H.B. No. 4451
AN ACT
relating to continuity of care services or mental health commitment
proceedings for youth with mental illness or mental retardation who
are transferred, discharged, or paroled from the Texas Youth
Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.077, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) If a child who is mentally ill or mentally retarded is
discharged from the commission under Subsection (b), the child is
eligible to receive continuity of care services from the Texas
Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments
under Chapter 614, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 61, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 61.0773 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0773. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN CHILDREN SERVING
DETERMINATE SENTENCES FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. (a) The
commission may petition the juvenile court that entered the order
of commitment for a child for the initiation of mental health
commitment proceedings if the child is committed to the commission
under a determinate sentence under Section 54.04(d)(3), 54.04(m),
or 54.05(f), Family Code.
(b) A petition made by the commission shall be treated as a
motion under Section 55.11, Family Code, and the juvenile court
shall proceed in accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 55, Family
Code.
(c) The commission shall cooperate with the juvenile court
in any proceeding under this section.
(d) The juvenile court shall credit to the term of the
child's commitment to the commission any time the child is
committed to an inpatient mental health facility.
(e) A child committed to an inpatient mental health facility
as a result of a petition filed under this section may not be
released from the facility on a pass or furlough.
(f) If the term of an order committing a child to an
inpatient mental health facility is scheduled to expire before the
end of the child's sentence and another order committing the child
to an inpatient mental health facility is not scheduled to be
entered, the inpatient mental health facility shall notify the
juvenile court that entered the order of commitment committing the
child to the commission. The juvenile court may transfer the child
to the custody of the commission, transfer the child to the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice, or release the child under
supervision, as appropriate.
SECTION 3. Section 614.019, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.019. PROGRAMS FOR JUVENILES. (a) The office, in
cooperation with the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse,
the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, the
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, the Texas
Juvenile Probation Commission, the Texas Youth Commission, and the
Texas Education Agency, may establish and maintain programs,
building on existing successful efforts in communities, to address
prevention, intervention, and continuity of care for juveniles with
mental health and substance abuse disorders.
(b) A child with mental illness who is receiving continuity
of care services during parole from the Texas Youth Commission and
who is no longer eligible to receive services from a local mental
health authority when the child becomes 17 years of age because the
child does not meet the requirements of a local service area plan
under Section 533.0352(a) may continue to receive continuity of
care services from the office until the child completes the child's
parole.
(c) A child with mental illness or mental retardation who is
discharged from the Texas Youth Commission under Section 61.077,
Human Resources Code, may receive continuity of care services from
the office for a minimum of 90 days after discharge from the
commission and for as long as necessary for the child to demonstrate
sufficient stability to transition successfully to mental health or
mental retardation services provided by a local mental health or
mental retardation authority.
SECTION 4. Section 61.077(g), Human Resources Code, as
added by this Act, and Section 614.019, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by this Act, apply only to a child who is discharged or
paroled from the Texas Youth Commission on or after the effective
date of this Act, regardless of when the child was committed to the
commission.
SECTION 5. Section 61.0773, Human Resources Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to a juvenile committed to the Texas Youth
Commission for conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of
this Act. Conduct violating the penal law of this state occurs on
or after the effective date of this Act if any element of the
violation occurs on or after that date. A juvenile committed to the
Texas Youth Commission for conduct that occurs before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the
conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 6. 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, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 4451 was passed by the House on April
29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 4451 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0,
1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 4451 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor