| 1 | 1 | | 84R7570 MK-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Farias H.B. No. 1507 |
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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 a report to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department |
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| 8 | 8 | | concerning restorative justice programs for juvenile offenders in |
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| 9 | 9 | | certain counties. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (1) "Department" means the Texas Juvenile Justice |
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| 13 | 13 | | Department. |
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| 14 | 14 | | (2) "Local department" means a local juvenile |
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| 15 | 15 | | probation department. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (3) "Program" means a restorative justice program |
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| 17 | 17 | | created for juvenile offenders. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (4) "Restorative justice" means an approach to justice |
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| 19 | 19 | | that emphasizes the importance of an offender's reparation of harm |
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| 20 | 20 | | caused to a victim by the offender's conduct that violates a penal |
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| 21 | 21 | | law. The term includes victim-offender mediation. |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 2. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies only to a local |
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| 23 | 23 | | department located in a county: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) with a population of more than 1.5 million; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2) in which more than 75 percent of the population |
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| 26 | 26 | | resides in a single municipality. |
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| 27 | 27 | | SECTION 3. REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2016, a local |
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| 28 | 28 | | department shall submit a report to the department regarding the |
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| 29 | 29 | | program. The report must include: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (1) a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of |
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| 31 | 31 | | the program; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (2) the local department's findings and |
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| 33 | 33 | | recommendations regarding continuation or expansion of the |
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| 34 | 34 | | program; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (3) whether the local department developed an action |
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| 36 | 36 | | plan and if the action plan was followed; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (4) the extent to which restorative justice is offered |
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| 38 | 38 | | by the local department, including the specific programs used in |
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| 39 | 39 | | restorative justice cases; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (5) what methods are used to track data, including |
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| 41 | 41 | | compliance with data privacy laws; |
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| 42 | 42 | | (6) the number of offenders, victims, and community |
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| 43 | 43 | | members participating in the program; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (7) information regarding the types of offenses, |
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| 45 | 45 | | demographics, and relationships between the victims and offenders; |
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| 46 | 46 | | (8) whether monthly audits are conducted and the |
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| 47 | 47 | | results of the audits; |
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| 48 | 48 | | (9) whether the program is equipped to expand; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (10) identification of potential program barriers; |
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| 50 | 50 | | (11) information regarding the criminal history of |
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| 51 | 51 | | offenders; |
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| 52 | 52 | | (12) information regarding the background, |
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| 53 | 53 | | experience, and eligibility of mediators; |
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| 54 | 54 | | (13) whether the program was offered pre-adjudication |
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| 55 | 55 | | or post-adjudication; |
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| 56 | 56 | | (14) victim and offender satisfaction rates regarding |
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| 57 | 57 | | the program; |
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| 58 | 58 | | (15) the overall rate of restitution as a result of the |
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| 59 | 59 | | program; and |
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| 60 | 60 | | (16) the outcome measures used to determine the |
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| 61 | 61 | | effectiveness of the program. |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 4. EXPIRATION. This Act expires September 2, 2017. |
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| 63 | 63 | | SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September |
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| 64 | 64 | | 1, 2015. |
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