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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1586 amends the Human
Resources Code to prohibit a new residential facility constructed by TJJD
from having a residential capacity of more than 96 beds. The bill authorizes
TJJD to close a residential facility operated by TJJD if the board approves
the closure following a public meeting in which the board determines that the
capacity level and resident and staff safety warrant the closure of the
facility. The bill requires TJJD, before closing a TJJD facility, to
determine whether the facility can be repurposed for the needs of TJJD.
C.S.H.B. 1586 authorizes the
board, with the assistance of the General Land Office (GLO), to sell or transfer
to a county or municipality a closed facility that is owned by TJJD on real
property owned by TJJD and that does not receive funding from the legislature
for the facility's operations. The bill requires the board, before
transferring or selling a closed facility, to determine if it is feasible for
the facility to be repurposed to meet the needs of TJJD and the youth being
served by TJJD. The bill provides that the consideration for such a transfer
is the requirement that the county or municipality use the property
transferred only for a purpose that benefits the public interest of the state
and establishes that ownership of the property automatically reverts to TJJD
if the county or municipality no longer uses the property for a public
purpose. The bill requires the board, if a facility is transferred to a
county or municipality, to transfer the property by an appropriate instrument
of transfer, executed by the commissioner of the GLO, sets out the required
contents of the instrument of transfer, and requires TJJD to retain custody
of the instrument of transfer after the instrument of transfer is filed in
the real property records of the county in which the property is located. The
bill requires any expenses incurred by the GLO in connection with such a
transfer to be paid to the GLO by the county or municipality to which the
property is transferred. These provisions relating to the sale or transfer of
closed facilities expire September 1, 2021.
Commitment of Juvenile
Offenders
C.S.H.B. 1586 amends the Family
Code to condition a court's authority to commit a child who is found to have
engaged in delinquent conduct constituting a felony under state or federal
law and for whom a petition for indictment was not approved by a grand jury
to TJJD or a post-adjudication secure correctional facility operated by or
under contract with a juvenile board or local juvenile probation department
without a determinate sentence on the court including in its order a finding that
commitment is necessary to meet the juvenile's rehabilitative needs and is
appropriate, as demonstrated by the evidence admitted at the child's
disposition hearing, including the results of a validated risk and needs
assessment, before the disposition is ordered. The bill establishes that this
condition applies only to conduct violating a penal law that occurs on or
after September 1, 2017.
Office of Independent
Ombudsman
C.S.H.B. 1586 amends the Human
Resources Code to expand the purposes of the office of independent ombudsman for
TJJD to include investigating, evaluating, and securing the rights of the
children placed in a post-adjudication secure correctional facility. The bill
includes any particularly serious or flagrant civil rights violation concerning
a child placed in such a facility, not including a complaint alleging
criminal behavior, among the situations that the independent ombudsman is
required to immediately report to certain government officials.
C.S.H.B. 1586 requires the
office and the board to adopt rules that establish procedures for a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility administrator, chief juvenile
probation officer of a juvenile probation department, or juvenile board to
comment on reports of the office related to children placed in a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility, including procedures for TJJD
to expedite or eliminate review in a manner consistent with applicable office
and board rules. The bill adds the following to the duties of the independent
ombudsman: to conduct an investigation of a civil rights complaint concerning
a child placed in a post-adjudication secure correctional facility, not
including a complaint alleging criminal behavior; to assist a child placed in
such a facility if TJJD determines that the child is in need of assistance
from the office; and to immediately report the findings of any investigation
to the chief juvenile probation officer and the juvenile board of the county
in which the facility is located and to the juvenile probation department
arranging the placement of the child.
Transition
C.S.H.B. 1586 authorizes the
legislature to appropriate funding to TJJD at levels sufficient to enable
TJJD to fulfill its statutory responsibilities and adequately and effectively
care for the youth under its jurisdiction and establishes that the continuity
of funding to TJJD should be regarded as essential during the period of
transition and implementation of the regionalization plans described by the
bill. The bill requires TJJD to allocate funds appropriated to TJJD by the
legislature in the General Appropriations Act in amounts necessary to fulfill
its statutory responsibilities and to adequately and effectively care for the
youth under TJJD's custody. The bill requires TJJD to allocate funds to
regional associations created under the bill's provisions as necessary for
the implementation of the regional plans adopted by the associations. The
bill requires an initial regional plan to be submitted to the executive
director of TJJD not later than May 1, 2016, and to include provisions for
the implementation of the plan beginning not later than December 1, 2016.
