| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the reentry and reintegration programs provided by the |
|
|
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Sections 501.092(b) and (g), Government Code, |
|
|
are amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) The reentry and reintegration plan adopted under this |
|
|
section must: |
|
|
(1) incorporate the use of the risk and needs |
|
|
assessment instrument adopted under Section 501.0921; |
|
|
(2) provide for programs that address the assessed |
|
|
needs of offenders and require the programs to begin as soon as |
|
|
practicable after the offender is taken into the custody of the |
|
|
department; |
|
|
(3) provide for a comprehensive network of transition |
|
|
programs to address the needs of offenders released or discharged |
|
|
from a correctional facility, including following the completion of |
|
|
a period of parole or mandatory supervision; |
|
|
(4) identify and define the transition services that |
|
|
are to be provided by the department and which offenders are |
|
|
eligible for those services; |
|
|
(5) coordinate the provision of reentry and |
|
|
reintegration services provided to offenders through state-funded |
|
|
and volunteer programs across divisions of the department to: |
|
|
(A) target eligible offenders efficiently; and |
|
|
(B) ensure maximum use of existing facilities, |
|
|
personnel, equipment, supplies, and other resources; |
|
|
(6) provide for collecting and maintaining data |
|
|
regarding the number of offenders who received reentry and |
|
|
reintegration services and the number of offenders who were |
|
|
eligible for but did not receive those services, including |
|
|
offenders who did not participate in those services; |
|
|
(7) provide for evaluating the effectiveness of the |
|
|
reentry and reintegration services provided to offenders by |
|
|
collecting, maintaining, and reporting outcome information, |
|
|
including recidivism data as applicable; |
|
|
(8) identify providers of existing local programs and |
|
|
transitional services with whom the department may contract under |
|
|
Section 495.028 to implement the reentry and reintegration plan; |
|
|
and |
|
|
(9) subject to Subsection (f), provide for the sharing |
|
|
of information between local coordinators, persons with whom the |
|
|
department contracts under Section 495.028, and other providers of |
|
|
services as necessary to adequately assess and address the needs of |
|
|
each offender. |
|
|
(g) The programs provided under Subsections (b)(2) and (3) |
|
|
must: |
|
|
(1) be implemented by highly skilled staff who are |
|
|
experienced in working with inmate reentry and reintegration |
|
|
programs; |
|
|
(2) provide offenders with: |
|
|
(A) individualized case management and a full |
|
|
continuum of care; |
|
|
(B) life-skills training, including information |
|
|
about: |
|
|
(i) budgeting and [,] money management; |
|
|
(ii) [,] nutrition [,] and exercise; and |
|
|
(iii) the development of prosocial behavior |
|
|
and positive relationships; |
|
|
(C) education and, if an offender has a learning |
|
|
disability, special education; and |
|
|
(D) spiritual guidance, if requested by the |
|
|
offender [employment training; |
|
|
[(E) appropriate treatment programs, including |
|
|
substance abuse and mental health treatment programs; and |
|
|
[(F) parenting and relationship building |
|
|
classes]; and |
|
|
(3) be designed to build for former offenders |
|
|
post-release and post-discharge support from the community into |
|
|
which an offender is released or discharged, including support from |
|
|
agencies and organizations within that community. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the |
|
|
last day of the legislative session. |