By: Reynolds H.B. No. 51
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reentry and reintegration programs provided by the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 501.092(b) and (g), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) The reentry and reintegration plan adopted under this
section must:
(1) incorporate the use of the risk and needs
assessment instrument adopted under Section 501.0921;
(2) provide for programs that address the assessed
needs of offenders and require the programs to begin as soon as
practicable after the offender is taken into the custody of the
department;
(3) provide for a comprehensive network of transition
programs to address the needs of offenders released or discharged
from a correctional facility, including following the completion of
a period of parole or mandatory supervision;
(4) identify and define the transition services that
are to be provided by the department and which offenders are
eligible for those services;
(5) coordinate the provision of reentry and
reintegration services provided to offenders through state-funded
and volunteer programs across divisions of the department to:
(A) target eligible offenders efficiently; and
(B) ensure maximum use of existing facilities,
personnel, equipment, supplies, and other resources;
(6) provide for collecting and maintaining data
regarding the number of offenders who received reentry and
reintegration services and the number of offenders who were
eligible for but did not receive those services, including
offenders who did not participate in those services;
(7) provide for evaluating the effectiveness of the
reentry and reintegration services provided to offenders by
collecting, maintaining, and reporting outcome information,
including recidivism data as applicable;
(8) identify providers of existing local programs and
transitional services with whom the department may contract under
Section 495.028 to implement the reentry and reintegration plan;
and
(9) subject to Subsection (f), provide for the sharing
of information between local coordinators, persons with whom the
department contracts under Section 495.028, and other providers of
services as necessary to adequately assess and address the needs of
each offender.
(g) The programs provided under Subsections (b)(2) and (3)
must:
(1) be implemented by highly skilled staff who are
experienced in working with inmate reentry and reintegration
programs;
(2) provide offenders with:
(A) individualized case management and a full
continuum of care;
(B) life-skills training, including information
about:
(i) budgeting and [,] money management;
(ii) [,] nutrition [,] and exercise; and
(iii) the development of prosocial behavior
and positive relationships;
(C) education and, if an offender has a learning
disability, special education; and
(D) spiritual guidance, if requested by the
offender [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 former offenders
post-release and post-discharge support from the community into
which an offender is released or discharged, including support from
agencies and organizations within that community.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
last day of the legislative session.