Bill Text: TX HB1586 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to the operation and administration of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and its facilities, to the operation of post-adjudication secure correctional facilities for juvenile offenders, and to the commitment and placement of juvenile offenders.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-05-14 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB1586 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB1586-Comm_Sub.html

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84R21410 MK-F
By: McClendon H.B. No. 1586
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1586:
By: Dutton C.S.H.B. No. 1586

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation and administration of the Texas Juvenile
Justice Department and its facilities, to the operation of
post-adjudication secure correctional facilities for juvenile
offenders, and to the commitment and placement of juvenile
offenders.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND JUVENILE BOARDS
SECTION 1.01. Section 201.002, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 201.002. PURPOSES AND INTERPRETATION. This title
shall be construed to have the following public purposes:
(1) creating a unified state juvenile justice agency
that works in partnership with local county governments, the
courts, regional associations, and communities to promote public
safety by providing a full continuum of effective supports and
services to youth from initial contact through termination of
supervision; and
(2) creating a juvenile justice system that produces
positive outcomes for youth, families, and communities by:
(A) assuring accountability, quality,
consistency, and transparency through effective monitoring and the
use of systemwide performance measures;
(B) promoting the use of program and service
designs and interventions proven to be most effective in
rehabilitating youth;
(C) prioritizing the use of community-based or
family-based programs and services for youth over the placement or
commitment of youth to a secure facility;
(D) operating the state facilities to
effectively house and rehabilitate the youthful offenders that
cannot be safely served in another setting; and
(E) protecting and enhancing the cooperative
agreements between state and local county governments.
SECTION 1.02. Section 201.003, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 201.003. GOALS. The goals of the department and all
programs, facilities, and services that are operated, regulated, or
funded by the department are to:
(1) support the development of a consistent
county-based continuum of effective interventions, supports, and
services for youth and families that reduce the need for
out-of-home placement;
(2) increase reliance on alternatives to placement and
commitment to secure state facilities, consistent with adequately
addressing a youthful offender's treatment needs and protection of
the public;
(3) locate the facilities as geographically close as
possible to necessary workforce and other services while supporting
the youths' connection to their families;
(4) encourage regional cooperation that enhances
county collaboration, while ensuring sufficient state aid and
support for that endeavor;
(5) enhance the continuity of care throughout the
juvenile justice system; and
(6) use secure facilities of a size that supports
effective youth rehabilitation and public safety.
SECTION 1.03. Chapter 201, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Sections 201.005 and 201.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 201.005. REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS. (a) The board by rule
shall designate regional associations, create a leadership
structure for each regional association, and require each juvenile
probation department to affiliate with one regional association. A
regional association and the association's affiliations must be
designated by geographic region.
(b) The board shall design the leadership structure of a
regional association in a manner that ensures representation from
counties from each of the following categories:
(1) small counties, with a population of fewer than
7,500 persons younger than 18 years of age;
(2) medium counties, with a population of at least
7,500 but fewer than 80,000 persons younger than 18 years of age;
and
(3) large counties, with a population of 80,000 or
more persons younger than 18 years of age.
(c) The executive director shall designate at least one
department employee for each regional association to assist the
region in furthering the goals of the juvenile justice system for
the region while assuring accountability, quality, consistency,
and transparency. To the extent practicable, the employee is
located in the region to which the employee is assigned. The
department may contract with a juvenile board or other entity to
provide office space for the designated employee.
Sec. 201.006. REGIONAL PLANS. (a) Each regional
association created under Section 201.005 shall develop a written
plan to outline the manner in which the juvenile probation
departments affiliated with the association collaborate to further
the purposes and goals of the juvenile justice system under
Sections 201.002 and 201.003, including the goal of reducing the
number of children committed to the department in a manner that
protects the safety of the children while ensuring public safety.
Each regional plan must include the following:
(1) the results of a needs assessment conducted by the
regional association, with a focus on identifying resources that
exist and resources that are needed to implement the plan and to
reduce the number of children committed to the department;
(2) methods for maximizing the use of community-based,
family-based, and in-home treatment programs and services for
juveniles instead of the placement of juveniles in secure
facilities while ensuring public safety, including the use of a
validated risk and needs assessment tool before making decisions
regarding the placement of juveniles;
(3) methods for identifying juveniles eligible for
commitment to the department who can be effectively rehabilitated
in another setting;
(4) methods for using existing bed space, including
contracting within the region and state, for the placement of
juveniles in a manner that ensures that the juveniles are placed in
facilities located as close to the juveniles' homes as possible,
when appropriate;
(5) methods for providing research-based, effective
treatment, including specialized treatment and treatment involving
the families of juveniles, to meet the treatment needs of
juveniles;
(6) a timeline for implementation of the plan;
(7) an analysis of funding needs and recommendations
regarding methods of funding probation services in the region;
(8) an analysis of training needs to ensure proper
training regarding the implementation of the plan for juvenile
justice professionals, including judges, probation staff, and
attorneys;
(9) identification of any recommended statutory
changes necessary to enable the regional association to implement
the plan or to better serve juveniles;
(10) identification of any potential unintended
effects associated with the plan; and
(11) any other issues deemed necessary or relevant by
the executive director.