Repealer
C.S.H.B. 1586 repeals Section
261.101(e), Human Resources Code.
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INTRODUCED
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HOUSE COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE
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SECTION 1. Sections
37.0062(c) and (d), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) The commissioner shall
adopt rules necessary to administer this section. The rules must ensure
that:
(1) a student who receives
education services in a pre-adjudication secure detention facility
described by this section is offered courses that enable the student to
maintain progress toward completing high school graduation requirements; [and]
(2) a student who receives
education services in a post-adjudication secure correctional facility
described by this section is offered, at a minimum, the courses necessary
to enable the student to complete high school graduation requirements;
and
(3) a student who
receives education services in a post-adjudication secure correctional
facility is offered vocational training classes.
(d) The Texas Juvenile Justice
Department [Probation Commission or the Tcxas Youth Commission, as
applicable,] shall coordinate with the commissioner in establishing
standards for:
(1) ensuring security in the
provision of education services in the facilities; [and]
(2) providing children in
the custody of the facilities access to education services; and
(3) ensuring that the
education services provided to children in the custody of the facilities
are age-appropriate and designed to minimize disproportionality of
confinement in regards to racial or ethnic diversity.
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No
equivalent provision.
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No
equivalent provision.
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ARTICLE 1. REGIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS AND JUVENILE BOARDS
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 1.01. Section
201.002, Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 201.002. PURPOSES AND
INTERPRETATION. This title shall be construed to have the following public
purposes:
(1) creating a unified state
juvenile justice agency that works in partnership with local county
governments, the courts, regional associations, and communities to
promote public safety by providing a full continuum of effective supports
and services to youth from initial contact through termination of
supervision; and
(2) creating a juvenile
justice system that produces positive outcomes for youth, families, and
communities by:
(A) assuring accountability,
quality, consistency, and transparency through effective monitoring and the
use of systemwide performance measures;
(B) promoting the use of
program and service designs and interventions proven to be most effective
in rehabilitating youth;
(C) prioritizing the use of
community-based or family-based programs and services for youth over the
placement or commitment of youth to a secure facility;
(D) operating the state
facilities to effectively house and rehabilitate the youthful offenders
that cannot be safely served in another setting; and
(E) protecting and enhancing
the cooperative agreements between state and local county governments.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 1.02. Section
201.003, Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 201.003. GOALS. The
goals of the department and all programs, facilities, and services that are
operated, regulated, or funded by the department are to:
(1) support the development
of a consistent county-based continuum of effective interventions,
supports, and services for youth and families that reduce the need for
out-of-home placement;
(2) increase reliance on
alternatives to placement and commitment to secure state facilities,
consistent with adequately addressing a youthful offender's treatment needs
and protection of the public;
(3) locate the facilities as
geographically close as possible to necessary workforce and other services
while supporting the youths' connection to their families;
(4) encourage regional
cooperation that enhances county collaboration, while ensuring
sufficient state aid and support for that endeavor;
(5) enhance the continuity
of care throughout the juvenile justice system; and
(6) use secure facilities of
a size that supports effective youth rehabilitation and public safety.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 1.03. Chapter 201,
Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Sections 201.005 and 201.006 to
read as follows:
Sec. 201.005. REGIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS. (a) The board by rule shall designate regional
associations, create a leadership structure for each regional association,
and require each juvenile probation department to affiliate with one
regional association. A regional association and the association's
affiliations must be designated by geographic region.
(b) The board shall
design the leadership structure of a regional association in a manner that
ensures representation from counties from each of the following categories:
(1) small counties, with
a population of fewer than 7,500 persons younger than 18 years of age;
(2) medium counties, with
a population of at least 7,500 but fewer than 80,000 persons younger than
18 years of age; and
(3) large counties, with
a population of 80,000 or more persons younger than 18 years of age.
(c) The executive
director shall designate at least one department employee for each regional
association to assist the region in furthering the goals of the juvenile
justice system for the region while assuring accountability, quality,
consistency, and transparency. To the extent practicable, the employee is
located in the region to which the employee is assigned. The department may
contract with a juvenile board or other entity to provide office space for
the designated employee.
