By: Whitmire S.B. No. 1630
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to keeping children adjudicated as delinquent closer to
home, funding for juvenile probation departments, powers of the
independent ombudsman, and indeterminate commitment of children
adjudicated as delinquent.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 203, Human Resource Code, is amended by
adding Sections 203.017 and 203.018 to read as follows:
Sec. 203.017. REGIONALIZATION. (a) The department shall
develop and the board shall adopt a regionalization plan for
keeping youth closer to home in lieu of commitment to the secure
facilities operated by the department under Subtitle C. The plan
shall define regions of the state to be served by facilities
operated by juvenile probation departments, counties, or private
operators, after consultation with juvenile probation departments
to identify post-adjudication facility capacity that can be
dedicated to support the regionalization plan. The department shall
ensure that regions have defined, appropriate, evidence-based
programs for the target populations defined by the plan.
(b) The regionalization plan shall include a budget review
redirection of staff and funding to align to the plan by creating a
new division responsible for administering regionalization and
monitoring program quality and accountability. The new division
shall:
(1) approve plans and related protocols to administer
regional model; (2) provide training on best practices for all
local probation departments affected by the plan;
(3) assist in research-based program development;
(4) monitor contract and program measures for new regional
mode;
(5) analyze department data to provide clear guidance to
local probation departments on outcome measures; and
(6) report on performance of specific programs and
placements to assist in implementing best practices and maximize
the impact of state funds.
(c) Regions shall be eligible for funding to support
evidence-based, intensive in-home services, according to
performance standards established by the department and adopted in
contracts for placement and services.
Sec. 203.018. SPECIALIZED PROGRAMS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS.
(a) The department shall develop specialized programs for
determinate-sentenced children and special commitment children
committed under Section 54.04012, Family Code. The programs shall
ensure safety and security for committed children and provide
developmentally appropriate program strategies.
(b) The department shall establish performance based goals
related to improved outcomes, which shall include recidivism
measures and may include other well-being outcome measures.
(c) The department shall utilize case review strategies to
identify children presently in department facilities who can safely
and appropriately be transferred to alternative local placements,
halfway houses or parole.
(d) The department shall study and report to the board on the
potential for repurposing existing secure facilities for
determinate sentenced children, special commitment children under
Section 54.04012, Family Code, or other purposes.
SECTION 2. Section 223.001, Human Services Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 223.001. DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF STATE AID. (a)
The department shall annually allocate funds for financial
assistance to juvenile boards to provide juvenile services
according to current estimates of the number of juveniles in each
county, a basic probation funding formula for departments that
clearly defines what basic probation entails and what services are
provided, and other factors the department determines are
appropriate.
(b) The legislature may appropriate the amount of state aid
necessary to supplement local funds to maintain and improve
statewide juvenile services that comply with department standards
and to initiate the regionalization plan under Section 203.017
until savings are generated by decreases in the population of
department facilities operated under Subtitle C.
(c) The department shall may set aside a portion of the funds
appropriated to the department for discretionary state aid to fund
programs designed to address special needs or projects of local
juvenile boards, including projects dedicated to specific target
populations based on risk and needs, and with established
recidivism reduction goals. The department shall develop
discretionary grant funding protocols based on documented,
data-driven and research-based practices.
(d) The department shall reimburse counties for placement of youth
in the regional specialized program at a rate that offers a savings
to the state in relation to the average cost per day in a department
facility operated under Subtitle C.
SECTION 3. Section 261.101, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 261.101. DUTIES AND POWERS. (a) The independent ombudsman
shall:
(1) review the procedures established by the board and evaluate
the delivery of services to children to ensure that the rights of
children are fully observed;
(2) review complaints filed with the independent ombudsman
concerning the actions of the department and investigate each
complaint in which it appears that a child may be in need of
assistance from the independent ombudsman;
(3) conduct investigations of complaints, other than complaints
alleging criminal behavior, if the office determines that:
(A) a child committed to the department or the child's family may
be in need of assistance from the office; or
(B) a systemic issue in the department's provision of services is
raised by a complaint;
(4) review or inspect periodically the facilities and procedures
of any institution or residence in which a child has been placed by
the department, whether public or private, to ensure that the
rights of children are fully observed;
(5) provide assistance to a child or family who the independent
ombudsman determines is in need of assistance, including advocating
with an agency, provider, or other person in the best interests of
the child;
(6) review court orders as necessary to fulfill its duties;
(7) recommend changes in any procedure relating to the treatment
of children committed to the department;
(8) make appropriate referrals under any of the duties and powers
listed in this subsection;
(9) supervise assistants who are serving as advocates in their
representation of children committed to the department in internal
administrative and disciplinary hearings;
(10) review reports received by the department relating to
complaints regarding juvenile probation programs, services, or
facilities and analyze the data contained in the reports to
identify trends in complaints; and
(11) report a possible standards violation by a local juvenile
probation department to the appropriate division of the department.
