The Legislature finds and declares that:

(1) It is desirable that each inmate be confined in and released from an institution or facility as close to the inmate’s permanent residence or county of commitment as possible, in order to lessen the transportation expense to the public.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that:

(a) To the extent possible, an inmate be returned, upon release, to the same area from which the inmate was committed.
(b) An inmate being released from a community work-release program is not eligible for the provision of transportation.
(c) Transportation provided for an eligible inmate upon release shall be to one of the following points:

1. The county where parole placement has been approved and supervision is to commence.
2. Another state.
3. The county of employment within the state.
4. The county of legal residence within the state.
5. The county of original commitment within the state.
(d) Each releasee who is eligible for the provision of transportation shall be escorted to the site of embarkation by an officer of the correctional facility, who shall remain until the releasee has departed.