Sec. 501.0931. IN-PRISON THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITIES. (a) The institutional division shall establish a program to confine and treat in in-prison therapeutic communities inmates determined by the division to have a history of drug or alcohol abuse and to need drug or alcohol abuse treatment. The program is in addition to existing educational and substance abuse treatment services provided to inmates.

(b) The institutional division and the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse shall jointly develop methods of screening and assessing inmates to determine their need for treatment for alcohol or drug abuse problems. The institutional division shall screen for alcohol and drug abuse each inmate who is transferred to the custody of the institutional division. The institutional division shall assess the inmates who are identified as having a substance abuse problem and shall determine the severity of the problem and the need for treatment.

(c) The program must consist of a treatment program of indeterminate length, not to exceed 12 months. The institutional division shall make a referral of an inmate to a program based on the severity of the substance abuse problem, eligibility of the inmate, and the availability of treatment space. An inmate who has not more than 12 months remaining in the inmate's sentence before the earliest date the inmate is eligible for parole is eligible for the program.

(d) The institutional division shall separate inmates participating in the program from the general population of the division and house the inmates in discrete units or areas within units, except during the diagnostic process or at other times determined to be necessary by the division for medical or security purposes. The institutional division shall separate an inmate who successfully completes the program from the general population of the division during any period after completion and before the inmate is discharged or released on parole or mandatory supervision from the department.

(e) The program provided under this section must contain highly structured work, education, and treatment schedules, a clearly delineated authority structure, and well-defined goals and guidelines. The institutional division shall establish a graded system of rewards and sanctions for inmates who participate in the program.

(f) The institutional division shall employ or contract with qualified professionals to implement the program. For purposes of this subsection, a "qualified professional" is a person who:

(1) is a licensed chemical dependency counselor;

(2) is a licensed social worker who has at least two years of experience in chemical dependency counseling; or

(3) is a licensed professional counselor, physician, or psychologist and who has at least two years of experience in chemical dependency counseling.

(g) The institutional division shall adopt:

(1) a procedure for determining which inmates are the best candidates for participation in the program, with priority for those inmates who volunteer;

(2) a procedure for determining which inmates may be required to participate in the program; and

(3) rules of conduct for inmates participating in the program.

(h) If the qualified professional implementing the program determines that an inmate is not complying with the rules of the program, the qualified professional shall notify the institutional division of that fact and the institutional division shall end the inmate's participation in the program and transfer the inmate out of the program.

(i) The institutional division shall provide at least 800 beds for housing participants in the program. The institutional division not less often than every two years shall determine whether the division should increase the number of beds provided by the division for the program.

(j) Neither the institutional division nor a qualified professional implementing the program may operate the program in a manner that automatically excludes inmates who do not volunteer to participate, and the division and the treatment provider shall attempt to encourage nonvolunteer inmates to participate.

(k) If funding is available, the Criminal Justice Policy Council, with the assistance of the institutional division, shall develop methods to evaluate the processes used by the division in providing the program and the level of success achieved by the program.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 490, Sec. 3, eff. Dec. 1, 1991. Transferred from Vernon's Ann.Civ.St. art. 4413(401), Sec. 1.131 and amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 10, Sec. 9.02, eff. Aug. 29, 1991. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, Sec. 3.02, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, Sec. 1.094, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1269, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 892, Sec. 23, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.