Sec. 507.034. VETERANS REENTRY DORM PROGRAM. (a) The department, in coordination with the Texas Veterans Commission, shall establish and administer a voluntary rehabilitation and transition program for defendants confined in state jail felony facilities:

(1) who are veterans of the United States armed forces, including veterans of the reserves, national guard, or state guard; and

(2) who suffer from a brain injury, a mental illness, a mental disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder, or substance abuse, or were victims of military sexual trauma, as defined by Section 124.002, that:

(A) occurred during or resulted from their military service; and

(B) may have contributed to their criminal activity.

(b) The program established under this section must:

(1) provide for investigating and verifying the veteran status of each defendant confined in a state jail felony facility by using data made available from the Veterans Reentry Search Service (VRSS) operated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or a similar service;

(2) be available to male defendants and, if resources are available, female defendants;

(3) include provisions regarding interviewing and selecting defendants for participation in the program;

(4) allow a defendant to decline participation in the program or to withdraw from the program at any time;

(5) house defendants participating in the program in housing that is designed to mimic the squadron structure familiar to veterans;

(6) coordinate and provide available services and programming approved by the department, including:

(A) individual and group peer support programing, as appropriate;

(B) access to military trauma-informed licensed mental health professional counseling, as appropriate;

(C) evidence-based rehabilitation programming; and

(D) reemployment services; and

(7) to the extent feasible, not later than the 60th day before the date a defendant participating in the program is scheduled for release or discharge from the department:

(A) match the defendant with community-based veteran peer support services to assist the defendant in transitioning into the community; and

(B) transfer the defendant to a state jail felony facility located near the defendant's home community, or the community in which the defendant intends to reside after the defendant's release or discharge, to begin establishing transition relationships with community-based veteran peer support service providers and family members.

Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 987 (H.B. 865), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.