Health and Safety Code
CHAPTER 614. TEXAS COUNCIL ON OFFENDERS WITH MENTAL IMPAIRMENTS
Sec. 614.001. Definitions.
In this chapter:
(1) "Adaptive behavior" means the effectiveness with which a
person meets the standards of personal independence and social
responsibility reasonably expected of the person's age and
cultural group.
(2) "Case management" means a process by which a person or
team responsible for establishing and continuously maintaining
contact with a person with mental illness, a developmental
disability, or mental retardation provides that person with
access to services required by the person and ensures the
coordinated delivery of those services to the person.
(3) "Council" means the Texas Council on Offenders with
Mental Impairments.
(4) "Developmental disability" means a severe, chronic
disability that:
(A) is attributable to a mental or physical impairment
or a combination of physical and mental impairments;
(B) is manifested before the person reaches 22 years of
age;
(C) is likely to continue indefinitely;
(D) results in substantial functional limitations in
three or more of the following areas of major life activity:
(i) self-care;
(ii) self-direction;
(iii) learning;
(iv) receptive and expressive language;
(v) mobility;
(vi) capacity for independent living; or
(vii) economic self-sufficiency; and
(E) reflects the person's need for a combination and
sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic care,
treatment, or other services of extended or lifelong
duration that are individually planned and coordinated.
(5) "Mental illness" has the meaning assigned by Section
571.003.
(6) "Mental retardation" has the meaning assigned by Section
591.003.
(7) "Offender with a mental impairment" means a juvenile or
adult with mental illness, mental retardation, or a
developmental disability who is arrested or charged with a
criminal offense.
(8) "Person with mental retardation" means a juvenile or
adult with mental retardation that is not a mental disorder
who, because of the mental deficit, requires special training,
education, supervision, treatment, care, or control in the
person's home or community or in a private or state school for
persons with mental retardation.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 6.52, eff. Aug.
30, 1993.
Sec. 614.002. Composition of Council.
(a) The Texas Council on Offenders with Mental Impairments is
composed of 29 members.
(b) The governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of
the senate:
(1) four at-large members who have expertise in mental
health, mental retardation, or developmental disabilities, one
of whom must be a psychiatrist;
(2) one at-large member who is the judge of a court with
criminal jurisdiction;
(3) one at-large member who is a prosecuting attorney;
(4) one at-large member who is a criminal defense attorney;
(5) one at-large member from an established pretrial
services agency; and
(6) one at-large member who has expertise in the criminal
justice system.
(c) The executive head of each of the following agencies,
divisions of agencies, or associations, or that person's
designated representative, shall serve as a member of the
council:
(1) the institutional division of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice;
(2) the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation;
(3) the pardons and paroles division of the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice;
(4) the community justice assistance division of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice;
(5) the state jail division of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice;
(6) the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission;
(7) the Texas Youth Commission;
(8) the Texas Rehabilitation Commission;
(9) the Texas Education Agency;
(10) the Criminal Justice Policy Council;
(11) the Mental Health Association in Texas;
(12) the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse;
(13) the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
Education;
(14) the Texas Council of Community Mental Health and Mental
Retardation Centers;
(15) the Commission on Jail Standards;
(16) the Texas Planning Council for Developmental
Disabilities;
(17) the Texas Association for Retarded Citizens;
(18) the Texas Alliance for the Mentally Ill;
(19) the Parent Association for the Retarded of Texas, Inc.;
(20) the Texas Department of Human Services; and
(21) the Texas Department on Aging.
(d) In making the appointments under Subsection (b), the
governor shall attempt to reflect the geographic and economic
diversity of the state.
(e) It is a ground for removal if an at-large member:
(1) is not eligible for appointment at the time of
appointment as provided by Subsections (b) and (g);
(2) is absent from more than half of the regularly scheduled
council meetings that the member is eligible to attend during
each calendar year; or
(3) is absent from more than two consecutive regularly
scheduled council meetings that the member is eligible to
attend.
(f) A representative designated by the executive head of a
state agency must be an officer or employee of the agency when
designated and while serving on the council, except the
representative designated by the director of the Criminal Justice
Policy Council must be an employee of that council.
