Sec. 242.009. JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS; STAFFING. (a) In this section, "juvenile correctional officer" means a department employee whose primary duties include the custodial supervision of children in the custody of the department.

(b) The department shall provide competency-based training to each juvenile correctional officer employed by the department, which must include on-the-job training. Each officer must complete at least 300 hours of training in the officer's first year of employment, with at least 240 hours of training before the officer independently commences the officer's duties at the facility. The officer must demonstrate competency in the trained subjects as required by the department. The training must provide the officer with information and instruction related to the officer's duties, including information and instruction concerning:

(1) the juvenile justice system of this state, including the juvenile correctional facility system;

(2) security procedures;

(3) the supervision of children committed to the department;

(4) signs of suicide risks and suicide precautions;

(5) signs and symptoms of the abuse, assault, neglect, and exploitation of a child, including sexual abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking, and the manner in which to report the abuse, assault, neglect, or exploitation of a child;

(6) the neurological, physical, and psychological development of adolescents;

(7) department rules and regulations, including rules, regulations, and tactics concerning the use of force;

(8) appropriate restraint techniques;

(9) the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (42 U.S.C. Section 15601, et seq.);

(10) the rights and responsibilities of children in the custody of the department;

(11) interpersonal relationship skills;

(12) the social and cultural lifestyles of children in the custody of the department;

(13) first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation;

(14) counseling techniques;

(15) conflict resolution and dispute mediation, including de-escalation techniques;

(16) behavior management;

(17) mental health issues;

(18) employee rights, employment discrimination, and sexual harassment; and

(19) trauma-informed care.

(c) The department may employ part-time juvenile correctional officers. A part-time juvenile correctional officer is subject to the training requirements of this section.

(d) In each correctional facility operated by the department that has a dormitory, including an open-bay dormitory, the department must maintain a ratio of not less than one juvenile correctional officer performing direct supervisory duties for every 12 persons committed to the facility.

(e) The department shall consider the age of a juvenile correctional officer or other department employee who performs direct supervisory duties when determining the placement of the officer or employee in a department facility so that, to the extent practicable, an officer or employee is not supervising a child who is not more than three years younger than the officer or employee or is otherwise a similar age to the officer or employee.

(f) The department shall rotate the assignment of each juvenile correctional officer at an interval determined by the department so that a juvenile correctional officer is not assigned to the same station for an extended period of time.

(g) The department shall ensure that at least one juvenile correctional officer is assigned to supervise in or near a classroom or other location in which children receive education services or training at the time the children are receiving the education services or training.

(h) The board shall adopt rules necessary to administer this section.

Transferred, redesignated and amended from Human Resources Code, Subchapter C, Chapter 61 by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 85 (S.B. 653), Sec. 1.007, eff. September 1, 2011.

Amended by:

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1351 (S.B. 1356), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2013.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 773 (H.B. 2372), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015.