(b) The department shall assist a regional association in
the development of a regional plan.
(c) The executive director shall review each regional plan
and provide recommendations regarding the plan to the regional
association not later than the 90th day after the date the executive
director receives the plan.
(d) Before a regional association may implement a regional
plan, the executive director must certify that the plan:
(1) sufficiently addresses each of the requirements
under Subsection (a);
(2) is consistent with the purposes and goals for the
juvenile justice system provided by Sections 201.002 and 201.003;
and
(3) includes appropriate, research-based programs for
the juveniles served.
(e) The department shall assist each regional association
in implementing the association's regional plan, including
providing training and technical assistance as necessary or
appropriate.
(f) The department shall include information regarding each
regional plan in the report developed under Section 203.007,
including information on the implementation and effectiveness of
each plan.
(g) The board shall adopt rules necessary to implement this
section.
SECTION 1.04. Section 202.010, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 202.010. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Juvenile
Justice Board and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department are subject
to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless
continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the board and
the department are abolished September 1, 2021 [2017].
SECTION 1.05. Section 223.001, Human Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections
(d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
(a) The department shall annually allocate funds for
financial assistance to juvenile boards to provide juvenile
probation services, as defined by Section 142.001. The allocation
of funds shall be made according to current estimates of the number
of juveniles in each county and other factors the department
determines are appropriate.
(c) The department shall [may] set aside a portion of the
funds appropriated to the department for state aid to fund programs
designed to address special needs or projects of local juvenile
boards. The department shall develop discretionary grant funding
protocols based on documented criteria, including data-driven,
research-based criteria, or promising practices.
(d) In the department's legislative appropriations request
for each fiscal biennium, the department shall identify the amount
of state aid needed to ensure sustained support for programs to
ensure that the programs adequately address the rehabilitative
needs of children who are diverted from commitment to the
facilities of the department. In regard to children placed in a
facility or program in accordance with a regional plan created
under Section 201.006, the department shall develop a method to
identify children who were likely to have been committed to the
facilities of the department, but as a result of the implementation
of the regional plans, were not committed to the department.
(e) The department may not adversely impact the state aid
for a juvenile board or a juvenile probation department that does
not enter into a contract to serve youth from other counties, or
does not act as a regional facility.
(f) A post-adjudication secure correctional facility may
not be required to accept placement of a child, unless the child is
subject to an order issued by the local juvenile court and placed in
an area served by the juvenile probation board or department where
the facility is located. A post-adjudication secure correctional
facility may not be required to accept a child who is not under the
jurisdiction of the local juvenile probation department where the
facility is located.
SECTION 1.06. Section 223.006(a), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department may provide state aid to a county to
acquire, construct, and equip post-adjudication residential or
day-treatment centers from money appropriated for those
purposes. The facilities may be used for children who are placed
on probation by a juvenile court under Section 54.04, Family Code,
as an alternative to commitment to the facilities of the
department. If the state aid is provided under this section to a
county to construct a new residential facility, the facility may
not have a residential capacity of more than 96 beds.
ARTICLE 2. TEXAS JUVENILE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FACILITIES
SECTION 2.01. Section 242.052, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (f), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
(f) A new residential facility constructed by the
department may not have a residential capacity of more than 96 beds.
(g) The department may close a residential facility
operated by the department if the board approves the closure
following a public meeting in which the board determines that the
capacity level and resident and staff safety warrant the closure of
the facility.
(h) Before closing a department facility, the department
must determine whether the facility can be repurposed for the needs
of the department.
SECTION 2.02. Subchapter B, Chapter 242, Human Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 242.072 to read as follows:
Sec. 242.072. SALE OR TRANSFER OF CLOSED FACILITIES. (a)
This section applies only to a closed facility on real property
owned by the department.
(b) With the assistance of the General Land Office, the
board may sell or transfer to a county or municipality a closed
facility that is owned by the department and that does not receive
funding from the legislature for the facility's operations. Before
transferring or selling a closed facility, the board shall
determine if it is feasible for the facility to be repurposed to
meet the needs of the department and the youth being served by the
department.
(c) If a facility is transferred to a county or
municipality, the consideration for the transfer is the requirement
that the county or municipality use the property transferred only
for a purpose that benefits the public interest of the state. If the
county or municipality no longer uses the property for a public
purpose, ownership of the property automatically reverts to the
department.
(d) If a facility is transferred to a county or
municipality, the board shall transfer the property by an
appropriate instrument of transfer, executed on behalf of the
agency by the commissioner of the General Land Office. The
instrument of transfer must:
(1) provide that:
(A) the transferee shall use the property only
for a purpose that benefits the public interest of the state; and
(B) ownership of the property automatically
reverts to the department if the transferee uses the property for
any purpose other than a purpose that benefits the public interest
of the state;
(2) describe the property to be transferred by metes
and bounds; and
(3) exclude from the transfer all mineral interests in
and under the property and prohibit any exploration, drilling, or
other similar intrusion on the property related to mineral
interests.
