By: Turner of Harris, et al. H.B. No. 1711
        (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire)
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2009;
  April 27, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on
  Criminal Justice; May 8, 2009, reported favorably, as amended, by
  the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 8, 2009, sent to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By:  Whitmire
 
 
  Amend HB 1711 as follows:
         On page 2 line 50 after the word "department", insert "shall
  coordinate the work of the task force with the Office of Court
  Administration, and"
         On page 2 line 52 after the word "force" insert ":", and
  strike the following language on lines 52-53, "in the office of the
  governor:"
         On page 1 line 62, strike "each offender" and insert
  "offenders" and on page 2 lines 4-5, strike "each offender" and
  insert "offenders";
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to requiring the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to
  establish a comprehensive reentry and reintegration plan for
  offenders released or discharged from a correctional facility.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 495, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 495.028 to read as follows:
         Sec. 495.028.  IMPLEMENTATION OF REENTRY AND REINTEGRATION
  PLAN. (a)  The department may contract and coordinate with private
  vendors, units of local government, or other entities to implement
  the comprehensive reentry and reintegration plan developed under
  Section 501.092, including contracting to:
               (1)  coordinate the supervision and services provided
  to offenders in correctional facilities with any supervision or
  services provided to offenders who have been released or discharged
  from the correctional facility;
               (2)  provide offenders awaiting release or discharge
  with documents that are necessary after release or discharge,
  including identification papers, medical prescriptions, job
  training certificates, and referrals to services; and
               (3)  provide housing and structured programs,
  including group homes for recovering substance abusers, through
  which offenders are provided services immediately following
  release or discharge.
         (b)  To ensure accountability, any contract entered into
  under this section must contain specific performance measures that
  the department shall use to evaluate compliance with the terms of
  the contract.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 501, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 501.091, 501.092, 501.098, 501.099, and
  501.100 to read as follows:
         Sec. 501.091.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Correctional facility" means a facility operated
  by or under contract with the department.
               (2)  "Offender" means an inmate or state jail defendant
  confined in a correctional facility.
         Sec. 501.092.  COMPREHENSIVE REENTRY AND REINTEGRATION PLAN
  FOR OFFENDERS. (a) The department shall develop a comprehensive
  plan to reduce recidivism and ensure the successful reentry and
  reintegration of offenders into the community following an
  offender's release or discharge from a correctional facility.
         (b)  The reentry and reintegration plan developed under this
  section must provide for:
               (1)  an assessment of each offender entering a
  correctional facility to determine which skills the offender needs
  to develop to be successful in the community following release or
  discharge;
               (2)  programs that address the assessed needs of each
  offender;
               (3)  a comprehensive network of transition programs to
  address the needs of offenders released or discharged from a
  correctional facility;
               (4)  the identification of providers of existing local
  programs and transitional services with whom the department may
  contract under Section 495.028 to implement the reentry and
  reintegration plan; and
               (5)  subject to Subsection (c), the sharing of
  information between local coordinators, persons with whom the
  department contracts under Section 495.028, and other providers of
  services as necessary to adequately assess and address the needs of
  each offender.
         (c)  An offender's personal health information may be
  disclosed under Subsection (b)(5) only if:
               (1)  the offender consents to the disclosure; and
               (2)  the disclosure does not violate the Health
  Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No.
  104-191) or other state or federal law.
         (d)  The programs provided under Subsections (b)(2) and (3)
  must:
               (1)  be implemented by highly skilled staff who are
  experienced in working with inmate reentry and reintegration
  programs;
               (2)  provide offenders with:
                     (A)  individualized case management and a full
  continuum of care;
                     (B)  life-skills training, including information
  about budgeting, money management, nutrition, and exercise;
                     (C)  education and, if an offender has a learning
  disability, special education;
                     (D)  employment training;
                     (E)  appropriate treatment programs, including
  substance abuse and mental health treatment programs; and
                     (F)  parenting and relationship building classes;
  and
               (3)  be designed to build for former offenders
  post-release and post-discharge support from the community into
  which an offender is released or discharged, including support from
  agencies and organizations within that community.
         (e)  In developing the reentry and reintegration plan under
  this section, the department shall ensure that the reentry program
  for long-term inmates under Section 501.096 and the reintegration
  services provided under Section 501.097 are incorporated into the
  plan.
         Sec. 501.098.  REENTRY TASK FORCE. (a) The department by
  rule shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the
  following entities to establish a reentry task force in the office
  of the governor:
               (1)  the Texas Youth Commission;
               (2)  the Texas Workforce Commission;
               (3)  the Department of Public Safety;
               (4)  the Texas Department of Housing and Community
  Affairs;
               (5)  the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
  Medical or Mental Impairments;
               (6)  the Health and Human Services Commission;
               (7)  the Texas Judicial Council; and
               (8)  an organization selected by the department that
  advocates for or provides reentry or reintegration services to
  offenders following their release or discharge from a correctional
  facility.
         (b)  The reentry task force established under Subsection (a)
  may:
               (1)  identify gaps in services for offenders following
  their release or discharge to rural or urban communities in the
  areas of employment, housing, substance abuse treatment, medical
  care, and any other areas in which the offenders need special
  services; and
               (2)  coordinate with providers of existing local
  reentry and reintegration programs, including programs operated by
  a municipality or county, to make recommendations regarding the
  provision of comprehensive services to offenders following their
  release or discharge to rural or urban communities.
         Sec. 501.099.  FAMILY UNITY AND PARTICIPATION. (a) The
  department shall adopt and implement policies that encourage family
  unity while an offender is confined and family participation in an
  offender's post-release or post-discharge transition to the
  community. In adopting the policies, the department shall consider
  the impact of department telephone, mail, and visitation policies
  on the ability of an offender's child to maintain ongoing contact
  with the offender.
         (b)  The department, when determining in which correctional
  facility to house an offender, shall consider the best interest of
  the offender's family and, if possible, house the offender in, or in
  proximity to, the county in which the offender's family resides.
         (c)  The department shall conduct and coordinate research
  that examines the impact of an offender's confinement on the
  well-being of the offender's child.
         Sec. 501.100.  RECIDIVISM STUDY;  REPORT. (a) The
  department shall conduct and coordinate research to determine
  whether the comprehensive reentry and reintegration plan developed
  under Section 501.092 and the policies adopted under Section
  501.099 to encourage family unity and participation reduce
  recidivism rates.
         (b)  Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year,
  the department shall deliver a report of the results of research
  conducted or coordinated under Subsection (a) to the lieutenant
  governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the
  standing committees of each house of the legislature with primary
  jurisdiction over criminal justice and corrections.
         SECTION 3.  (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
  date of this Act, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall
  enter into a memorandum of understanding as required by Section
  501.098, Government Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  Not later than January 1, 2010, the Texas Department of
  Criminal Justice shall adopt and implement the policies required by
  Section 501.099, Government Code, as added by this Act.
         (c)  Not later than January 1, 2010, the Texas Department of
  Criminal Justice shall develop and implement the comprehensive
  reentry and reintegration plan for offenders as required by Section
  501.092, Government Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
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