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SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION Texas Department of Criminal Justice Board of Pardons and Paroles Correctional Managed Health Care Committee Staff Report October 2006 Sunset Advisory Commission Senator Kim Brimer, Chair Representative Vicki Truitt, Vice Chair Senator Robert F. Deuell, M.D. Representative Byron Cook Senator Craig Estes Representative Dan Flynn Senator Eliot Shapleigh Representative Lois Kolkhorst Senator John Whitmire Representative Ruth Jones McClendon Howard Wolf, Public Member Ike Sugg, Public Member Joey Longley Director In 1977, the Texas Legislature created the Sunset Advisory Commission to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and ineffi ciency in government agencies. The 12-member Commission is a legislative body that reviews the policies and programs of more than 150 government agencies every 12 years. The Commission questions the need for each agency, looks for potential duplication of other public services or programs, and considers new and innovative changes to improve each agency’s operations and activities. The Commission seeks public input through hearings on every agency under Sunset review and recommends actions on each agency to the full Legislature. In most cases, agencies under Sunset review are automatically abolished unless legislation is enacted to continue them. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES CORRECTIONAL MANAGED HEALTH CARE COMMITTEE SUNSET STAFF REPORT OCTOBER 2006 Table of Contents PAGE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 1 ISSUES/RECOMMENDATIONS 1 By Not Adequately Addressing Offender Rehabilitation Needs, the State’s Criminal Justice Efforts May Not Deter Recidivism, Increasing the Prison Population ........................................................................... 5 2 Lawmakers Do Not Have the Information Necessary to Effectively Manage the State’s Criminal Justice System and Plan for Its Future ....................... 19 3 The Board of Pardons and Paroles Has Not Adequately Updated and Used Required Parole Guidelines to Help Ensure the Most Consistent, Appropriate Release Decisions .............................................................................. 27 4 Supervising Low-Risk Probationers Who Could Be Released From Probation Early Diverts Limited Resources From Probationers Needing More Intensive Supervision ................................................................................... 37 5 Keeping Low-Risk Offenders on Parole and Mandatory Supervision Who Could Be Released Early Can Divert Limited TDCJ Resources From Best Use ...................................................................................................... 45 6 Current Law Limits the Use and Effectiveness of Medically Recommended Early Release of Offenders, Increasing State Medical Costs ................................... 51 7 Current Law Does Not Hold All Parole Decision Makers to the Same Standards of Objectivity and Independence ........................................................... 57 8 Texas Has a Continuing Need for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ................................................................................................................... 61 9 Due to Its Unusual Structure and Function, the Correctional Managed Health Care Committee Should Be Allowed to Continue, Removed From Sunset Review ............................................................................................. 67 10 Offenders and the Public Have Limited Access to Information About Correctional Health Care, Leading to a Lack of Transparency in the System .................................................................................................................. 77 PAGE ACROSS-THE-BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................................ 85 AGENCY INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................ 91 COURT COSTS AND FEES STUDY ...................................................................................................................... 121 APPENDICES Appendix A — TDCJ Equal Employment Opportunity Statistics .................................. 137 Appendix B — Parole Board Equal Employment Opportunity Statistics ........................ 141 Appendix C — Historically Underutilized Businesses Statistics ..................................... 143 Appendix D — Judicial Advisory Council Members ...................................................... 147 Appendix E — TDCJ – CID Facilities ........................................................................... 149 Appendix F — Capacity Within TDCJ .......................................................................... 151 Appendix G — Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs ................................. 153 Appendix H — Advisory Committee on Offenders with Medical and Mental Impairments ............................................................................. 157 Appendix I — Consolidated Court Cost........................................................................ 159 Appendix J — Staff Review Activities ........................................................................... 161 SUMMARY Summary The State’s criminal justice system is at a crossroads. After the huge building cycle just more than 10 The State is at a crossroads years ago that tripled the size of the prison system to more than 154,000 beds, the State can expect regarding the future of its the prison population to exceed capacity by more criminal justice system. than 11,000 beds in less than five years under current conditions and projections. To house and deal with these offenders, the Sunset staff concluded that TDCJ needs more Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is money, through the appropriations process, requesting funding from the Legislature both to to fund additional diversion and rehabilitation build new prisons and to expand rehabilitation programs for offenders. The Legislature also and diversion programs with the hope of reducing needs better information with which to assess the future incarcerations. The Legislature will need direction and performance of the criminal justice to decide how far in either direction it wishes system. The Parole Board needs to finally fix its to go. parole guidelines and use them as the tool intended The Sunset review of TDCJ, the Board of for improved parole decision making. The State Pardons and Paroles (Parole Board) and the also needs to address the funding anomalies that Correctional Managed Health Care Committee may actually shift community supervision efforts (the Committee) occurred at this crossroads, away from where they are most needed. which ultimately gave direction to the unique Sunset staff also evaluated the Committee, approaches Sunset staff pursued. Initial review concluding that while the partnership between efforts to focus on the traditional aspects of the TDCJ and the university providers for delivering agencies’ structures and functions found that prison health care is accepted and working for the after years of operating under court orders and parties, the Committee’s does not lend itself to evolving under the criminal justice umbrella, the an objective recommendation either to abolish or agencies generally have the needed infrastructure to continue. Therefore, although the Committee in place to effectively operate the system. should be allowed to continue, its structure For the Sunset review to be meaningful, then, it should no longer be subject to Sunset review. had to include consideration of TDCJ’s ability to Other recommended changes would clarify the divert offenders from prison and to rehabilitate Committee’s statutory responsibilities, remove those in prison to better prepare them for life limitations on TDCJ’s ability to monitor prison in society. The review also had to include an health care, and improve transparency within the assessment of the need for objective information healthcare system. Future Sunset reviews of TDCJ to help guide criminal justice policies regarding could evaluate the healthcare system, but the need what works in the system and an examination of for the Committee structure would no longer be impediments to the efficient functioning of the subject to such judgment. system. As a result, staff ’s review of the State’s In presenting this report, Sunset staff criminal justice agencies took a different approach acknowledges that much deliberation by the than is traditional. Sunset Commission and the Legislature is needed regarding the proposed recommendations. The Sunset Staff Report Criminal Justice Agencies October 2006 Summary 1 recommendations provide an opportunity for The following material summarizes the Sunset this deliberation, with a goal of improving the staff ’s recommendations to improve the criminal criminal justice system to continue to protect justice system. the citizens of the state while helping offenders become more productive members of society. Issues and Recommendations Issue 1 Issue 3 By Not Adequately Addressing Offender The Board of Pardons and Paroles Has Not Rehabilitation Needs, the State’s Criminal Adequately Updated and Used Required Justice Efforts May Not Deter Recidivism, Parole Guidelines to Help Ensure the Increasing the Prison Population. Most Consistent, Appropriate Release Decisions. Key Recommendations