(D) If the inmate has been convicted of a sex offense as defined in Section 2 of the Sex Offender Registration Act, sentencing credits under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph (4) shall be awarded by the Department only if the conditions set forth in paragraph (4.6) of subsection (a) are satisfied. No inmate serving a term of natural life imprisonment shall receive sentence credit under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph (4).
Educational, vocational, substance abuse, behavior modification programs, life skills courses, re-entry planning, and correctional industry programs under which sentence credit may be earned under this paragraph (4) and paragraph (4.1) of this subsection (a) shall be evaluated by the Department on the basis of documented standards. The Department shall report the results of these evaluations to the Governor and the General Assembly by September 30th of each year. The reports shall include data relating to the recidivism rate among program participants.
Availability of these programs shall be subject to the limits of fiscal resources appropriated by the General Assembly for these purposes. Eligible inmates who are denied immediate admission shall be placed on a waiting list under criteria established by the Department. The rules and regulations shall provide that a prisoner who has been placed on a waiting list but is transferred for non-disciplinary reasons before beginning a program shall receive priority placement on the waitlist for appropriate programs at the new facility. The inability of any inmate to become engaged in any such programs by reason of insufficient program resources or for any other reason established under the rules and regulations of the Department shall not be deemed a cause of action under which the Department or any employee or agent of the Department shall be liable for damages to the inmate. The rules and regulations shall provide that a prisoner who begins an educational, vocational, substance abuse, work-release programs or activities in accordance with Article 13 of Chapter III of this Code, behavior modification program, life skills course, re-entry planning, or correctional industry programs but is unable to complete the program due to illness, disability, transfer, lockdown, or another reason outside of the prisoner's control shall receive prorated sentence credits for the days in which the prisoner did participate.