(g) Members who are not associated with a state agency or
division must have expertise in the rehabilitation of persons
with mental illness, mental retardation, or a developmental
disability when appointed or designated and while serving on the
council.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 6.53(a), eff. Aug.
30, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, Sec. 2.020, eff. Sept.
1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 6.50, eff. Sept. 1,
1997.
Sec. 614.004. Terms.
The at-large members of the council serve for staggered
six-year terms.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 614.005. Officers; Meetings.
(a) The council shall elect a presiding officer from its
members at the first meeting of each calendar year.
(b) The council shall meet at least four times each year and
may meet at other times at the call of the presiding officer or
as provided by council rule.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 6.53(a), eff. Aug.
30, 1993.
Sec. 614.006. Reimbursement for Expenses.
A member of the council is not entitled to compensation for
performing duties on the council but is entitled to receive
reimbursement from the council for travel and other necessary
expenses incurred in performing official duties at the rate
provided for state employees in the General Appropriations Act.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 614.007. Powers and Duties.
The council shall:
(1) determine the status of offenders with mental
impairments in the state criminal justice system;
(2) identify needed services for offenders with mental
impairments;
(3) develop a plan for meeting the treatment,
rehabilitative, and educational needs of offenders with mental
impairments that includes a case management system and the
development of community-based alternatives to incarceration;
(4) cooperate in coordinating procedures of represented
agencies for the orderly provision of services for offenders
with mental impairments;
(5) evaluate programs in this state and outside this state
for offenders with mental impairments and recommend to the
directors of state programs methods of improving the programs;
(6) collect and disseminate information about available
programs to judicial officers, law enforcement officers,
probation and parole officers, providers of social services or
treatment, and the public;
(7) provide technical assistance to represented agencies and
organizations in the development of appropriate training
programs;
(8) apply for and receive money made available by the
federal or state government or by any other public or private
source to be used by the council to perform its duties;
(9) distribute to political subdivisions, private
organizations, or other persons money appropriated by the
legislature to be used for the development, operation, or
evaluation of programs for offenders with mental impairments;
(10) develop and implement pilot projects to demonstrate a
cooperative program to identify, evaluate, and manage outside
of incarceration offenders with mental impairments; and
(11) assess the need for demonstration projects and provide
management for approved projects.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 6.53(a), eff. Aug.
30, 1993; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 312, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1,
1997.
Sec. 614.008. Pilot Program.
(a) The council shall establish a pilot program in a county
selected by the council to implement a cooperative
community-based alternative system to divert from the state
criminal justice system offenders with mental impairments who do
not have an instant offense that is an offense described in
Section 3g, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, and to
rehabilitate those offenders.
(b) The program must conform to the report and recommendations
made by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation and the Texas Department of Corrections to the 70th
Legislature as directed by S.C.R. No. 128, 69th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1985.
(c) The council may contract for or employ and train a case
management team to carry out the purposes of the program and to
coordinate the joint efforts of agencies represented on the
council.
(d) The agencies represented on the council shall perform
duties and offer services as required by the council to further
the purposes of the pilot program and the council.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 6.53(a), eff. Aug.
30, 1993
Sec. 614.009. Report.
Not later than February 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
council shall file with the governor, lieutenant governor, and
speaker of the house of representatives a report giving the
details of the council's activities during the preceding
biennium. The report must include:
(1) an evaluation of any demonstration project undertaken by
the council;
(2) an evaluation of the council's progress toward
developing a plan for meeting the treatment, rehabilitative,
and educational needs of offenders with special needs;
(3) recommendations of the council made in accordance with
Section 614.007(5);
(4) an evaluation of the development and implementation of
the continuity of care and service programs established under
Sections 614.013, 614.014, 614.015, and 614.016, changes in
rules, policies, or procedures relating to the programs, future
plans for the programs, and any recommendations for
legislation; and
(5) any other recommendations that the council considers
appropriate.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 488, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 614.011. Additional Pilot Program.
