CHAPTER 509. COMMUNITY JUSTICE ASSISTANCE DIVISION
GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
SUBTITLE G. CORRECTIONS
CHAPTER 509. COMMUNITY JUSTICE ASSISTANCE DIVISION
Sec. 509.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Community corrections facility" means a physical structure,
established by the judges described by Section 76.002 after
authorization of the establishment of the structure has been
included in the local community justice plan, that is operated by
a department or operated for a department by an entity under
contract with the department, for the purpose of treating persons
who have been placed on community supervision or who are
participating in a drug court program established under Chapter
469, Health and Safety Code, and providing services and programs
to modify criminal behavior, deter criminal activity, protect the
public, and restore victims of crime. The term includes:
(A) a restitution center;
(B) a court residential treatment facility;
(C) a substance abuse treatment facility;
(D) a custody facility or boot camp;
(E) a facility for an offender with a mental impairment, as
defined by Section 614.001, Health and Safety Code; and
(F) an intermediate sanction facility.
(2) "Department" means a community supervision and corrections
department established under Chapter 76.
(3) "Division" means the community justice assistance division.
(4) "State aid" means funds appropriated by the legislature to
the division to provide financial assistance to:
(A) the judges described by Section 76.002 for:
(i) a department established by the judges;
(ii) the development and improvement of community supervision
services and community-based correctional programs;
(iii) the establishment and operation of community corrections
facilities; and
(iv) assistance in conforming with standards and policies of the
division and the board; and
(B) state agencies, counties, municipalities, and nonprofit
organizations for the implementation and administration of
community-based sanctions and programs.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 12.23(a),
eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
255, Sec. 9, eff. May 30, 2005.
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1139, Sec. 3, eff. June 18, 2005.
Sec. 509.002. PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to:
(1) allow localities to increase their involvement and
responsibility in developing sentencing programs that provide
effective sanctions for criminal defendants;
(2) provide increased opportunities for criminal defendants to
make restitution to victims of crime through financial
reimbursement or community service;
(3) provide increased use of community penalties designed
specifically to meet local needs; and
(4) promote efficiency and economy in the delivery of
community-based correctional programs consistent with the
objectives defined by Section 1.02, Penal Code.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 509.003. STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES. (a) The division shall
propose and the board shall adopt reasonable rules establishing:
(1) minimum standards for programs, community corrections
facilities and other facilities, equipment, and other aspects of
the operation of departments;
(2) a list and description of core services that should be
provided by each department;
(3) methods for measuring the success of community supervision
and corrections programs, including methods for measuring rates
of diversion, program completion, and recidivism;
(4) a format for community justice plans; and
(5) minimum standards for the operation of substance abuse
facilities and programs funded through the division.
(b) In establishing standards relating to the operation of
departments, the division shall consider guidelines developed and
presented by the advisory committee on community supervision and
corrections department management to the judicial advisory
council established under Section 493.003(b).
(c) A substance abuse facility or program operating under the
standards is not required to be licensed or otherwise approved by
any other state or local agency.
(d) The division shall develop a screening and evaluation
procedure for use in accordance with Section 76.017. The division
shall determine if a single screening and evaluation procedure
may be used in each program. If the division determines that a
single procedure is not feasible, the division shall identify and
approve procedures that may be used.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 12.24(a),
eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1269, Sec. 5, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 509.004. RECORDS, REPORTS, AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS. (a)
The division shall require each department to:
(1) keep financial and statistical records determined necessary
by the division;
(2) submit a community justice plan and all supporting
information requested by the division;
(3) present data requested by the division as necessary to
determine the amount of state aid for which the department is
eligible;
(4) submit periodic financial audits and statistical reports to
the division; and
(5) submit to the Department of Public Safety the full name,
address, date of birth, social security number, and driver's
license number of each person restricted to the operation of a
motor vehicle equipped with a device that uses a deep-lung breath
analysis mechanism to make impractical the operation of the motor
vehicle if ethyl alcohol is detected in the breath of the
restricted operator.
