BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2812

By: Toth

Corrections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current procedures, parole officers and reentry coordinators oversee and assist individuals who are transitioning from a correctional facility into the community. Their numerous duties include risk and needs assessment, supervision, and case management. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is required to maintain certain electronic records for each inmate prior to release, and parole officers are expected to review and update specific information in such records. Interested parties contend that this information does not necessarily contain all important data on an individual and that, without robust record-keeping, adequate reporting requirements, or increased information sharing, it is difficult to identify gaps in service delivery or to ensure that parole officers and reentry coordinators are tracking their success in case management and supervision.

H.B. 2812 seeks to provide for the identification of reentry programs and resources that are working and gaps in services or areas where improvements can be made by instituting reporting requirements.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2812 amends the Government Code to require the reentry and integration division and the parole division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), not later than December 31 of each year, to jointly prepare and submit an annual report to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the standing committees of the house and senate primarily responsible for criminal justice issues and corrections issues, and the reentry task force. The bill requires the report to include, with regard to parole during the year in which the report was submitted, the number of referrals or releasees for employment, housing, medical care, treatment for substance abuse or mental illness, education, or other basic needs; the outcome of each referral; the identified areas in which referrals are not possible due to unavailable resources or providers; community resources available to releasees including but not limited to faith-based and volunteer organizations; and parole officer training.

H.B. 2812 requires the report to include, with regard to reentry and reintegration during the year in which the report is submitted, the outcomes of programs and services that are available to releasees based on follow-up inquiries evaluating clients' progress after release; the common reentry barriers identified during releasees' individual assessments, including in areas of employment, housing, medical care, treatment for substance abuse or mental illness, education, or other basic needs; the common reentry benefits and services that reentry coordinators help releasees obtain or apply for; available community resources including but not limited to faith-based and volunteer organizations; and reentry coordinator training. The bill requires the report to be made available to the public. The bill requires the reentry and integration division and the parole division of TDCJ to submit the initial report not later than December 31, 2014.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2013.