Sec. 201.006. REGIONAL
PLANS. (a) Each regional association created under Section 201.005 shall
develop a written plan to outline the manner in which the juvenile
probation departments affiliated with the association collaborate to
further the purposes and goals of the juvenile justice system under
Sections 201.002 and 201.003, including the goal of reducing the number of
children committed to the department in a manner that protects the safety
of the children while ensuring public safety. Each regional plan must
include the following:
(1) the results of a
needs assessment conducted by the regional association, with a focus on
identifying resources that exist and resources that are needed to implement
the plan and to reduce the number of children committed to the department;
(2) methods for
maximizing the use of community-based, family-based, and in-home treatment
programs and services for juveniles instead of the placement of juveniles
in secure facilities while ensuring public safety, including the use of a
validated risk and needs assessment tool before making decisions regarding
the placement of juveniles;
(3) methods for
identifying juveniles eligible for commitment to the department who can be
effectively rehabilitated in another setting;
(4) methods for using
existing bed space, including contracting within the region and state, for
the placement of juveniles in a manner that ensures that the juveniles are placed
in facilities located as close to the juveniles' homes as possible, when
appropriate;
(5) methods for providing
research-based, effective treatment, including specialized treatment and
treatment involving the families of juveniles, to meet the treatment needs
of juveniles;
(6) a timeline for
implementation of the plan;
(7) an analysis of
funding needs and recommendations regarding methods of funding probation
services in the region;
(8) an analysis of
training needs to ensure proper training regarding the implementation of
the plan for juvenile justice professionals, including judges, probation
staff, and attorneys;
(9) identification of any
recommended statutory changes necessary to enable the regional association
to implement the plan or to better serve juveniles;
(10) identification of
any potential unintended effects associated with the plan; and
(11) any other issues
deemed necessary or relevant by the executive director.
(b) The department shall
assist a regional association in the development of a regional plan.
(c) The executive
director shall review each regional plan and provide recommendations
regarding the plan to the regional association not later than the 90th day
after the date the executive director receives the plan.
(d) Before a regional
association may implement a regional plan, the executive director must
certify that the plan:
(1) sufficiently
addresses each of the requirements under Subsection (a);
(2) is consistent with
the purposes and goals for the juvenile justice system provided by Sections
201.002 and 201.003; and
(3) includes appropriate,
research-based programs for the juveniles served.
(e) The department shall
assist each regional association in implementing the association's regional
plan, including providing training and technical assistance as necessary or
appropriate.
(f) The department shall
include information regarding each regional plan in the report developed
under Section 203.007, including information on the implementation and
effectiveness of each plan.
(g) The board shall adopt
rules necessary to implement this section.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 1.04. Section
202.010, Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 202.010. SUNSET
PROVISION. The Texas Juvenile Justice Board and the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department are subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act).
Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the board and
the department are abolished September 1, 2021 [2017].
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 1.05. Section
223.001, Human Resources Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and
(c) and adding Subsections (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
(a) The department shall
annually allocate funds for financial assistance to juvenile boards to
provide juvenile probation services, as defined by Section
142.001. The allocation of funds shall be made according to current
estimates of the number of juveniles in each county and other factors the
department determines are appropriate.
(c) The department shall
[may] set aside a portion of the funds appropriated to the
department for state aid to fund programs designed to address special needs
or projects of local juvenile boards. The department shall develop
discretionary grant funding protocols based on documented criteria,
including data-driven, research-based criteria, or promising practices.
(d) In the department's
legislative appropriations request for each fiscal biennium, the department
shall identify the amount of state aid needed to ensure sustained support
for programs to ensure that the programs adequately address the
rehabilitative needs of children who are diverted from commitment to the
facilities of the department. In regard to children placed in a facility or
program in accordance with a regional plan created under Section 201.006,
the department shall develop a method to identify children who were likely
to have been committed to the facilities of the department, but as a result
of the implementation of the regional plans, were not committed to the
department.
(e) The department may
not adversely impact the state aid for a juvenile board or a juvenile
probation department that does not enter into a contract to serve youth
from other counties, or does not act as a regional facility.
(f) A post-adjudication
secure correctional facility may not be required to accept placement of a
child, unless the child is subject to an order issued by the local juvenile
court and placed in an area served by the juvenile probation board or
department where the facility is located. A post-adjudication secure
correctional facility may not be required to accept a child who is not
under the jurisdiction of the local juvenile probation department where the
facility is located.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 1.06. Section
223.006(a), Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The department may
provide state aid to a county to acquire, construct, and equip
post-adjudication residential or day-treatment centers from money
appropriated for those purposes. The facilities may be used for children
who are placed on probation by a juvenile court under Section 54.04, Family
Code, as an alternative to commitment to the facilities of the department. If
the state aid is provided under this section to a county to construct a new
residential facility, the facility may not have a residential capacity of
more than 96 beds.