(b) The division shall develop an automated tracking system
that:
(1) is capable of receiving tracking data from community
supervision and corrections departments' caseload management and
accounting systems;
(2) is capable of tracking the defendant and the sentencing
event at which the defendant was placed on community supervision
by name, arrest charge code, and incident number;
(3) provides the division with the statistical data it needs to
support budget requests and satisfy requests for information; and
(4) is compatible with the requirements of Chapter 60, Code of
Criminal Procedure, and the information systems used by the
institutional division and the pardons and paroles division of
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 12.25(a),
eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1007, Sec. 1, eff.
June 15, 2001.
Sec. 509.005. INSPECTIONS; AUDITS; EVALUATIONS. The community
justice assistance division shall from time to time inspect and
evaluate and the internal audit division may at any reasonable
time conduct an audit of the financial, program compliance, or
performance records of a department to determine:
(1) compliance with the division's rules and standards;
(2) economical and efficient use of resources;
(3) accomplishment of goals and objectives;
(4) reliability and integrity of information; and
(5) safeguarding of assets.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 12.26(a),
eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 490, Sec. 5, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 509.006. COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS FACILITIES. (a) To
establish and maintain community corrections facilities, the
division may:
(1) fund division-managed facilities;
(2) fund contracts for facilities that are managed by
departments, counties, or vendors;
(3) provide funds to departments for the renovation of leased or
donated buildings for use as facilities;
(4) accept ownership of real property pursuant to an agreement
under which the division agrees to construct a facility and offer
the facility for lease;
(5) allow departments, counties, or municipalities to accept and
use buildings provided by units of local governments, including
rural hospital districts, for use as facilities;
(6) provide funds to departments, counties, or municipalities to
lease, purchase, or construct buildings or to lease or purchase
land or other real property for use as facilities, lease or
purchase equipment necessary for the operation of facilities, and
pay other costs as necessary for the management and operation of
facilities; and
(7) be a party to a contract for correctional services or
approve a contract for those services if the state, on a biennial
appropriations basis, commits to fund a portion of the contract.
(b) The division may require that community corrections
facilities comply with state and local safety laws and may
develop standards for:
(1) the physical plant and operation of community corrections
facilities;
(2) programs offered by community corrections facilities;
(3) disciplinary rules for residents of community corrections
facilities; and
(4) emergency furloughs for residents of community corrections
facilities.
(c) Minimum standards for community corrections facilities must
include requirements that a facility:
(1) provide levels of security appropriate for the population
served by the facility, including as a minimum a monitored and
structured environment in which a resident's interior and
exterior movements and activities can be supervised by specific
destination and time; and
(2) accept only those residents who are physically and mentally
capable of participating in any program offered at the facility
that requires strenuous physical activity, if participation in
the program is required of all residents of the facility.
(d) Standards developed by the division that relate to state
jail felony facilities must meet minimum requirements adopted by
the board for the operation of state jail felony facilities. The
board may adopt rules and procedures for the operation of more
than one type of state jail felony facility.
(e) With the consent of the department operating or contracting
for the operation of the facility, the board may designate any
community corrections facility that is an intermediate sanction
facility as a state jail felony facility and confine state jail
felons in that facility.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 509.007. COMMUNITY JUSTICE PLAN. (a) The division shall
require as a condition to payment of state aid to a department or
county under Section 509.011 and eligibility for payment of costs
under Section 499.124 that a community justice plan be submitted
for the department. The community justice council shall submit
the plan required by this subsection. A community justice
council may not submit a plan under this section unless the plan
is first approved by the judges described by Section 76.002 who
established the department served by the council. The council
shall submit a revised plan to the division each odd-numbered
year by a date designated by the division. A plan may be amended
at any time with the approval of the division.
(b) A community justice plan required under this section must
include:
(1) a statement of goals and priorities and of commitment by the
community justice council, the judges described by Section 76.002
who established the department, and the department director to
achieve a targeted level of alternative sanctions;
(2) a description of methods for measuring the success of
programs provided by the department or provided by an entity
served by the department; and
(3) a proposal for the use of state jail felony facilities and,
at the discretion of the community justice council, a regional
proposal for the construction, operation, maintenance, or
management of a state jail felony facility by a county, a
community supervision and corrections department, or a private
vendor under a contract with a county or a community supervision
and corrections department.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
255, Sec. 10, eff. May 30, 2005.
