Enrolled Bill Summary

Senate Bill 644 amends the Health and Safety Code to require additional information in the memorandum of understanding establishing responsibilities among the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, certain representatives of local mental health or mental retardation authorities, and the directors of community supervision and corrections departments to institute a continuity of care and service for offenders with mental impairments. The added information includes collecting and reporting to the Texas Council on Offenders with Mental Impairments prevalence rate data on offenders with mental impairments in the criminal justice system, developing standards for the coordination of care of offenders with mental impairments, and establishing a process to report the implementation activities to the council. The bill requires the council to report the implementation outcomes and its recommendations to the legislature by September 1 of each even-numbered year.

The bill requires local and state criminal justice agencies, if possible, to contract with local mental health or mental retardation authorities to maximize Medicaid funding and improve on the continuity of care and service programs for offenders with mental impairments in the criminal justice system.