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No
equivalent provision.
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ARTICLE 2. TEXAS JUVENILE
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FACILITIES
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No
equivalent provision. (But see SECTION 4 below.)
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SECTION 2.01. Section
242.052, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Subsections (f), (g), and
(h) to read as follows:
(f) A new residential
facility constructed by the department may not have a residential capacity
of more than 96 beds.
(g) The department may
close a residential facility operated by the department if the board
approves the closure following a public meeting in which the board
determines that the capacity level and resident and staff safety warrant
the closure of the facility.
(h) Before closing a
department facility, the department must determine whether the facility can
be repurposed for the needs of the department.
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No
equivalent provision. (But see SECTION 6 below.)
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SECTION 2.02. Subchapter B,
Chapter 242, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 242.072 to
read as follows:
Sec. 242.072. SALE OR
TRANSFER OF CLOSED FACILITIES. (a) This section applies only to a closed
facility on real property owned by the department.
(b) With the assistance
of the General Land Office, the board may sell or transfer to a county or
municipality a closed facility that is owned by the department and that
does not receive funding from the legislature for the facility's
operations. Before transferring or selling a closed facility, the board
shall determine if it is feasible for the facility to be repurposed to meet
the needs of the department and the youth being served by the department.
(c) If a facility is
transferred to a county or municipality, the consideration for the transfer
is the requirement that the county or municipality use the property
transferred only for a purpose that benefits the public interest of the
state. If the county or municipality no longer uses the property for a
public purpose, ownership of the property automatically reverts to the
department.
(d) If a facility is
transferred to a county or municipality, the board shall transfer the
property by an appropriate instrument of transfer, executed on behalf of
the agency by the commissioner of the General Land Office. The instrument
of transfer must:
(1) provide that:
(A) the transferee shall
use the property only for a purpose that benefits the public interest of
the state; and
(B) ownership of the
property automatically reverts to the department if the transferee uses the
property for any purpose other than a purpose that benefits the public
interest of the state;
(2) describe the property
to be transferred by metes and bounds; and
(3) exclude from the
transfer all mineral interests in and under the property and prohibit any
exploration, drilling, or other similar intrusion on the property related
to mineral interests.
(e) The department shall
retain custody of the instrument of transfer after the instrument of
transfer is filed in the real property records of the county in which the
property is located.
(f) If property is
transferred to a county or municipality, the expenses incurred by the
General Land Office in connection with the transfer shall be paid to the
General Land Office by the county or municipality.
(g) This section expires
September 1, 2021.
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No
equivalent provision.
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ARTICLE 3. COMMITMENT OF
JUVENILE OFFENDERS
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SECTION 2. Section
54.04(d)(2), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) If the court or jury
makes the finding specified in Subsection (c) allowing the court to make a
disposition in the case:
(1) the court or jury may,
in addition to any order required or authorized under Section 54.041 or
54.042, place the child on probation on such reasonable and lawful terms as
the court may determine:
(A) in the child's own home
or in the custody of a relative or other fit person; or
(B) subject to the finding
under Subsection (c) on the placement of the child outside the child's
home, in:
(i) a suitable foster home;
(ii) a suitable public or
private residential treatment facility licensed by a state governmental
entity or exempted from licensure by state law, except a facility operated
by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; or
(iii) a suitable public or
private post-adjudication secure correctional facility that meets the
requirements of Section 51.125, except a facility operated by the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department;
(2) if the court or jury
found at the conclusion of the adjudication hearing that the child engaged
in delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of this state or the United
States of the grade of felony and if the petition was not approved by the
grand jury under Section 53.045, the court may commit the child to the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department or a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility under Section 54.04011(c)(1) without a determinate
sentence only if the court or jury finds
that commitment is more appropriate for the child because of the relative
