37 Tex. Admin. Code § 163.33 - Community Supervision Staff
(a)
Purpose.
(1) The purpose of this Community
Justice Assistance Division (CJAD) rule is to set forth the eligibility,
professional training, certification, and record-keeping requirements for
Community Supervision and Corrections Departments' (CSCDs) professional staff,
direct care staff, and contract staff.
(2) Once the CJAD has certified a community
supervision officer (CSO) or residential CSO in accordance with this rule, the
CSO or residential CSO will maintain certification and eligibility for
certification provided they are in compliance with training hour requirements
and are employed by a CSCD.
(3)
CSCDs, CSOs, residential CSOs, direct care staff, and contract staff members
who work at CSCDs, Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facilities (SAFPFs), CSCD
residential facilities, or Community Correction Facilities (CCFs) must comply
with this rule.
(4) This rule
specifies the certification and training requirements for professional staff
and direct care staff based on their status as a new employee, an employee with
less than four years of experience, an employee with more than four years of
experience, a returning employee, or an employee who is exempt from certain
certification requirements based upon their years of on-the-job
experience.
(b)
Definitions.
(1) Contract staff are staff
working at a CSCD or one of its facilities pursuant to a contract rather than
as permanent, full-time employees of the CSCD.
(2) CSOs are community supervision officers
who provide direct supervision to offenders on community supervision.
(3) Direct care staff are staff providing
direct care within a residential facility operated by a CSCD.
(4) Direct supervision refers to offenders
who are legally on community supervision and who work or reside in the
jurisdiction in which they are being supervised and receive a minimum of one
face-to-face contact with a CSO every three months. Direct supervision begins
at the time of initial face-to-face contact with an eligible CSO. Local CSCDs
may maintain direct supervision of offenders living or working in adjoining
jurisdictions if the CSCD has documented approval from the adjoining
jurisdictions.
(5) Professional
staff, for purposes of this rule, includes CSCD directors and assistant
directors, CCF directors and assistant directors, CSO supervisory staff, CSOs,
and residential CSOs.
(6)
Professional training includes a formal presentation of specific behavioral
learning objectives and skills or specific knowledge in actual day-to-day
community supervision work and approved by the CSCD director, in writing, as
professional training.
(7)
Residential CSOs are community supervision officers who provide direct
supervision to offenders sentenced to community supervision within a
residential facility managed by a CSCD.
(c) Eligibility for employment as a CSO or
residential CSO. To be eligible for employment as a CSO or residential CSO
serving in a position of direct supervision of offenders, a person must:
(1) Have a bachelor's degree conferred by an
institution of higher education accredited by an accrediting organization
recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
(2) Not be a person employed or volunteering
as a peace officer or work as a reserve or volunteer peace officer;
(3) Be eligible to supervise offenders in
accordance with Texas Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Access
Policy; and
(4) Become certified
and attend professional training in accordance with this rule.
(d) Newly hired CSO or residential
CSO certification. A newly hired CSO or residential CSO shall complete the
certification course and achieve a passing grade on the applicable CJAD
certification examination within one year of the date of employment as a CSO or
residential CSO. A CSO or residential CSO may complete course work and take
examinations to achieve dual certification.
(1) A CSO or residential CSO who fails to
achieve certification within the first year of employment shall not serve in a
position of direct supervision over offenders until certification is achieved
unless the CJAD grants an extension for the completion of course work and
re-examination.
(2) A CSO or
residential CSO who completes the certification course work but fails to pass
the certification examination may take the examination a second time. A CSO or
residential CSO who fails the examination a second time shall complete the
certification course again before taking the examination for the third and
final time.
(3) A CSO or
residential CSO who has failed the certification examination three times is
eligible to pursue certification no sooner than two years after the last failed
examination in accordance with this rule and shall not serve in a position of
direct supervision over offenders until certification is achieved.
(e) Exempt CSO and residential CSO
certification. A CSO or residential CSO who has been continuously employed by
any CSCD in Texas from on or before September 1, 1989, is exempt from the
certification requirements. Certification courses and the certification
examination, however, shall be available to exempt CSOs and residential CSOs.
Exempt CSOs or residential CSOs who complete the certification course work but
fail to pass the certification examination may take the examination a second
time. An exempt CSO or residential CSO who fails the examination a second time
may complete the certification course again before taking the examination for
the third and final time. Although exempt from certification, exempt CSOs and
residential CSOs are required to complete professional training each biennium
in accordance with this rule.
(f)
Recertification of professional staff upon re-employment. Professional staff
subject to the certification provisions of this rule who have left the
employment of a Texas CSCD for more than one year are required to become
recertified in accordance with this rule. All professional staff employees who
had less than one year of experience before leaving the employment of a CSCD
must become certified or recertified in accordance with this rule.
(g) Professional training of professional
staff.