(a) In addition to the pilot program required under Section
614.008, the council may establish a pilot program in a county
selected by the council to implement a cooperative
community-based alternative system to divert from the state
criminal justice system and rehabilitate nonviolent offenders who
are identified as being elderly, significantly ill, or physically
handicapped and who are not charged with or sentenced for an
instant offense that is described in Section 3g, Article 42.12,
Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) The council and the Texas Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation shall collaborate with the Texas Department on
Aging, the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, the Department of
Human Services, and the Texas Department of Health to develop
creative community-based alternatives for elderly, significantly
ill, or physically handicapped offenders described in Subsection
(a).
(c) The council and the Texas Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation, the Texas Department on Aging, the Texas
Rehabilitation Commission, the Department of Human Services, and
the Texas Department of Health shall present to the 73rd
Legislature a report explaining the results of their
collaborative effort, including departmental procedure, policy,
or regulation changes, future agency planning, and
recommendations for legislation or statutory modification.
(d) The program must conform to the report and recommendations
made by the council, the Texas Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation, the Texas Department on Aging, the Texas
Rehabilitation Commission, the Department of Human Services, and
the Texas Department of Health under Subsection (c).
(e) The council may employ and train a case management team to
carry out the purposes of the program and to coordinate the joint
efforts of agencies represented on the council.
(f) The agencies represented on the council shall perform
duties and offer services as required by the council to further
the purposes of the pilot program and the council.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 10, Sec. 1.04, eff.
Dec. 1, 1991.
Sec. 614.012. Additional Duties.
The council shall perform the same duties for an offender
identified as being elderly, significantly ill, or physically
handicapped as the council is required to perform under this
chapter for offenders with mental impairments.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 10, Sec. 1.05, eff.
Dec. 1, 1991.
Sec. 614.013. Continuity of Care for Offenders With Mental Impairments.
(a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation,
representatives of local mental health or mental retardation
authorities appointed by the commissioner of the Texas Department
of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and the directors of
community supervision and corrections departments by rule shall
adopt a memorandum of understanding that establishes their
respective responsibilities to institute a continuity of care and
service program for offenders with mental impairments in the
criminal justice system. The council shall coordinate and
monitor the development and implementation of the memorandum of
understanding.
(b) The memorandum of understanding must establish methods for:
(1) identifying offenders with mental impairments in the
criminal justice system;
(2) developing interagency rules, policies, and procedures
for the coordination of care of and the exchange of information
on offenders with mental impairments by local and state
criminal justice agencies, the Texas Department of Mental
Health and Mental Retardation, and local mental health or
mental retardation authorities; and
(3) identifying the services needed by offenders with mental
impairments to reenter the community successfully.
(c) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, local mental
health or mental retardation authorities, and community
supervision and corrections departments shall:
(1) operate the continuity of care and service program for
offenders with mental impairments in the criminal justice
system with funds appropriated for that purpose; and
(2) actively seek federal grants or funds to operate and
expand the program.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 488, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 312, Sec. 7, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 614.014. Continuity of Care for Elderly Offenders.
(a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Department of Human Services, and the Texas Department on Aging
by rule shall adopt a memorandum of understanding that
establishes their respective responsibilities to institute a
continuity of care and service program for elderly offenders in
the criminal justice system. The council shall coordinate and
monitor the development and implementation of the memorandum of
understanding.
(b) The memorandum of understanding must establish methods for:
(1) identifying elderly offenders in the criminal justice
system;
(2) developing interagency rules, policies, and procedures
for the coordination of care of and the exchange of information
on elderly offenders by local and state criminal justice
agencies, the Texas Department of Human Services, and the Texas
Department on Aging; and
(3) identifying the services needed by elderly offenders to
reenter the community successfully.
(c) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Department of Human Services, and the Texas Department on Aging
shall:
(1) operate the continuity of care and service program for
elderly offenders in the criminal justice system with funds
appropriated for that purpose; and
(2) actively seek federal grants or funds to operate and
expand the program.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 488, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 614.015. Continuity of Care for Physically Disabled, Terminally Ill,
or Significantly Ill Offenders.