Sec. 509.008. OFFICER CERTIFICATION. (a) The division shall
establish officer certification programs for department
residential officers and department supervision officers. A
program must include coursework relating to the proper
performance of the officer's duties and an examination prepared
by the division administered at the conclusion of the coursework.
The examination must test officers on knowledge required for the
proper performance of their duties. An officer who satisfactorily
completes the coursework and examination shall be certified.
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (d), (e), and (f), a
department may not continue to employ an officer unless the
officer was exempt from certification requirements on September
1, 1989, or satisfactorily completes the coursework and
examination required by this section not later than the first
anniversary of the date on which the officer begins employment
with the department.
(c) The division shall provide adequate notification of the
results of examinations and provide other relevant information
regarding examinations as requested by examinees.
(d) The division may extend the period for the coursework and
examination requirements for an officer under Subsection (b) or
(f) for an additional period not to exceed one year because:
(1) the department has a need to increase hiring to reduce
caseloads to a level necessary to receive full state aid; or
(2) an extenuating circumstance, as determined by the division
director, prevents the officer from completing the coursework and
examination within the required period.
(e) The division may waive certification requirements other than
a fee requirement for an applicant with a valid certificate from
another state that has certification requirements substantially
similar to those of this state.
(f) A department may not continue to employ a residential
officer unless the officer successfully completes the coursework
and examination requirement under this section before the first
anniversary of the date on which the officer begins the officer's
assignment to a residential facility.
(g) The division may deny, revoke, or suspend a certification or
may reprimand an officer for a violation of a standard adopted
under this chapter.
(h) If the division proposes to deny, revoke, or suspend an
officer's certification or to reprimand an officer, the officer
is entitled to a hearing before the division or a hearings
examiner appointed by the division. The division shall adopt
procedures for appeals by officers of decisions made by the
division to deny, revoke, or suspend a certification or to
reprimand an officer.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 12.27(a),
eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 509.009. TRAINING. The division may provide pre-service,
in-service, and educational training and technical assistance to
departments to promote compliance with the standards under this
chapter and to assist departments in improving the operation of
department services.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 509.010. PUBLIC MEETING. (a) The division may not take an
action under Sections 509.006(a)(1) through (6) relating to a
community corrections facility established after August 31, 1989,
unless a public meeting is held about the proposed action before
the action is taken.
(b) Before the 30th day before the date of the meeting, the
division, the department that the facility is to serve, or a
vendor proposing to operate the facility shall:
(1) publish by advertisement that is not less than 3-1/2 inches
by 5 inches notice of the date, hour, place, and subject of the
hearing required by Subsection (a) in three consecutive issues of
a newspaper of, or in newspapers that collectively have, general
circulation in the county in which the proposed facility is to be
located; and
(2) mail a copy of the notice to each police chief, sheriff,
city council member, mayor, county commissioner, county judge,
school board member, state representative, and state senator who
serves or represents the area in which the proposed facility is
to be located, unless the proposed facility has been previously
authorized to operate at a particular location by a community
justice council under Section 76.003.
(c) If a private vendor, other than a private vendor that
operates as a nonprofit corporation, proposes to operate a
facility that is the subject of a public meeting under this
section, the private vendor is responsible for the costs of
providing notice and holding the public meeting required by this
section.
(d) In describing the subject of a hearing for purposes of
publishing notice under this section, the notice must
specifically state the address of the facility on which a
proposed action is to be taken and describe the proposed action.
(e) The division, a department, or a private vendor shall hold a
public meeting required by Subsection (a) at a site as close as
practicable to the location at which the proposed action is to be
taken. The division, department, or vendor may not hold the
meeting on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday and must begin
the meeting after 6 p.m.
(f) A department, a county, a municipality, or a combination
involving more than one of those entities may not take an action
under Section 76.010 unless the community justice council serving
the entity or entities holds a public meeting before the action
is taken, with notice provided and the hearing to be held in the
same manner as provided by Subsections (a) through (e).
