Sunset Advisory Commission
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SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION STAFF REPORT WITH COMMISSION DECISIONS Texas Department of Criminal Justice Correctional Managed Health Care Committee Windham School District Board of Pardons and Paroles SEPTEMBER 2012 Sunset Advisory Commission Representative Dennis Bonnen Chair Senator Robert Nichols Vice Chair Representative Rafael Anchia Senator Brian Birdwell Representative Byron Cook Senator Joan Huffman Representative Harold V. Dutton, Jr. Senator Dan Patrick Representative Four Price Senator John Whitmire Casandra Ortiz Jan Newton Ken Levine Director Cover photo: The Texas Capitol is a marvel of craftsmanship down to the smallest details. The beautifully carved wood door frames are emphasized with elaborate, custom-designed bronze hinges and hardware produced especially for the building by Sargent and Co. of New Haven, Connecticut, in the late 1880s. The eight inch by eight inch hinges are inscribed with the words “Texas Capitol”, decorated with incised designs of geometric and stylized floral motifs, and weigh over seven pounds each. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE CORRECTIONAL MANAGED HEALTH CARE COMMITTEE WINDHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES SUNSET STAFF REPORT WITH COMMISSION DECISIONS SEPTEMBER 2012 This document is intended to compile all recommendations and action taken by the Sunset Advisory Commission for an agency under Sunset review. The following explains how the document is expanded and reissued to include responses from agency staff and the public. l Sunset Staff Report, May 2012 – Sunset staff develops a separate report on each individual agency, or on a group of related agencies. Each report contains both statutory and management recommendations developed after the staff ’s extensive evaluation of the agency. l Sunset Staff Report with Hearing Material, May 2012 – Adds responses from agency staff and the public to Sunset staff recommendations, as well as new issues raised for consideration by the Sunset Commission at its public hearing. l Sunset Staff Report with Decision Material, August 2012 – Adds additional responses, testimony, or new issues raised during and after the public hearing for consideration by the Sunset Commission at its decision meeting. l Sunset Staff Report with Commission Decisions, September 2012 – Adds the decisions of the Sunset Commission on staff recommendations and new issues. Statutory changes adopted by the Commission are presented to the Legislature in the agency’s Sunset bill. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 1 AGENCIES AT A GLANCE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE .................................................................................................................................. 9 CORRECTIONAL MANAGED HEALTH CARE COMMITTEE .................................................................................................................................. 15 WINDHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT .................................................................................................................................. 17 BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES .................................................................................................................................. 21 ISSUES/RECOMMENDATIONS 1 Texas Has a Continuing Need for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice .......... 25 Responses to Issue 1 (page 32a) Commission Decision (page 32a) 2 Reentry Strategies Lack Focus and Coordination, Limiting Opportunities for Texas to Further Reduce Recidivism and System Costs ...................................... 33 Responses to Issue 2 (page 44a) Commission Decision (page 44e) 3 Community Supervision Funding Formulas and Grant Processes Need Strengthening to Keep Pace With a Changing Adult Probation System ...................................................................................................................... 45 Responses to Issue 3 (page 50a) Commission Decision (page 50a) PAGE 4 Statute Does Not Align With Recent Changes in the State’s Approach to Providing Offender Health Care .......................................................................... 51 Responses to Issue 4 (page 58a) Commission Decision (page 58b) 5 Without a Regular Review of the Windham School District and Its Programs, the Legislature Cannot Best Direct Resources to Programs That Work ................................................................................................................. 59 Responses to Issue 5 (page 64a) Commission Decision (page 64a) 6 The Parole Board’s Ability to Make Effective Parole Release Decisions Is Impeded by Its Limited Use of Available Resources and Inconsistent Access to Information ............................................................................................... 65 Responses to Issue 6 (page 74a) Commission Decision (page 74e) 7 Texas Correctional Industries Cannot Sell to Privately Run Correctional Facilities, Resulting in a Missed Opportunity to Reduce TDCJ’s General Revenue Funding ...................................................................................................... 75 Responses to Issue 7 (page 76a) Commission Decision (page 76a) 8 Texas Criminal Justice Agencies’ Statutes Do Not Reflect Standard Elements of Sunset Reviews ..................................................................................... 77 Responses to Issue 8 (page 80a) Commission Decision (page 80b) NEW ISSUES ................................................................................................................................. 81 Commission Decision (page 107) PAGE APPENDICES Appendix A — TDCJ Facilities Map ....................................................................... 109 Appendix B — TDCJ Facilities ............................................................................... 113 Appendix C — TDCJ Rehabilitation Programs ...................................................... 115 Appendix D — History of Texas Parole Guidelines ................................................. 119 Appendix E — Texas Criminal Justice Agencies Reporting Requirements ............. 121 Appendix F — Texas Department of Criminal Justice Equal Employment Opportunity Statistics ..................................................................... 127 Appendix G — Windham School District Equal Employment Opportunity Statistics ..................................................................... 131 Appendix H — Board of Pardons and Paroles Equal Employment Opportunity Statistics ..................................................................... 135 Appendix I — Texas Department of Criminal Justice Historically Underutilized Businesses Statistics.................................................. 139 Appendix J — Windham School District Historically Underutilized Businesses Statistics ......................................................................... 143 Appendix K — Staff Review Activities .................................................................... 147 SUMMARY Sunset Advisory Commission September 2012 SUMMARY When the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), Correctional Managed Health Care Committee (Committee), and Board of Pardons and Paroles (Parole Board) were last under Sunset review in 2007, Texas’ adult criminal justice system had reached a pivotal point. The system was at capacity and the Legislature had to decide whether to invest in building new prisons or in alternatives to incarceration. The Legislature chose the latter, investing in diversion strategies including treatment programming, probation, and parole to help control incarceration capacity. These significant investments and policy changes to support these diversion strategies ultimately triggered a shorter Sunset review date for these agencies. As a result, this Sunset review began with the basic question — where are the agencies With legislative reforms resulting in and the system now, six years later? The a healthier criminal justice system Legislature’s reforms have clearly improved overall, this Sunset review focused on the system. Since 2007, the number of giving the agencies solid foundations offenders entering prison as a result of having to meet upcoming challenges. their probation or parole status revoked has decreased, while the Parole Board’s overall release rates have increased. State jail and prison reincarceration rates have declined and as a result, Texas has not had to build more prisons and was able to close the Central Unit in 2011. These successes indicate that overall, the Texas criminal justice system is working well. Against this backdrop, the review assessed the agencies’ functions, structures, and relationship to one another, as they all play an integral role in the system. Many still have concerns about how TDCJ’s consolidated structure, in place since 1989, affects the independence of the community and parole supervision functions. However, when considering the benefits of the current system’s structure, Sunset staff ’s analysis did not find significant problems, certainly none large enough to recommend dismantling the functions, nor were there significant cost savings related to an alternative structure. In considering alternative structures, the review examined whether all parole functions — determining timing and conditions of release (Parole Board) and overseeing paroled offenders in the community (TDCJ Parole Division) — should be housed together within a single