(a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Rehabilitation Commission, the Texas Commission for the Blind,
the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Texas
Department of Health, and the Texas Department of Human Services
by rule shall adopt a memorandum of understanding that
establishes their respective responsibilities to institute a
continuity of care and service program for offenders in the
criminal justice system who are physically disabled, terminally
ill, or significantly ill. The council shall coordinate and
monitor the development and implementation of the memorandum of
understanding.
(b) The memorandum of understanding must establish methods for:
(1) identifying offenders in the criminal justice system who
are physically disabled, terminally ill, or significantly ill;
(2) developing interagency rules, policies, and procedures
for the coordination of care of and the exchange of information
on offenders who are physically disabled, terminally ill, or
significantly ill by local and state criminal justice agencies,
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Rehabilitation Commission, the Texas Commission for the Blind,
the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the
Texas Department of Health, and the Texas Department of Human
Services; and
(3) identifying the services needed by offenders who are
physically disabled, terminally ill, or significantly ill to
reenter the community successfully.
(c) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Rehabilitation Commission, the Texas Commission for the Blind,
the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Texas
Department of Health, and the Texas Department of Human Services
shall:
(1) operate, with funds appropriated for that purpose, the
continuity of care and service program for offenders in the
criminal justice system who are physically disabled, terminally
ill, or significantly ill; and
(2) actively seek federal grants or funds to operate and
expand the program.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 488, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 835, Sec. 26, eff.
Sept. 1, 1995.
Sec. 614.016. Continuity of Care for Certain Offenders by Law Enforcement
and Jails.
(a) The council, the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
Standards and Education, and the Commission on Jail Standards by
rule shall adopt a memorandum of understanding that establishes
their respective responsibilities to institute a continuity of
care and service program for offenders in the criminal justice
system who are mentally impaired, elderly, physically disabled,
terminally ill, or significantly ill.
(b) The memorandum of understanding must establish methods for:
(1) identifying offenders in the criminal justice system who
are mentally impaired, elderly, physically disabled, terminally
ill, or significantly ill;
(2) developing procedures for the exchange of information
relating to offenders who are mentally impaired, elderly,
physically disabled, terminally ill, or significantly ill by
the council, the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
Standards and Education, and the Commission on Jail Standards
for use in the continuity of care and services program; and
(3) adopting rules and standards that assist in the
development of a continuity of care and services program for
offenders who are mentally impaired, elderly, physically
disabled, terminally ill, or significantly ill.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 488, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 614.017. Exchange of Information.
(a) An agency authorized by this chapter to provide continuity
of care for a special needs offender may:
(1) receive information relating to a special needs offender
regardless of whether other state law makes that information
confidential, if the agency receives the information to further
the purposes of this chapter; or
(2) disclose information relating to a special needs
offender , including information about the offender's identity,
needs, treatment, social, criminal, and vocational history, and
medical and mental health history, if the agency discloses the
information to further the purposes of this chapter.
(b) This section is not intended to conflict with a federal law
that restricts the disclosure of information described by
Subsection (a).
(c) In this section:
(1) "Agency" includes a division within an agency, a person
with an agency relationship with an agency, and a person who
contracts with an agency.
(2) "Special needs offender" means a convicted felon or an
individual who is placed on community supervision after a grant
of deferred adjudication under Section 5, Article 42.12, Code
of Criminal Procedure.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, Sec. 1.107, eff. Sept. 1,
1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 312, Sec. 8, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 614.018. County Jail Medical and Psychological Assessments.
Text of section effective until March 1, 1999
(a) The council in cooperation with the Commission on Jail
Standards, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall
conduct a study to determine the manner in which medical and
psychological assessments are conducted in county jails.
(b) The study must include an examination of:
(1) the numbers of medical and psychological assessments
conducted on inmates confined in county jails;
(2) the entities responsible for conducting the assessments;
(3) the processes for sharing assessment information between
political subdivisions and state agencies; and
(4) the costs and benefits of assessments.
(c) In conducting the study under this section, the council
shall actively seek the input of representatives from county
governments who are involved in the assessment of county jail
inmates.
(d) The council shall file a copy of the study, a synopsis of
the results of the study, and the council's recommendations with
the legislature not later than February 1, 1999.
(e) This section expires March 1, 1999.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 312, Sec. 9, eff. Sept 1, 1997