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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Reducing recidivism is key to controlling costs in |
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the correctional system; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1980s, Texas launched Project Re-Integration |
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of Offenders, better known as Project RIO, to prepare inmates to |
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participate in the workforce following their release; coordinated |
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by the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Department of |
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Criminal Justice, the initiative provided job assessment |
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specialists to train inmates for employment; upon release, former |
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prisoners received referrals to Project RIO through their parole |
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officers; by 1998, the program had a pool of more than 12,000 |
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employers willing to hire former offenders; and |
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WHEREAS, The National Institute of Justice, a program of the |
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U.S. Department of Justice, praised Project RIO as one of the most |
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ambitious state government programs for placing parolees in jobs; |
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it published an extensive report citing marked improvement in the |
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percentage of former inmates securing employment and a significant |
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reduction in the percentage of high-risk parolees reincarcerated; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Considerable hard evidence has shown that when |
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inmates find decent jobs soon after release, they are less likely to |
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resume criminal behavior, and Project RIO has played a vital role in |
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preparing offenders for a successful transition to life beyond |
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prison walls; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby express support for the full reinstatement of |
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Project Re-Integration of Offenders; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the chief clerk forward an official copy of |
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this resolution to the executive directors of the Texas Department |
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of Criminal Justice and of the Texas Workforce Commission. |