(e) The department shall retain custody of the instrument of
transfer after the instrument of transfer is filed in the real
property records of the county in which the property is located.
(f) If property is transferred to a county or municipality,
the expenses incurred by the General Land Office in connection with
the transfer shall be paid to the General Land Office by the county
or municipality.
(g) This section expires September 1, 2021.
ARTICLE 3. COMMITMENT OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS
SECTION 3.01. 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 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 or a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility under Section 54.04011(c)(1) without a
determinate sentence only if the court includes in its order a
finding that commitment is:
(A) necessary to meet the juvenile's
rehabilitative needs; and
(B) appropriate, as demonstrated by the evidence
admitted at the hearing, including the results of a validated risk
and needs assessment conducted according to rules adopted under
Section 221.003, Human Resources Code, before the disposition is
ordered;
(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 3.02. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
54.04(d), Family Code, apply only to conduct violating a penal law
that occurs on or after September 1, 2017. Conduct violating a
penal law that occurs before September 1, 2017, is governed by the
law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and the former law
is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
subsection, conduct occurs before September 1, 2017, if any element
of the conduct occurred before that date.
ARTICLE 4. OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT OMBUDSMAN
SECTION 4.01. Section 261.002, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 261.002. ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE. The office of
independent ombudsman is a state agency established for the purpose
of investigating, evaluating, and securing the rights of the
children:
(1) committed to the department, including a child
released under supervision before final discharge; or
(2) placed in a post-adjudication secure correctional
facility, as described by Section 51.125, Family Code.
SECTION 4.02. Section 261.055(b), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The independent ombudsman shall immediately report to
the board, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of
the house of representatives, the state auditor, and the office of
the inspector general of the department any particularly serious or
flagrant:
(1) case of abuse or injury of a child committed to the
department;
(2) problem concerning the administration of a
department program or operation;
(3) problem concerning the delivery of services in a
facility operated by or under contract with the department; [or]
(4) interference by the department or by a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility with an
investigation conducted by the office; or
(5) civil rights violation concerning a child placed
in a post-adjudication secure correctional facility, not including
a complaint alleging criminal behavior.
SECTION 4.03. Section 261.056(a), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department or a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility shall allow any child committed to the
department or placed in the facility to communicate with the
independent ombudsman or an assistant to the ombudsman. The
communication:
(1) may be in person, by mail, or by any other means;
and
(2) is confidential and privileged.
SECTION 4.04. Section 261.058, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The office and the board shall adopt rules that
establish procedures for a post-adjudication secure correctional
facility administrator, chief juvenile probation officer of a
juvenile probation department, or juvenile board to comment on
reports of the office related to children placed in a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility, including
procedures for the department to expedite or eliminate review in a
manner that is consistent with rules adopted under Subsection (b).
SECTION 4.05. Section 261.101(a), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(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;
(12) conduct an investigation of a civil rights
complaint concerning a child placed in a post-adjudication secure
correctional facility, not including a complaint alleging criminal
behavior;
(13) assist a child placed in a post-adjudication
secure correctional facility, if the department determines that the
child is in need of assistance from the office; and
(14) immediately report the findings of any
investigation to the chief juvenile probation officer and the
juvenile board of the county in which the facility is located, and
to the juvenile probation department arranging the placement of the
child.
SECTION 4.06. Section 261.102, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 261.102. TREATMENT OF [DEPARTMENT] EMPLOYEES WHO
COOPERATE WITH INDEPENDENT OMBUDSMAN. The department or a
juvenile board or juvenile probation department may not discharge
or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee who
in good faith makes a complaint to the office of independent
ombudsman or cooperates with the office in an investigation.
SECTION 4.07. Section 261.151(a), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The independent ombudsman has access to the
department's records relating to [the] children committed to the
department or placed in a post-adjudication secure correctional
facility.
SECTION 4.08. Section 261.152, Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 261.152. ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF PRIVATE ENTITIES.
The independent ombudsman shall have access to the records of a
private entity that relate to a child committed to the department or
placed in a post-adjudication secure correctional facility.
SECTION 4.09. Section 261.101(e), Human Resources Code, is
repealed.
ARTICLE 5. TRANSITION AND EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 5.01. (a) This Act authorizes the legislature to
appropriate funding to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department at
levels sufficient to enable the department to fulfill its statutory
responsibilities and adequately and effectively care for the youth
under its jurisdiction. The continuity of funding to the department
should be regarded as essential during the period of transition and
implementation of the regionalization plans described by this Act.
(b) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall allocate
funds appropriated to the department by the legislature in the
General Appropriations Act in amounts necessary to fulfill its
statutory responsibilities and to adequately and effectively care
for the youth under the department's custody. The department shall
allocate funds to regional associations created under Section
201.005, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act, as necessary
for the implementation of the regional plans adopted under Section
201.006, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 5.02. An initial regional plan must be submitted to
the executive director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department not
later than May 1, 2016. An initial regional plan developed under
Section 201.006, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act, must
include provisions for the implementation of the plan beginning not
later than December 1, 2016.
SECTION 5.03. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.