The department must create a reentry task force, and the executive director must staff, coordinate, and guide its work.
Sec. 501.098. REENTRY TASK FORCE. (a) The department shall establish a reentry task force and shall coordinate the work of the task force with the Office of Court Administration. The executive director shall ensure that the task force includes representatives of the following entities: (1) the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; (2) the Texas Workforce Commission; (3) the Department of Public Safety; (4) the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs; (5) the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments; (6) the Health and Human Services Commission; (7) the Texas Judicial Council; (8) the Board of Pardons and Paroles; (9) the Windham School District; (10) the Texas Commission on Jail Standards; (11) the Department of State Health Services; (12) the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; (13) the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas; (14) the Sheriffs' Association of Texas; (15) the Texas District and County Attorneys Association; and (16) the Texas Conference of Urban Counties. (b) The executive director shall appoint a representative from each of the following entities to serve on the reentry task force: (1) a community supervision and corrections department established under Chapter 76; (2) an organization that advocates on behalf of offenders; (3) a local reentry planning entity; and (4) a statewide organization that advocates for or provides reentry or reintegration services to offenders following their release or discharge from a correctional facility. (c) To the extent feasible, the executive director shall ensure that the membership of the reentry task force reflects the geographic diversity of this state and includes members of both rural and urban communities. (d) The executive director may appoint additional members as the executive director determines necessary. (e) The reentry task force shall: (1) identify gaps in services for offenders following their release or discharge to rural or urban communities in the areas of employment, housing, substance abuse treatment, medical care, and any other areas in which the offenders need special services; and (2) coordinate with providers of existing local reentry and reintegration programs, including programs operated by a municipality or county, to make recommendations regarding the provision of comprehensive services to offenders following their release or discharge to rural or urban communities. (f) In performing its duties under Subsection (e), the reentry task force shall: (1) identify: (A) specific goals of the task force; (B) specific deliverables of the task force, including the method or format in which recommendations under Subsection (e)(2) will be made available; and (C) the intended audience or recipients of the items described by Paragraph (B); (2) specify the responsibilities of each entity represented on the task force regarding the goals of the task force; and (3) specify a timeline for achieving the task force's goals and producing the items described by Subdivision (1)(B). Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 643 (H.B. 1711), Sec. 2, eff. June 19, 2009. Reenacted and amended by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1154 (S.B. 213), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2013.