By Dutton H.B. No. 859 77R603 GWK-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to in-prison geriatric communities. 1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 501, Government Code, is 1-5 amended by adding Section 501.094 to read as follows: 1-6 Sec. 501.094. IN-PRISON GERIATRIC COMMUNITIES. (a) The 1-7 institutional division shall establish a program to confine and 1-8 treat in in-prison geriatric communities inmates who are 60 years 1-9 of age or older. 1-10 (b) The institutional division and the Texas Department on 1-11 Aging shall jointly develop methods of screening and assessing 1-12 inmates to determine their needs as geriatric inmates. The 1-13 institutional division shall screen for geriatric problems each 1-14 inmate in the custody of the institutional division no later than 1-15 the inmate's 58th birthday. 1-16 (c) The program must consist of a treatment program of 1-17 indeterminate length that addresses the special problems of 1-18 geriatric inmates. 1-19 (d) The institutional division shall separate inmates 1-20 participating in the program from the general population of the 1-21 division and house the inmates in discrete units or areas within 1-22 units, except during the diagnostic process or at other times 1-23 determined to be necessary by the division for medical or security 1-24 purposes. 2-1 (e) The institutional division shall employ or contract with 2-2 qualified professionals to implement the program. For purposes of 2-3 this subsection, a "qualified professional" is a person who: 2-4 (1) is a certified social worker or advanced clinical 2-5 practitioner and who has at least two years of experience in 2-6 geriatric counseling; or 2-7 (2) is a licensed professional counselor, physician, 2-8 or psychologist and who has at least two years of experience in 2-9 geriatric counseling. 2-10 (f) The institutional division shall adopt rules of conduct 2-11 for inmates participating in the program. 2-12 (g) If the qualified professional implementing the program 2-13 determines that an inmate is not complying with the rules of the 2-14 program, the qualified professional shall notify the institutional 2-15 division of that fact and the institutional division shall end the 2-16 inmate's participation in the program and transfer the inmate out 2-17 of the program. 2-18 (h) The institutional division shall provide at least 800 2-19 beds for housing participants in the program. The institutional 2-20 division not less often than every two years shall determine 2-21 whether the division should increase the number of beds provided by 2-22 the division for the program. 2-23 (i) If funding is available, the Criminal Justice Policy 2-24 Council, with the assistance of the institutional division, shall 2-25 develop methods to evaluate the processes used by the division in 2-26 providing the program and the level of success achieved by the 2-27 program. 3-1 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.