seriousness of the conduct or the child's needs cannot be served in the
community;
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SECTION 3.01. Section
54.04(d), Family Code, is amended to read as follows:
(d) If the court or jury
makes the finding specified in Subsection (c) allowing the court to make a
disposition in the case:
(1) the court or jury may,
in addition to any order required or authorized under Section 54.041 or
54.042, place the child on probation on such reasonable and lawful terms as
the court may determine:
(A) in the child's own home
or in the custody of a relative or other fit person; or
(B) subject to the finding
under Subsection (c) on the placement of the child outside the child's
home, in:
(i) a suitable foster home;
(ii) a suitable public or
private residential treatment facility licensed by a state governmental
entity or exempted from licensure by state law, except a facility operated
by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; or
(iii) a suitable public or
private post-adjudication secure correctional facility that meets the
requirements of Section 51.125, except a facility operated by the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department;
(2) if the court or jury
found at the conclusion of the adjudication hearing that the child engaged
in delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of this state or the United
States of the grade of felony and if the petition was not approved by the
grand jury under Section 53.045, the court may commit the child to the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department or a post-adjudication secure correctional
facility under Section 54.04011(c)(1) without a determinate sentence only
if the court includes in its order a
finding that commitment is:
(A) necessary to meet the juvenile's rehabilitative needs; and
(B) appropriate, as demonstrated by the evidence admitted at the
hearing, including the results of a validated risk and needs assessment
conducted according to rules adopted under Section 221.003, Human Resources
Code, before the disposition is ordered;
(3) if the court or jury
found at the conclusion of the adjudication hearing that the child engaged
in delinquent conduct that included a violation of a penal law listed in
Section 53.045(a) and if the petition was approved by the grand jury under
Section 53.045, the court or jury may sentence the child to commitment in
the Texas Juvenile Justice Department or a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility under Section 54.04011(c)(2) with a possible transfer
to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for a term of:
(A) not more than 40 years
if the conduct constitutes:
(i) a capital felony;
(ii) a felony of the first
degree; or
(iii) an aggravated
controlled substance felony;
(B) not more than 20 years
if the conduct constitutes a felony of the second degree; or
(C) not more than 10 years
if the conduct constitutes a felony of the third degree;
(4) the court may assign the
child an appropriate sanction level and sanctions as provided by the
assignment guidelines in Section 59.003;
(5) the court may place the
child in a suitable nonsecure correctional facility that is registered and
meets the applicable standards for the facility as provided by Section
51.126; or
(6) if applicable, the court
or jury may make a disposition under Subsection (m) or Section
54.04011(c)(2)(A).
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SECTION 3. Section
54.04011(e), Family Code, as added by Chapter 1323 (S.B. 511), Acts of the
83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is amended to read as follows:
(e) A post-adjudication
secure correctional facility under this section is not required to have a
classification plan that requires residents at sanction level five to be
segregated from residents at sanction levels six and seven [The
provisions of 37 T.A.C. Scction 343.610 do not apply to this section].
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4. Subchapter B,
Chapter 242, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 242.0511 to
read as follows:
Sec. 242.0511. CREATION
OF ADDITIONAL SECURE FACILITIES. (a) The department may establish and
operate additional facilities to supplement the operations of
department-operated facilities, including regional facilities.
(b) Any new
state-operated regional facility or post-adjudication secure correctional
facility operated under this Act may not have a residential capacity of
more than 96 children. The facility may not have more than 12 children per
residential unit.
(c) The department shall
assist juvenile probation departments in counties that may develop and
implement local programs and services, and that may develop facilities for
juveniles under a county-based post-adjudication secure correctional
facilities system.
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No
equivalent provision. (But see SECTION 2.01 above.)
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SECTION 5. STUDY AND PLAN.
(a) Not later than March 1, 2016, the executive director of Texas Juvenile
Justice Department shall submit a report to the governor, lieutenant
governor, speaker of the house, and members of the legislature containing
the results of a feasibility study to be conducted by the department, and
the recommendations developed in a plan resulting from the study. The
executive director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department may consult or
contract with an outside entity to conduct the study.
