Sec. 501.092. COMPREHENSIVE REENTRY AND REINTEGRATION PLAN FOR OFFENDERS. (a) The department shall develop and adopt a comprehensive plan to reduce recidivism and ensure the successful reentry and reintegration of offenders into the community following an offender's release or discharge from a correctional facility.

(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;

(3) provide for a comprehensive network of transition programs to address the needs of offenders released or discharged from a correctional facility;

(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.

(c) The department, in consultation with the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Windham School District, shall establish the role of each entity in providing reentry and reintegration services. The reentry and reintegration plan adopted under this section must include, with respect to the department, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Windham School District:

(1) the reentry and reintegration responsibilities and goals of each entity, including the duties of each entity to administer the risk and needs assessment instrument adopted under Section 501.0921;

(2) the strategies for achieving the goals identified by each entity; and

(3) specific timelines for each entity to implement the components of the reentry and reintegration plan for which the entity is responsible.

(d) The department shall regularly evaluate the reentry and reintegration plan adopted under this section. Not less than once in each three-year period following the adoption of the plan, the department shall update the plan.

(e) The department shall provide a copy of the initial reentry and reintegration plan adopted under this section and each evaluation and revision of the plan to the board, the Windham School District, and the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

(f) An offender's personal health information may be disclosed under Subsection (b)(9) only if:

(1) the offender consents to the disclosure; and

(2) the disclosure does not violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-191) or other state or federal law.

(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 budgeting, money management, nutrition, and exercise;

(C) education and, if an offender 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 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.

(h) In developing the reentry and reintegration plan adopted under this section, the department shall ensure that the reentry program for long-term inmates under Section 501.096 and the reintegration services provided under Section 501.097 are incorporated into the plan.

(i) Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year, the department shall deliver a report of the results of evaluations conducted under Subsection (b)(7) to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and each standing committee of the senate and house of representatives having primary jurisdiction over the department.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 643 (H.B. 1711), Sec. 2, eff. June 19, 2009.

Reenacted and amended by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1154 (S.B. 213), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2013.