By: Swanson H.B. No. 4544
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the issuance of personal identification certificates to
youths committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 245, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 245.003 to read as follows:
245.003 STATE-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION; NECESSARY
DOCUMENTATION. (a) Before releasing a child under supervision, the
department shall:
(1) determine whether the child has:
(A) a valid license issued under Chapter 521,
Transportation Code; or
(B) a valid personal identification certificate
issued under Chapter 521, Transportation Code; and
(2) if the child does not have a valid license or
certificate described by Subdivision (1), submit to the Department
of Public Safety on behalf of the child a request for the issuance
of a personal identification certificate under Chapter 521,
Transportation Code.
(b) The department shall submit a request under Subsection
(a)(2) as soon as is practicable to enable the department to provide
the child with the personal identification certificate when the
department discharges or releases the child.
(c) The department, the Department of Public Safety, and the
bureau of vital statistics of the Department of State Health
Services shall by rule adopt a memorandum of understanding that
establishes their respective responsibilities with respect to the
issuance of a personal identification certificate to a child,
including responsibilities related to verification of the child's
identity. The memorandum of understanding must require the
Department of State Health Services to electronically verify the
birth record of a child whose name and any other personal
information is provided by the department and to electronically
report the recorded filing information to the Department of Public
Safety to validate the identity of a child under this section.
(d) The department shall reimburse the Department of Public
Safety or the Department of State Health Services for the actual
costs incurred by those agencies in performing responsibilities
established under this section. The department may charge the
child's parent or guardian for the actual costs incurred under this
section or the fees required by Section 521.421, Transportation
Code.
(e) This section does not apply to a child who:
(1) is not legally present in the United States; or
(2) was not a resident of this state before the person
was placed in the custody of the department.
SECTION 2. Section 245.0535, Human Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (e)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 245.0535. COMPREHENSIVE REENTRY AND REINTEGRATION
PLAN FOR CHILDREN; STUDY AND REPORT. (a) The department shall
develop a comprehensive plan for each child committed to the
custody of the department to reduce recidivism and ensure the
successful reentry and reintegration of the child into the
community following the child's release under supervision or final
discharge, as applicable, from the department. The plan for a child
must be designed to ensure that the child receives an extensive
continuity of care in services from the time the child is committed
to the department to the time of the child's final discharge from
the department. The plan for a child must include, as applicable:
(1) housing assistance;
(2) a step-down program, such as placement in a
halfway house;
(3) family counseling;
(4) academic and vocational mentoring;
(5) trauma counseling for a child who is a victim of
abuse while in the custody of the department; and
(6) other specialized treatment services appropriate
for the child.
(b) The comprehensive reentry and reintegration plan
developed under this section must provide for:
(1) an assessment of each child committed to the
department to determine which skills the child needs to develop to
be successful in the community following release under supervision
or final discharge;
(2) programs that address the assessed needs of each
child;
(3) a comprehensive network of transition programs to
address the needs of children released under supervision or finally
discharged from the department;
(4) the identification of providers of existing local
programs and transitional services with whom the department may
contract under this section to implement the reentry and
reintegration plan; and
(5) subject to Subsection (c), the sharing of
information between local coordinators, persons with whom the
department contracts under this section, and other providers of
services as necessary to adequately assess and address the needs of
each child.
(c) A child's personal health information may be disclosed
under Subsection (b)(5) only in the manner authorized by Section
244.051 or other state or federal law, provided that the disclosure
does not violate the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-191).
(d) The programs provided under Subsections (b)(2) and (3)
must:
(1) be implemented by highly skilled staff who are
experienced in working with reentry and reintegration programs for
children;
(2) provide children with:
(A) individualized case management and a full
continuum of care;
(B) life-skills training, including information
about budgeting, money management, nutrition, and exercise;
(C) education and, if a child has a learning
disability, special education;
(D) employment training;
(E) appropriate treatment programs, including
substance abuse and mental health treatment programs; and
(F) parenting and relationship-building classes;
and
(3) be designed to build for children post-release and
post-discharge support from the community into which the child is
released under supervision or finally discharged, including
support from agencies and organizations within that community.
(e) The department may contract and coordinate with private
vendors, units of local government, or other entities to implement
the comprehensive reentry and reintegration plan developed under
this section, including contracting to:
(1) coordinate the supervision and services provided
to children during the time children are in the custody of the
department with any supervision or services provided children who
have been released under supervision or finally discharged from the
department;
(2) provide children awaiting release under
supervision or final discharge with documents that are necessary
after release or discharge, including identification papers,
medical prescriptions, job training certificates, a personal
identification certificate obtained under Section 245.003, if
available, and referrals to services; and
(3) provide housing and structured programs,
including programs for recovering substance abusers, through which
children are provided services immediately following release under
supervision or final discharge.
(f) To ensure accountability, any contract entered into
under this section must contain specific performance measures that
the department shall use to evaluate compliance with the terms of
the contract.
(h) The department shall conduct and coordinate research to
determine whether the comprehensive reentry and reintegration plan
developed under this section reduces recidivism rates.
(i) Not later than December 31 of each even-numbered year,
the department shall deliver a report of the results of research
conducted or coordinated under Subsection (h) to the lieutenant
governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the
standing committees of each house of the legislature with primary
jurisdiction over juvenile justice and corrections.
(j) If a program or service in the child's comprehensive
reentry and reintegration plan is not available at the time the
child is to be released, the department shall find a suitable
alternative program or service so that the child's release is not
postponed.
(k) The department shall:
(1) clearly explain the comprehensive reentry and
reintegration plan and any conditions of supervision to a child who
will be released on supervision; and
(2) require each child committed to the department
that is to be released on supervision to acknowledge and sign a
document containing any conditions of supervision.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.