| 1 | 1 | | 81R753 HLT-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Dutton H.B. No. 944 |
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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 in-prison geriatric communities. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 501, Government Code, is |
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| 10 | 10 | | amended by adding Section 501.094 to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 501.094. IN-PRISON GERIATRIC COMMUNITIES. (a) The |
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| 12 | 12 | | department shall establish a program to confine and treat in |
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| 13 | 13 | | in-prison geriatric communities inmates who are 60 years of age or |
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| 14 | 14 | | older. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (b) The department and the Department of Aging and |
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| 16 | 16 | | Disability Services shall jointly develop methods of screening and |
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| 17 | 17 | | assessing inmates to determine their needs as geriatric inmates. |
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| 18 | 18 | | The department shall screen for geriatric problems each inmate in |
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| 19 | 19 | | the custody of the department not later than the inmate's 58th |
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| 20 | 20 | | birthday. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (c) The program must consist of a treatment program of |
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| 22 | 22 | | indeterminate length that addresses the special problems of |
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| 23 | 23 | | geriatric inmates. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (d) The department shall separate inmates participating in |
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| 25 | 25 | | the program from the general population of the department and house |
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| 26 | 26 | | the inmates in discrete units or areas within units, except during |
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| 27 | 27 | | the diagnostic process or at other times determined to be necessary |
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| 28 | 28 | | by the department for medical or security purposes. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (e) The department shall employ or contract with qualified |
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| 30 | 30 | | professionals to implement the program. For purposes of this |
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| 31 | 31 | | subsection, a "qualified professional" is a person who has at least |
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| 32 | 32 | | two years of experience in geriatric counseling and is: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (1) a certified social worker or advanced clinical |
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| 34 | 34 | | practitioner; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (2) a licensed professional counselor, advanced |
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| 36 | 36 | | practice nurse, physician, or psychologist; or |
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| 37 | 37 | | (3) a registered nurse with a master's degree in |
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| 38 | 38 | | psychiatric or mental health nursing. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (f) The department shall adopt rules of conduct for inmates |
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| 40 | 40 | | participating in the program. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (g) If a qualified professional implementing the program |
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| 42 | 42 | | determines that an inmate is not complying with the rules of the |
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| 43 | 43 | | program, the qualified professional shall notify the department of |
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| 44 | 44 | | that fact and the department shall end the inmate's participation |
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| 45 | 45 | | in the program and transfer the inmate out of the program. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (h) The department shall provide at least 800 beds for |
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| 47 | 47 | | housing participants in the program. The department not less often |
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| 48 | 48 | | than every two years shall determine whether the department should |
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| 49 | 49 | | increase the number of beds provided by the department for the |
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| 50 | 50 | | program. |
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| 51 | 51 | | (i) If funding is available, the criminal justice division |
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| 52 | 52 | | of the governor's office, with the assistance of the department, |
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| 53 | 53 | | shall develop methods to evaluate the processes used by the |
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| 54 | 54 | | department in providing the program and the level of success |
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| 55 | 55 | | achieved by the program. |
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| 56 | 56 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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