37 Tex. Admin. Code § 351.30 - Employment of Short-Term Juvenile Detention Officers
(a) Qualifications for Employment.
(1) Short-Term Juvenile Detention Officers
and Supervisors of Short-Term Juvenile Detention Officers.
(A) An applicant for the position of a
short-term juvenile detention officer, or supervisor of short-term juvenile
detention officers shall be at least 21 years of age; and
(B) have either a high school diploma or a
general equivalency diploma from a high school or issuing authority within the
United States of America. An applicant with a high school diploma issued in a
foreign country or who completed high school under home schooling may be hired
contingent upon a successful validation of the applicant's high school diploma
or high school education under subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
(C) Validation of High School Diploma or High
School Education:
(i) Method of Validation.
An applicant with a foreign high school diploma, or who received a high school
education through home schooling shall validate his/her high school diploma
within 3 months from the applicant's date of hire using one of the following
methods:
(I) obtaining unconditional
acceptance into a college or university accredited by an accrediting
organization recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board;
(II) receiving a general
equivalency diploma;
(III)
obtaining evaluation of their high school diploma as the equivalent to a high
school diploma received within the United States of America by an educational
evaluation service approved by the Commission; and
(IV) providing documentation of the conferral
of a bachelor's or master's degree from a university or college accredited by
an accrediting organization approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board.
(ii) A short-term
detention officer subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph who fails to
validate his/her high school education within the three month time frame shall
not be the sole supervisor of residents under §
351.5(a)(2) of
this title, nor count toward meeting the supervision ratio under §
351.5(b) of this
title.
(2)
Facility Administrator. An applicant for the position of facility administrator
shall:
(A) have a bachelor's degree conferred
by a college or university accredited by an accrediting organization recognized
by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; and
(B) have either:
(i) one year of graduate study in
criminology, corrections, counseling, law, social work, psychology, sociology;
or
(ii) have one year of experience
in full-time casework, counseling, community group work in criminal justice or
a related field.
(C) If
necessary, and in accordance with Title 37 Texas Administrative Code
§341.39, the juvenile board, or chief administrative officer shall apply
to the Commission for an exemption of the one year of experience or graduate
study prior to the employment of an individual as the facility
administrator.
(b) Criminal Records Check. Prior to
employing a person as a short-term juvenile detention officer, supervisor of
short-term juvenile detention officers, or facility administrator, the facility
administrator, chief administrative officer, juvenile board or their designee
shall initiate a criminal history check in accordance with the following
guidelines:
(1) The following criminal
history checks shall be conducted:
(A) a
Texas criminal history background search (TCIC);
(B) a local law enforcement sex offender
registration records check in the city or county where the applicant resides;
and
(C) a Federal Bureau of
Investigation fingerprint based criminal history background search
(NCIC).
(2) In addition
to the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection, if the applicant
currently resides in one of the following states, or resided in one of the
following states within the 10 years prior to the date the employment
application was made, a state criminal history background search and state sex
offender registration check shall also be conducted where available:
(A) Hawaii;
(B) Kansas;
(C) Kentucky;
(D) Louisiana;
(E) Maine;
(F) Massachusetts;
(G) New Hampshire;
(H) Rhode Island;
(I) Tennessee;
(J) Vermont; and
(K) the District of Columbia.
(3) An Internet based criminal
background search shall not be used to conduct the background searches required
under subsection (b)(1)(A) or subsection (b)(1)(C) of this section.
(4) A copy of the returned criminal history
checks shall be retained in the facility's records.
(5) Continued employment shall be contingent
upon the completion and return of criminal history checks that show the
individual has no disqualifying criminal history in accordance with §
351.30(c)(1) of
this title.
(c)
Disqualification from Employment.
(1)
Criminal History. A person with the following criminal history shall be
disqualified from employment as a short-term juvenile detention officer,
supervisor of juvenile detention officers, or administrative officer.
(A) a felony conviction against the laws of
this state, another state, or the United States within the past 10
years;
(B) a deferred adjudication
for a felony against the laws of this state, another state, or the United
States within the past 10 years;
(C) current felony probation or
parole;
(D) a jailable misdemeanor
conviction against the laws of this state, another state or the United States
within the past 5 years;
(E) a
deferred adjudication for a jailable misdemeanor against the laws of this
state, another state, or the United States within the past 5 years;
(F) current misdemeanor probation or parole;
or
(G) registration as a sex
offender under Chapter 62, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure
(H) Waiver/Variance. A request for waiver or
variance under §
349.200 of this title may not be
requested for any Class A misdemeanor or felony under this section unless the
person received a pardon based upon proof of innocence or the reversal of a
finding of guilt by a trial or appellate court.
(2) Revocations and Suspensions. An
individual whose certification has been revoked by the Commission shall never
qualify for employment as a juvenile detention officer, supervisor of detention
officers or administrative officer.
(A) An
individual whose certification is currently under a suspension order issued as
a result of a disciplinary action pursuant to Chapter 349 of this title shall
not qualify for employment as a juvenile detention officer, supervisor of
juvenile detention officers, or administrative officer so long as the
suspension order remains in effect.
(B) An individual whose certification is
currently under a mandatory suspension order issued as a result of failure to
pay child support pursuant to §
349.385 of this title shall not
qualify for employment as a juvenile detention officer, supervisor of juvenile
detention officers, or administrative officer until the Commission receives an
order issued under Texas Family Code §
232.013 staying or
vacating the license suspension.
(d) Applicability. This section applies to
all individuals hired on or after the effective date of this
subchapter.
Notes
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