| 1 | 1 | | 81R9466 KCR-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: England H.B. No. 3439 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the development and use of an inmate skills development |
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| 8 | 8 | | assessment instrument by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | adding Section 493.032 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 493.032. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT. (a) The |
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| 13 | 13 | | department shall develop an inmate skills development assessment |
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| 14 | 14 | | instrument to evaluate the functional capacity of an inmate in the |
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| 15 | 15 | | following areas: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) academic ability, including intellectual |
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| 17 | 17 | | functioning, literacy, and language skills; |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) vocational and career development, including |
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| 19 | 19 | | employment history, career development, institutional work |
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| 20 | 20 | | history, and prospects for post-incarceration employment; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (3) establishing and maintaining interpersonal |
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| 22 | 22 | | relationships, including the existence of any ongoing contact with |
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| 23 | 23 | | family members or other support systems, the ability to fulfill |
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| 24 | 24 | | parental responsibilities and duties, and communication skills; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (4) wellness maintenance, including health promotion |
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| 26 | 26 | | and disease prevention, disease and illness management, and |
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| 27 | 27 | | knowledge concerning eligibility for and procedures for obtaining |
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| 28 | 28 | | governmental assistance; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (5) mental health maintenance, including substance |
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| 30 | 30 | | abuse management, mental illness management, and the ability to |
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| 31 | 31 | | identify and manage inappropriate sexual behavior; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (6) general behavior, including cognitive behavior, |
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| 33 | 33 | | criminal behavior and history, and history of domestic violence or |
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| 34 | 34 | | other abuse; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (7) character, including personal characteristics and |
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| 36 | 36 | | personal responsibilities; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (8) leisure activities, including the appropriate use |
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| 38 | 38 | | of leisure time; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | (9) skills needed in daily life, including financial |
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| 40 | 40 | | management, the ability to secure and maintain housing, and skills |
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| 41 | 41 | | needed to care for one's family. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (b) The department shall consult with the Texas |
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| 43 | 43 | | Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical and Mental |
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| 44 | 44 | | Impairments, the Department of State Health Services, the |
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| 45 | 45 | | Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, and the Texas |
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| 46 | 46 | | Workforce Commission in developing the inmate skills development |
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| 47 | 47 | | assessment instrument under Subsection (a). |
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| 48 | 48 | | (c) The department shall: |
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| 49 | 49 | | (1) not later than the 90th day after the date an |
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| 50 | 50 | | inmate is placed in the custody of the department, evaluate the |
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| 51 | 51 | | inmate using the inmate skills development assessment instrument |
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| 52 | 52 | | developed under Subsection (a); |
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| 53 | 53 | | (2) use the inmate skills development assessment |
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| 54 | 54 | | instrument under Subsection (a) as a guide in deciding the |
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| 55 | 55 | | rehabilitative services and programs in which to place an inmate; |
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| 56 | 56 | | (3) maintain a record for each inmate of the results of |
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| 57 | 57 | | any inmate skills development assessment administered under this |
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| 58 | 58 | | section; |
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| 59 | 59 | | (4) not later than the 90th day before any release or |
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| 60 | 60 | | discharge date applicable to an inmate, reevaluate the inmate using |
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| 61 | 61 | | the inmate skills development assessment instrument to prepare a |
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| 62 | 62 | | post-incarceration transition plan for the inmate; and |
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| 63 | 63 | | (5) as soon as practicable after the reevaluation of |
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| 64 | 64 | | an inmate under Subdivision (4) and not later than the 30th day |
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| 65 | 65 | | before any release or discharge date applicable to an inmate, |
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| 66 | 66 | | provide the results of the reevaluation and the post-incarceration |
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| 67 | 67 | | transition plan to any reentry or reintegration office operated by |
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| 68 | 68 | | the county or municipality into which the inmate will be released or |
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| 69 | 69 | | discharged. |
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| 70 | 70 | | (d) The department may periodically reevaluate an inmate |
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| 71 | 71 | | using the inmate skills development assessment instrument to |
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| 72 | 72 | | determine the inmate's progress in skill development and, if |
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| 73 | 73 | | necessary, to place the inmate in different rehabilitative services |
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| 74 | 74 | | and programs. |
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| 75 | 75 | | SECTION 2. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall |
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| 76 | 76 | | develop the inmate skills development assessment instrument as |
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| 77 | 77 | | required by Section 493.032, Government Code, as added by this Act, |
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| 78 | 78 | | not later than April 1, 2010. |
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| 79 | 79 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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