By: Whitmire S.B. No. 1630
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the commitment of juveniles in post-adjudication secure
correctional facilities operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department and by local probation departments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 54.04(d), Family Code, is amended 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, the court or jury made a special commitment finding
under Section 54.04013, 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 54.04013, or
a post-adjudication secure correctional facility under Section
54.04011(c)(1), as applicable, 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 2. Chapter 54, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 54.04013 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.04013. SPECIAL COMMITMENT TO TEXAS JUVENILE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code,
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 offense 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 3. Chapter 203, Human Resources Code, is amended by
adding Sections 203.017 and 203.018 to read as follows:
Sec. 203.017. REGIONALIZATION PLAN. (a) The department
shall develop and the board shall adopt a regionalization plan for
keeping children closer to home in lieu of commitment to the secure
facilities operated by the department under Subtitle C.
(b) The department shall consult with juvenile probation
departments to identify post-adjudication facility capacity that
may be dedicated to support the regionalization plan.
(c) The regionalization plan must define regions of the
state to be served by facilities operated by juvenile probation
departments, counties, or private operators, based on the
post-adjudication facilities identified as being available for the
purpose of the plan.
(d) The department shall ensure that each region has
defined, appropriate, research-based programs for the target
populations under the regionalization plan.
(e) The regionalization plan must:
(1) include a budget review, redirection of staff, and
funding mechanisms necessary to support the plan; and
(2) create a new division of the department
responsible for administering the regionalization plan and
monitoring program quality and accountability.
(f) The division created under Subsection (e)(2) shall:
(1) approve plans and related protocols to administer
the developed regional model;
(2) provide training on best practices for all local
probation departments affected by the regionalization plan;
(3) assist in research-based program development;
(4) monitor contract and program measures for the
developed regional model;
(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.
(g) A region is eligible for funding to support
evidence-based, intensive in-home services only if the region meets
the performance standards established by the department and adopted
in contracts for placement and services.
(h) The department shall adopt rules to allow the local
probation departments implementing the regionalization plan to
access the data submitted by those departments in the state
juvenile case management system for planning and research purposes.
Sec. 203.018. SPECIALIZED PROGRAMS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS.
(a) The department shall develop specialized programs for
children with a determinate sentence and children committed under
Section 54.04013, Family Code. The programs must 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 that:
(1) must include measures to reduce recidivism; and
(2) may include other well-being outcome measures.
(c) The department shall use case review strategies to
identify children in department facilities who can safely and
appropriately be transferred to alternative local placements or
halfway houses, placed on probation or parole, or otherwise
released under supervision.
(d) The department shall study and report to the board on
the potential for repurposing existing secure facilities for the
confinement of children with a determinate sentence or children
committed under Section 54.04013, Family Code, or for other
purposes.
SECTION 4. Section 223.001, Human Resources 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 which 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 so
that 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 the
placement of children in the regional specialized program at a rate
that offers a savings to the state in relation to the average cost
per day for confining a child in a department facility operated
under Subtitle C.
SECTION 5. Section 261.101(e), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
the powers of the office are limited to:
(1) facilities operated and services provided by the
department under Subtitle C;
(2) post-adjudication correctional facilities under
Section 51.125, Family Code; and
(3) the investigation of complaints alleging a
violation of the rights of the children committed to a facility
described by Subdivision (2).
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by Section 54.04(d),
Family Code, as amended by this Act, and Section 54.04013, Family
Code, as added by this Act, apply only to conduct that occurs on or
after September 1, 2017. Conduct that occurs before September 1,
2017, is governed by the law in effect when the conduct occurred,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, conduct occurs before September 1, 2017,
if any element of the conduct occurs before that date.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.