By: Talarico H.B. No. 4356

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the dissolution of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and the creation of the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. The heading to Subtitle A, Title 12, Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBTITLE A. OFFICE OF YOUTH SAFETY AND REHABILITATION [TEXAS

JUVENILE JUSTICE BOARD AND TEXAS JUVENILE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT]

SECTION 2. Subtitle A, Title 12, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Chapter 201A to read as follows:

CHAPTER 201A. OFFICE OF YOUTH SAFETY AND REHABILITATION

Sec. 201A.001. DEFINITIONS. (a) In this chapter:

(1) "Board" means the Board of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation.

(2) "Child" means an individual:

(A) 10 years of age or older and younger than 18 years of age who is under the jurisdiction of a juvenile court; or

(B) 10 years of age or older and younger than 19 years of age who is committed to the custody of the office under Title 3, Family Code.

(3) "Office" means the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation.

(b) A reference in other law to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department means the office.

Sec. 201A.002. OFFICE OF YOUTH SAFETY AND REHABILITATION. The executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall maintain an Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation within the commission with the goal of:

(1) promoting trauma-responsive and culturally informed services for children engaging in delinquent conduct in a manner that supports the child's successful transition to adulthood; and

(2) ensuring children become responsible, thriving, and engaged members of their communities.

Sec. 201A.003. RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICE. The office is responsible for:

(1) managing and allocating recouped funding to community-based service providers;

(2) providing technical assistance to develop and expand local diversion opportunities to meet the various needs of children who have engaged in delinquent conduct, including sex offender, substance abuse, mental health treatment, and in-school diversion and prevention programs;

(3) acting as a financial and administrative intermediary entity between state and local organizations and county agencies to distribute state and other grants and resources; and

(4) overseeing the use of the funding described by Subdivision (3) throughout this state to assist in the development of infrastructure for local programs focusing on children.

Sec. 201A.004. ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED. The office shall annually submit a report to the governor and each member of the legislature. The report must:

(1) describe outcomes achieved by the office in the preceding year;

(2) detail the work completed by the office in the preceding year, including any new services or programs offered by the office;

(3) evaluate the efficacy of current programs offered locally to children;

(4) identify and recommend policies for improved outcomes and integrated programs and services to best support children outside of detention facilities; and

(5) identify and disseminate best practices to help inform restorative practices, including education, diversion, reentry, religious, and victim services.

Sec. 201A.005. BOARD; FUNDING PRIORITIES. (a) The board is the governing body of the office and is responsible for the operations of the office.

(b) The board shall develop and implement policies that clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities of the board and the management responsibilities of the presiding officer and the staff of the office.

(c) The board shall establish funding priorities for services that support the goals of the office and that do not provide incentives to detain children.

Sec. 201A.006. COMPOSITION OF BOARD; PRESIDING OFFICER. (a) The board is composed of the following 19 members or their designees:

(1) the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission;

(2) the chief officer of the Medicaid and CHIP services department of the Health and Human Services Commission;

(3) the deputy executive commissioner of the Intellectual and Developmental Disability and Behavioral Health Services Department;

(4) the director of the Early Childhood Education Division at the Texas Education Agency;

(5) the following members appointed by the governor:

(A) a member of the judiciary;

(B) an attorney with experience in defending civil rights cases;

(C) a member of the Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health;

(D) a faculty member from the medical school at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio;

(E) a licensed trauma-informed youth counselor;

(F) an education advocate;

(G) two culturally responsive juvenile justice advocates;

(H) a culturally responsive youth mental health advocate;

(I) a harm reduction advocate; and

(J) a representative of the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments; and

(6) the following members appointed by the governor from recommendations made by the presiding officer:

(A) a child welfare advocate;

(B) two youth advocates; and

(C) two individuals formerly committed to a juvenile detention facility who can serve as a credible messenger for detained youth.

(b) Board members serve staggered six-year terms, with the terms of six or seven members expiring on February 1 of each odd-numbered year.

(c) The governor shall designate a member of the board as the presiding officer to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor.

Sec. 201A.006. PLAN. (a) The office shall develop and adopt a plan to improve the juvenile justice system under the authority of the office.

(b) The plan must include a detailed list of procedures and strategies to:

(1) not later than September 1, 2026:

(A) end commitments of children to any of the five secure juvenile detention facilities operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department;

(B) significantly reduce the population of children currently committed to each of the five secure juvenile detention facilities operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department;

(C) establish infrastructure in each county in this state to provide alternative services related to delinquency prevention and intervention, including alternative evidence-based safe, local, supportive placements for children who cannot stay at home;

(D) establish secure placement options for children in cases where the court finds that the offender presents a serious security risk of harm to self or others;

(E) increase local, evidence-based delinquency responses and interventions in communities and schools; and

(F) end racial and disability disparities for children in the juvenile justice system; and

(2) not later than September 1, 2030, complete a staggered closure of the five secure juvenile detention facilities operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

(c) In developing the plan, the office shall consult with experts and interested parties, including juvenile probation departments.

(d) Not later than January 1, 2025, the office shall submit a copy of the plan to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and each member of the legislature.

(e) This section expires September 1, 2030.

Sec. 201A.007. SUNSET PROVISION. The office is subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the board and office are abolished September 1, 2030.

SECTION 3. (a) Chapters 201, 202, and 203, Human Resources Code, are repealed.

SECTION 4. (a) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is abolished but continues in existence until September 1, 2030, for the sole purpose of transferring obligations, property, rights, powers, grants, and duties to the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation. The Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation assumes any remaining obligations, property, rights, powers, and duties of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department as they exist immediately before September 1, 2030. All unexpended funds under the management of the Texas Juvenile Justice Board of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department as provided by Chapter 203, Human Resources Code, as that chapter existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, are transferred to the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation for the purpose of administering duties under Chapter 201A, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act.

(b) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department and the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation shall, in consultation with appropriate state entities, ensure that the transfer of the obligations, property, rights, powers, and duties of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation is completed not later than September 1, 2030.

(c) All rules of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department are continued in effect as rules of the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation until superseded by a rule of the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation. An authorization issued by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department is continued in effect as provided by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act. An authorization pending on the effective date of this Act is continued without change in status after the effective date of this Act. A complaint, investigation, or other proceeding pending on the effective date of this Act is continued without change in status after the effective date of this Act.

(d) Unless the context indicates otherwise, a reference to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department in a law or administrative rule means the Office of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation.

SECTION 5. Not later than the 60th day after the effective date of this Act, the governor shall appoint members to the Board of Youth Safety and Rehabilitation in accordance with Section 201A.006, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act. In appointing the initial members of the board under this section, the governor shall designate six members for terms expiring February 1, 2025, six members for terms expiring February 1, 2027, and seven members for terms expiring February 1, 2029.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.