BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center H.B. 199
80R935 HLT-D By: Madden et al. (Whitmire)
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Once a child is born to an incarcerated mother, the child is taken from the child’s mother and the mother is returned to her facility. They are not reunited until the mother is released from custody, and as a result, they cannot bond.
A program to develop parenting skills and bonding would to give the inmate mother and the infant the best chance at a productive life. Current law does not provide the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) with the authority to institute such a program, however.
H.B. 199 requires TDCJ to implement a residential infant care and parenting program for mothers who are confined by TDCJ.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 501, Government Code, by adding Section 501.022, as follows:
Sec. 501.022. INFANT CARE AND PARENTING. Requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to implement a residential infant care and parenting program for mothers who are confined by TDCJ. Requires TDCJ, to the extent practicable, to model the program after the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Mothers and Infants Together program operated under contract in Fort Worth.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2007.