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 478, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 509.011. PAYMENT OF STATE AID. (a) If the division
determines that a department complies with division standards and
if the community justice council has submitted a community
justice plan under Section 76.003 and the supporting information
required by the division and the division determines the plan and
supporting information are acceptable, the division shall prepare
and submit to the comptroller vouchers for payment to the
department as follows:
(1) for per capita funding, a per diem amount for each felony
defendant directly supervised by the department pursuant to
lawful authority;
(2) for per capita funding, a per diem amount for a period not
to exceed 182 days for each defendant supervised by the
department pursuant to lawful authority, other than a felony
defendant; and
(3) for formula funding, an annual amount as computed by
multiplying a percentage determined by the allocation formula
established under Subsection (f) times the total amount provided
in the General Appropriations Act for payments under this
subdivision.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the division shall prepare
and submit to the comptroller vouchers for payment to the
Employees Retirement System of Texas for contributions for group
coverage in which a department participates under Section
1551.114, Insurance Code. Payment of contributions under this
subsection shall be made from the money that the division would
otherwise allocate to a department under Subsections (a) and (b).
(b) The division may use discretionary grant funds to further
the purposes of this chapter by contracting for services with
state agencies or nonprofit organizations. The division may also
make discretionary grants to departments, municipalities, or
counties for the following purposes:
(1) development and operation of pretrial and presentencing
services;
(2) electronic monitoring services, surveillance supervision
programs, and controlled substances testing services;
(3) research projects to evaluate the effectiveness of community
corrections programs, if the research is conducted in cooperation
with the Criminal Justice Policy Council;
(4) contract services for felony defendants;
(5) residential services for misdemeanor defendants who exhibit
levels of risk or needs indicating a need for confinement and
treatment, as described by Section 509.005(b);
(6) establishment or operation of county correctional centers
under Subchapter H, Chapter 351, Local Government Code, or
community corrections facilities for which the division has
established standards under Section 509.006;
(7) development and operation of treatment alternative to
incarceration programs under Section 76.017; and
(8) other purposes determined appropriate by the division and
approved by the board.
(c) Each department, county, or municipality shall deposit all
state aid received from the division in a special fund of the
county treasury or municipal treasury, as appropriate, to be used
solely for the provision of services, programs, and facilities
under this chapter or Subchapter H, Chapter 351, Local Government
Code.
(d) The division shall provide state aid to each department on a
biennial basis, pursuant to the community justice plan for the
biennium submitted by the department. A department with prior
division approval may transfer funds from one program or function
to another program or function.
(e) In establishing per diem payments authorized by Subsections
(a)(1) and (a)(2), the division shall consider the amounts
appropriated in the General Appropriations Act for basic
supervision as sufficient to provide basic supervision in each
year of the fiscal biennium.
(f) The division annually shall compute for each department for
community corrections program formula funding a percentage
determined by assigning equal weights to the percentage of the
state's population residing in the counties served by the
department and the department's percentage of all felony
defendants in the state under direct community supervision. The
division shall use the most recent information available in
making computations under this subsection. The board by rule may
adopt a policy limiting for all departments the percentage of
benefit or loss that may be realized as a result of the operation
of the formula.
(g) If the Texas Department of Criminal Justice determines that
at the end of a biennium a department maintains in reserve an
amount greater than six months' basic supervision operating costs
for the department, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in
the succeeding biennium may reduce the amount of per capita and
formula funding provided under Subsection (a) so that in the
succeeding biennium the department's reserves do not exceed six
months' basic supervision operating costs. The Texas Department
of Criminal Justice may adopt policies and standards permitting a
department to maintain reserves in an amount greater than
otherwise permitted by this subsection as necessary to cover
emergency costs or implement new programs with the approval of
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The Texas Department of
Criminal Justice may distribute unallocated per capita or formula
funds to provide supplemental funds to individual departments to
further the purposes of this chapter.