(b) The study conducted at
the instance of executive director on behalf of the Department shall
evaluate the feasibility of establishing state-operated regional
residential facilities for the placement of juveniles committed to the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department and create a regional residential
facility plan, the purposes of which would include efforts to locate all
juvenile offenders committed to TJJD custody for delinquent conduct, except
the most serious offenders, and place them in facilities located in
proximity to the juveniles' home communities in order to provide community
support and the appropriate rehabilitation, educational services, and
treatment for the juvenile offenders. The study shall emphasize and
consider factors affecting the ability of the Department to complete a
transition to state-operated regional facilities by August 31, 2021,
including review and analysis of the following:
(1) a transition from
state-operated residential facilities to smaller, regional facilities in
environments with larger applicant pools and closer to treatment providers
and home communities;
(2) a needs assessment
including a determination of:
(A) the proper timing of
such a transition and the optimal location and number of such facilities;
(B) the need for and optimal
location of units for assessment and orientation and/or behavioral control;
(C) the potential benefits
or disadvantages of an increased use of private, contract residential
placements to maximize the flexibility and specialization of treatment
plans;
(D) the effects of closing
or re-purposing of facilities currently operated by the state;
(E) any desired, intended,
and possible unintended effects associated with any proposed plan; and
(G) any other issues deemed
necessary or relevant by the executive director of the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department.
(c) The executive director
shall develop a proposed plan based on the feasibility study for the
placement of juveniles in state-operated regional residential treatment
facilities, including:
(1) a recommendation for the
number of facilities, location, and types of provided services;
(2) the use of contracts
with appropriate private residential facilities and Texas Juvenile Justice
Department operated halfway houses; and
(3) an assessment of whether
any current state-operated facilities should be retained, and how to
achieve orderly and safe closure of any that are not retained.
(d) The executive director
for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall post the proposed plan and
any recommended actions on the agency's website and provide an additional
period of time for public comment before finalizing the plan and
recommendations.
(e) This section expires
September 1, 2017.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 6. TRANSFER
AUTHORITY. (a) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department may transfer a
closed facility to the county or municipality in which the facility is
located.
(b) The consideration for
the transfer authorized by this section is the requirement that the county
or municipality use the property transferred only for a purpose that
benefits the public interest of the state. If the county or municipality no
longer uses the property for a public purpose, ownership of the property
automatically reverts to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
(c) The Texas Juvenile
Justice Department shall transfer the property by an appropriate instrument
of transfer, executed on the agency's behalf by the commissioner of the
General Land Office. The instrument of transfer must:
(1) provide that:
(A) the transferee shall use
the property only for a purpose that benefits the public interest of the
state; and
(B) ownership of the
property will automatically revert to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department
if the transferee uses the property for any purpose other than a purpose
that benefits the public interest of the state;
(2) describe the property to
be transferred by metes and bounds; and
(3) exclude from the
transfer all mineral interests in and under the property and prohibit any
exploration, drilling, or other similar intrusion on the property related
to mineral interests.
(d) The Texas Juvenile
Justice Department shall retain custody of the instrument of transfer after
the instrument of transfer is filed in the real property records of the
county in which the property is located.
(e) The Texas Juvenile
Justice Department shall sell any facilities from the Corsicana Residential
Treatment Center yet remaining in the department's possession with the
assistance of the General Land Office, or may transfer those facilities as
provided in this section.
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No
equivalent provision. (But see SECTION 2.02 above.)
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 3.02. The changes in
law made by this Act to Section 54.04(d), Family Code, apply only to
conduct violating a penal law that occurs on or after September 1, 2017.
Conduct violating a penal law that occurs before September 1, 2017, is
governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
subsection, conduct occurs before September 1, 2017, if any element of the
conduct occurred before that date.
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No
equivalent provision.
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ARTICLE 4. OFFICE OF
INDEPENDENT OMBUDSMAN
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4.01. Section
261.002, Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 261.002. ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.
The office of independent ombudsman is a state agency established for the
purpose of investigating, evaluating, and securing the rights of the
children:
(1) committed to the
department, including a child released under supervision before final
discharge; or
(2) placed in a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility, as described by Section
51.125, Family Code.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4.02. Section
261.055(b), Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The independent
ombudsman shall immediately report to the board, the governor, the
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the state
auditor, and the office of the inspector general of the department any
particularly serious or flagrant:
(1) case of abuse or injury
of a child committed to the department;
(2) problem concerning the
administration of a department program or operation;
(3) problem concerning the
delivery of services in a facility operated by or under contract with the
department; [or]
(4) interference by the
department or by a post-adjudication secure correctional facility with
an investigation conducted by the office; or
(5) civil rights
violation concerning a child placed in a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility, not including a complaint alleging criminal behavior.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4.03. Section
261.056(a), Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The department or a post-adjudication
secure correctional facility shall allow any child committed to the
department or placed in the facility to communicate with the
independent ombudsman or an assistant to the ombudsman. The communication:
(1) may be in person, by
mail, or by any other means; and
(2) is confidential and
privileged.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4.04. Section
261.058, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read
as follows:
(c) The office and the
board shall adopt rules that establish procedures for a post-adjudication
secure correctional facility administrator, chief juvenile probation
officer of a juvenile probation department, or juvenile board to comment on
reports of the office related to children placed in a post-adjudication
secure correctional facility, including procedures for the department to
expedite or eliminate review in a manner that is consistent with rules
adopted under Subsection (b).