(1) Professional staff with less than
four years of experience shall complete at least 80 documented hours of
professional training each biennium.
(A) Up to
40 hours in excess of the 80 required professional training hours may be
carried over to the next biennium.
(B) Professional staff who fail to complete
the required 80 hours of professional training within a biennium shall not
serve in a position of direct supervision of offenders until the required
professional training hours are completed.
(2) Professional staff with at least four
years of experience shall complete at least 40 documented hours of professional
training each biennium, beginning the biennium after which four years of
experience is achieved.
(A) At least two of
the required four years of experience shall have been earned as a full-time,
wage-earning officer in Texas community supervision. Up to two of the four
years of required experience may have been earned through work in juvenile
probation or parole, adult parole, or similar work in other states. The
required four years of experience is not required to be continuous.
(B) Up to 20 hours in excess of the 40
required professional training hours may be carried over to the next
biennium.
(C) Professional staff
who fail to complete the required 40 hours of professional training within a
biennium shall not serve in a position of direct supervision over offenders
until the required professional training hours are completed. Professional
staff who are exempt from certification as defined in this rule and fail to
complete the required 40 hours of professional training within a biennium shall
not serve in a position of direct supervision over offenders until the required
professional training hours are completed.
(h) Training of CSOs who supervise SAFPF
program participants.
(1) CSOs who supervise
participants in a SAFPF program shall complete the CJAD approved training
designed for officers who supervise SAFPF program participants during the
course of treatment in a SAFPF and in the continuum of care component of the
SAFPF program.
(2) The training
shall be completed within one year of being assigned supervision of SAFPF
program participants, unless the CJAD grants an extension for completion of the
course work.
(3) CSOs who supervise
SAFPF program participants and who fail to complete the CJAD approved SAFPF
training shall not serve in a position of direct supervision over SAFPF program
participants until the required CJAD approved SAFPF training is completed,
unless the CJAD grants an extension.
(i) Direct care staff certifications and
professional training.
(1) Newly hired direct
care staff certifications. Direct care staff working in a residential facility
shall be required to complete the following types of training and obtain the
required certifications within one year of their initial hire date as follows:
(A) Training in ethics, discrimination, and
sexual harassment;
(B)
Certification in first aid procedures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
procedures, and HIV/AIDS education. Direct care staff shall maintain
certification in first aid procedures, CPR procedures, and HIV/AIDS education
in accordance with the training authority's guidelines for frequency of
training and certification in first aid procedures, CPR procedures, and
HIV/AIDS education;
(C) Residential
staff certification training offered by the CJAD; and
(D) A defensive driving course and provide
certification of completion with a passing grade from the course provider to
the CSCD director or designee. Direct care staff shall take defensive driving
courses in accordance with the training authority's guidelines for frequency of
training and certification in defensive driving.
(2) Direct care staff working in a
residential facility shall be required to complete professional training as
follows:
(A) All residential direct care
staff, including contract staff, with less than four years of experience at the
close of business on August 31st of any biennium, shall be required to complete
a minimum of 40 hours of documented professional training per
biennium.
(B) A minimum of 20
professional training hours per biennium shall be specific to the needs of the
offender population served by the facility.
(C) Up to 20 hours in excess of the 40
required professional training hours may be carried over to the next
biennium.
(3) Direct
care residential staff with four or more years of experience at the close of
business on August 31st of any biennium, regardless of when the four years of
experience is achieved, shall complete at least 20 documented hours of
professional training each biennium.
(A) For
purposes of this section, experience may include up to two years of prior
employment as a correctional officer or direct care staff in a juvenile
facility, jail, parole facility, state jail facility, prison, private vendor
residential facility, or similar work in another state. At least two of the
required four years of experience shall have been as a full-time, wage-earning
direct care staff member in a CCF funded by the TDCJ CJAD in Texas. The
required four years of experience is not required to be continuous.
(B) The reduced number of hours of required
professional training for the direct care residential staff who have at least
four years of experience shall not affect or reduce the training requirements
regarding CPR, first aid, or defensive driving. A maximum of 10 hours earned in
excess of the 20 required professional training hours may be carried over to
the next biennium. Direct care residential staff who fail to complete the
required 20 hours of training within a biennium shall not serve as direct care
residential staff until the required hours are completed.
(j) Maintenance of records. Each
CSCD director shall have a written policy that requires the maintenance of
training records for each professional staff or direct care staff employee and
contract staff member. The CSCD director or designee shall ensure that training
records for staff identified in this rule are maintained and available for CJAD
auditors. Those records shall include:
(1) The
number of professional training hours completed and the dates of the
training;
(2) The specific training
programs attended with supporting documentation;
(3) The specific certifications obtained with
supporting documentation;
(4) The
number of completed professional training hours certified in writing by the
CSCD director or designee as professional training; and
(5) The number of professional training hours
carried over from one biennium to the next biennium in accordance with these
rules.
Notes
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