By:  West                                             S.C.R. No. 79
                             SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, The discretionary grant line item appropriation was
    1-2  established as one of the budget line items of the community
    1-3  justice assistance division of the Texas Department of Criminal
    1-4  Justice by the 71st Legislature in 1989; and
    1-5        WHEREAS, The purpose of the discretionary grant line item was
    1-6  to provide priority funding to judicial districts which exhibit the
    1-7  greatest progress in diverting nonviolent offenders from the
    1-8  institutional division; and
    1-9        WHEREAS, This purpose was reiterated in 1993 when the 73rd
   1-10  Legislature renamed it the diversion target line item with the same
   1-11  intent for funding distribution; and
   1-12        WHEREAS, Statistical profiles of the offender population in
   1-13  the institutional division reflect a disproportionate number of
   1-14  nonviolent minorities incarcerated; and
   1-15        WHEREAS, Profiles further show that 53 percent of felony
   1-16  offenders supervised on community supervision are minorities and
   1-17  that the number of minorities revoked from community supervision to
   1-18  the institutional division is 65 percent; and
   1-19        WHEREAS, Studies have shown a reduction in recidivism rates
   1-20  for minorities who participate in culturally specific programs that
   1-21  address their unique needs and problems; and
   1-22        WHEREAS, The cost of providing culturally specific programs
   1-23  is much smaller than that of institutional incarceration for
    2-1  nonviolent offenders; now, therefore, be it
    2-2        RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas
    2-3  hereby request that the community justice assistance division
    2-4  encourage local jurisdictions to increase the availability of
    2-5  culturally specific programs; and, be it further
    2-6        RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be prepared and
    2-7  forwarded to the community justice assistance division of the Texas
    2-8  Department of Criminal Justice as an expression of the sentiment of
    2-9  the Texas Legislature.