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4.05. Section
261.101(a), Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The independent ombudsman
shall:
(1) review the procedures
established by the board and evaluate the delivery of services to children
to ensure that the rights of children are fully observed;
(2) review complaints filed
with the independent ombudsman concerning the actions of the department and
investigate each complaint in which it appears that a child may be in need
of assistance from the independent ombudsman;
(3) conduct investigations
of complaints, other than complaints alleging criminal behavior, if the
office determines that:
(A) a child committed to the
department or the child's family may be in need of assistance from the
office; or
(B) a systemic issue in the
department's provision of services is raised by a complaint;
(4) review or inspect
periodically the facilities and procedures of any institution or residence
in which a child has been placed by the department, whether public or
private, to ensure that the rights of children are fully observed;
(5) provide assistance to a
child or family who the independent ombudsman determines is in need of
assistance, including advocating with an agency, provider, or other person
in the best interests of the child;
(6) review court orders as
necessary to fulfill its duties;
(7) recommend changes in any
procedure relating to the treatment of children committed to the
department;
(8) make appropriate
referrals under any of the duties and powers listed in this subsection;
(9) supervise assistants who
are serving as advocates in their representation of children committed to
the department in internal administrative and disciplinary hearings;
(10) review reports received
by the department relating to complaints regarding juvenile probation
programs, services, or facilities and analyze the data contained in the
reports to identify trends in complaints; [and]
(11) report a possible
standards violation by a local juvenile probation department to the
appropriate division of the department;
(12) conduct an
investigation of a civil rights complaint concerning a child placed in a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility, not including a complaint
alleging criminal behavior;
(13) assist a child placed
in a post-adjudication secure correctional facility, if the department
determines that the child is in need of assistance from the office; and
(14) immediately report
the findings of any investigation to the chief juvenile probation officer
and the juvenile board of the county in which the facility is located, and
to the juvenile probation department arranging the placement of the child.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4.06. Section
261.102, Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 261.102. TREATMENT OF [DEPARTMENT]
EMPLOYEES WHO COOPERATE WITH INDEPENDENT OMBUDSMAN. The department or a
juvenile board or juvenile probation department may not discharge or in
any manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee who in good faith
makes a complaint to the office of independent ombudsman or cooperates with
the office in an investigation.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4.07. Section
261.151(a), Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The independent
ombudsman has access to the department's records relating to [the]
children committed to the department or placed in a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4.08. Section
261.152, Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 261.152. ACCESS TO
INFORMATION OF PRIVATE ENTITIES. The independent ombudsman shall have
access to the records of a private entity that relate to a child committed
to the department or placed in a post-adjudication secure correctional
facility.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4.09. Section
261.101(e), Human Resources Code, is repealed.
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|
No
equivalent provision.
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ARTICLE 5. TRANSITION AND
EFFECTIVE DATE
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 5.01. (a) This Act
authorizes the legislature to appropriate funding to the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department at levels sufficient to enable the department to fulfill
its statutory responsibilities and adequately and effectively care for the
youth under its jurisdiction. The continuity of funding to the department
should be regarded as essential during the period of transition and
implementation of the regionalization plans described by this Act.
(b) The Texas Juvenile
Justice Department shall allocate funds appropriated to the department by
the legislature in the General Appropriations Act in amounts necessary to
fulfill its statutory responsibilities and to adequately and effectively
care for the youth under the department's custody. The department shall
allocate funds to regional associations created under Section 201.005,
Human Resources Code, as added by this Act, as necessary for the
implementation of the regional plans adopted under Section 201.006, Human
Resources Code, as added by this Act.
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No
equivalent provision.
|
SECTION 5.02. An initial
regional plan must be submitted to the executive director of the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department not later than May 1, 2016. An initial regional
plan developed under Section 201.006, Human Resources Code, as added by
this Act, must include provisions for the implementation of the plan
beginning not later than December 1, 2016.
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SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 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, the Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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SECTION 5.03. Same as
introduced version.
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