Bill Text: TX HB51 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 3rd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the reentry and reintegration programs provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-09-14 - Filed [HB51 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB51-Introduced.html
| By: Reynolds | H.B. No. 51 | |
|
|
||
|
|
||
| relating to the reentry and reintegration programs provided by the | ||
| Texas Department of Criminal Justice. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Sections 501.092(b) and (g), Government Code, | ||
| are amended to read as follows: | ||
| (b) The reentry and reintegration plan adopted under this | ||
| section must: | ||
| (1) incorporate the use of the risk and needs | ||
| assessment instrument adopted under Section 501.0921; | ||
| (2) provide for programs that address the assessed | ||
| needs of offenders and require the programs to begin as soon as | ||
| practicable after the offender is taken into the custody of the | ||
| department; | ||
| (3) provide for a comprehensive network of transition | ||
| programs to address the needs of offenders released or discharged | ||
| from a correctional facility, including following the completion of | ||
| a period of parole or mandatory supervision; | ||
| (4) identify and define the transition services that | ||
| are to be provided by the department and which offenders are | ||
| eligible for those services; | ||
| (5) coordinate the provision of reentry and | ||
| reintegration services provided to offenders through state-funded | ||
| and volunteer programs across divisions of the department to: | ||
| (A) target eligible offenders efficiently; and | ||
| (B) ensure maximum use of existing facilities, | ||
| personnel, equipment, supplies, and other resources; | ||
| (6) provide for collecting and maintaining data | ||
| regarding the number of offenders who received reentry and | ||
| reintegration services and the number of offenders who were | ||
| eligible for but did not receive those services, including | ||
| offenders who did not participate in those services; | ||
| (7) provide for evaluating the effectiveness of the | ||
| reentry and reintegration services provided to offenders by | ||
| collecting, maintaining, and reporting outcome information, | ||
| including recidivism data as applicable; | ||
| (8) identify 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 | ||
| (9) subject to Subsection (f), provide for 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. | ||
| (g) 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: | ||
| (i) budgeting and [ |
||
| (ii) [ |
||
| (iii) the development of prosocial behavior | ||
| and positive relationships; | ||
| (C) education and, if an offender has a learning | ||
| disability, special education; and | ||
| (D) spiritual guidance, if requested by the | ||
| offender [ |
||
| [ |
||
| [ |
||
| (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. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the | ||
| last day of the legislative session. | ||