(h) A community supervision and corrections department at any
time may transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice any
unencumbered state funds held by the department. The Texas
Department of Criminal Justice may distribute funds received from
a community supervision and corrections department under this
subsection to provide supplemental funds to individual
departments to further the purposes of this chapter.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 12.28(a),
eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1188, Sec. 1.39,
eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1030, Sec. 2.02,
eff. Sept. 1, 2004.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
255, Sec. 11, eff. May 30, 2005.
Sec. 509.012. REFUSAL OR SUSPENSION OF STATE AID. (a) The
division shall take one or more of the following actions against
a department that the division determines is not in substantial
compliance with division standards or requirements adopted under
Sections 509.003 through 509.006:
(1) a reduction, refusal, or suspension of payment of state aid
to the department; or
(2) an imposition of budget control over the department.
(b) The board shall provide for notice and a hearing in cases in
which the division proposes to take an action authorized by this
section, other than a refusal by the division to provide
discretionary grant funding or a reduction by the division of
discretionary grant funding during a funding cycle. The division
shall define with specificity the conduct that constitutes
substantial noncompliance with division standards and shall
establish the procedures to be used in imposing or waiving a
sanction authorized by this section, subject to approval of the
definition and the procedures by adoption by the board.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 12.29(a),
eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 509.015. TREATMENT STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN STATE JAIL
FELONIES. The division shall propose and the board shall adopt
best practices standards for substance abuse treatment conditions
imposed under Section 15(c)(2), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1122, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
2003.
Sec. 509.016. PRISON DIVERSION PROGRESSIVE SANCTIONS PROGRAM.
(a) The division shall provide grants to selected departments
for the implementation of a system of progressive sanctions
designed to reduce the revocation rate of defendants placed on
community supervision. The division shall give priority in
providing grants to departments that:
(1) serve counties in which the revocation rate for defendants
on community supervision significantly exceeds the statewide
average or historically has significantly exceeded the statewide
average; or
(2) have demonstrated success, through the implementation of a
system of progressive sanctions, in reducing the revocation rate
of defendants placed on community supervision.
(b) In determining which departments are proper candidates for
grants under this section, the division shall give preference to
departments that present to the division a plan that will target
medium-risk and high-risk defendants and use progressive sanction
models that adhere to the components set forth in Section
469.001, Health and Safety Code. As a condition to receiving a
grant, a department must offer a plan that contains some if not
all of the following components:
(1) an evidence-based assessment process that includes risk and
needs assessment instruments and clinical assessments that
support conditions of community supervision or case management
strategies;
(2) reduced and specialized caseloads for supervision officers,
which may include electronic monitoring or substance abuse
testing of defendants;
(3) the creation, designation, and fiscal support of courts and
associated infrastructure necessary to increase judicial
oversight and reduce revocations;
(4) increased monitoring and field contact by supervision
officers;
(5) shortened terms of community supervision, with increased
supervision during the earliest part of the term;
(6) strategies that reduce the number of technical violations;
(7) improved coordination between courts and departments to
provide early assessment of defendant needs at the outset of
supervision;
(8) graduated sanctions and incentives, offered to a defendant
by both the departments and courts served by the department;
(9) the use of inpatient and outpatient treatment options,
including substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, and
cognitive and behavioral programs for defendants;
(10) the use of intermediate sanctions facilities;
(11) the use of community corrections beds;
(12) early termination strategies and capabilities;
(13) gang intervention strategies; and
(14) designation of faith-based community coordinators who will
develop faith-based resources, including a mentoring program.
(c) The division shall, not later than December 1 of each
even-numbered year, provide a report to the board. The report
must state the number of departments receiving grants under this
section, identify those departments by name, and describe for
each department receiving a grant the components of the
department's program and the success of the department in
reducing revocations. The report must also contain an analysis
of the scope, effectiveness, and cost benefit of programs funded
by grants provided under this section and a comparison of those
programs to similar programs in existence in various departments
before March 1, 2005. The division may include in the report any
other information the division determines will be beneficial to
the board or the legislature. The board shall forward the report
to the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of
representatives not later than December 15 of each even-numbered
year.
Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
799, Sec. 1, eff. June 15, 2007.