(b) The independent ombudsman may apprise persons who are
interested in a child's welfare of the rights of the child.
(c) To assess if a child's rights have been violated, the
independent ombudsman may, in any matter that does not involve
alleged criminal behavior, contact or consult with an
administrator, employee, child, parent, expert, or any other
individual in the course of its investigation or to secure
information.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
independent ombudsman may not investigate alleged criminal
behavior.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
powers of the office are limited to facilities operated and
services provided by the department under Subtitle C, and
post-adjudication correctional facilities under Section 51.125,
Family Code.
SECTION 4. Section 54.04, Family Code, is amended by
amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) If the court or jury makes the finding specified in Subsection
(c) allowing the court to make a disposition in the case:
(1) the court or jury may, in addition to any order required or
authorized under Section 54.041 or 54.042, place the child on
probation on such reasonable and lawful terms as the court may
determine:
(A) in the child's own home or in the custody of a relative or
other fit person; or
(B) subject to the finding under Subsection (c) on the placement
of the child outside the child's home, in:
(i) a suitable foster home;
(ii) a suitable public or private residential treatment facility
licensed by a state governmental entity or exempted from licensure
by state law, except a facility operated by the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department; or
(iii) a suitable public or private post-adjudication secure
correctional facility that meets the requirements of Section
51.125, except a facility operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department;
(2) if the court or jury found at the conclusion of the
adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent conduct
that violates a penal law of this state or the United States of the
grade of felony, if a special commitment finding is made under
Section 54.04012, and if the petition was not approved by the grand
jury under Section 53.045, the court may commit the child to the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department under Section 54.04012 or a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility under Section
54.04011(c)(1) without a determinate sentence;
(3) if the court or jury found at the conclusion of the
adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent conduct
that included a violation of a penal law listed in Section 53.045(a)
and if the petition was approved by the grand jury under Section
53.045, the court or jury may sentence the child to commitment in
the Texas Juvenile Justice Department or a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility under Section 54.04011(c)(2) with a possible
transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for a term of:
(A) not more than 40 years if the conduct constitutes:
(i) a capital felony;
(ii) a felony of the first degree; or
(iii) an aggravated controlled substance felony;
(B) not more than 20 years if the conduct constitutes a felony of
the second degree; or
(C) not more than 10 years if the conduct constitutes a felony of
the third degree;
(4) the court may assign the child an appropriate sanction level
and sanctions as provided by the assignment guidelines in Section
59.003;
(5) the court may place the child in a suitable nonsecure
correctional facility that is registered and meets the applicable
standards for the facility as provided by Section 51.126; or
(6) if applicable, the court or jury may make a disposition under
Subsection (m) or Section 54.04011(c)(2)(A).
SECTION 5. Chapter 54, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 54.04012 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.04012. Special Commitment to Texas Juvenile Justice
Department. After a disposition hearing held in accordance with
Section 54.04, the juvenile court may commit a child who is found to
have engaged in delinquent conduct that constitutes a felony to the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department without a determinate sentence,
if the court makes a special commitment finding that the child has
behavioral health or other special needs that cannot be met with the
resources available in the community, as documented in a validated
needs assessment conducted by the juvenile probation department
serving the court.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by Sections 5 and 6 of
this Act apply only to an offense committed on or after the
effective date applicable to those sections of this Act. An offense
committed before the effective date of those sections of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of those sections of this Act if any element of the
offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 7. Sections 1, 2 and 3 of this Act take effect
September 1, 2015. Sections 5 and 6 of this Act take effect
September 1, 2017.