from the director or his or her designee, the Parole Board may release from incarceration an inmate who has been:

(A) Administratively transferred to the Department of Community Correction; and

(B) Determined by the Department of Community Correction to have successfully completed its reentry program.

(4) An inmate who has been administratively transferred under this subsection shall be administratively transferred back to the Department of Correction if he or she:

(A) Is denied parole; or

(B) Fails to complete or is removed from the reentry program.