37 Tex. Admin. Code § 380.9740 - Security Program
(a) Purpose. The
Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) operates Security Programs at its
high-restriction facilities to temporarily remove youth who engage in certain
dangerous or disruptive behaviors from the general campus population. This rule
establishes admission criteria, service delivery requirements, security
provisions, and requirements for due process and administrative review for
youth admitted to the Security Program.
(b) Applicability. This rule applies to
TJJD-operated high-restriction facilities that operate security
units.
(c) Definitions. Security
Unit--a designated building on the campus of a high-restriction TJJD facility
that contains individual rooms and a central control station. Entry to and exit
from the building are controlled exclusively by staff.
(d) General Provisions.
(1) Confinement in the Security Program may
not be used as punishment or as a convenience for staff.
(2) Youth are afforded all basic youth rights
established in §
380.9301 of this title while
confined in the Security Program.
(3) Except as otherwise authorized by the
division director over residential services or designee on a case-by-case
basis, confinement in the Security Program may not exceed five calendar days or
a maximum of 120 hours.
(4) The
Security Program is operated within the security unit, except as provided or
permitted by other TJJD administrative rules.
(e) Admission Criteria. A youth may be
admitted to the Security Program when there is a reasonable belief the youth
has committed a minor rule violation that warrants referral to the security
unit or a major rule violation and:
(1) the
youth is a serious and continuing escape risk;
(2) the youth is a serious and immediate
physical danger to others and staff cannot protect them except by admitting the
youth to the Security Program;
(3)
confinement is necessary to prevent imminent and substantial damage to
property;
(4) confinement is
necessary to control behavior that disrupts programming to the extent that the
current program cannot continue except by admitting the youth to the Security
Program; or
(5) the youth is likely
to interfere with a pending or ongoing investigation or a requested or
scheduled due process hearing.
(f) Admission Process.
(1) Within one hour after a youth's arrival
at the security unit (or up two hours if an extension is approved by the
facility administrator or designee), a staff member must:
(A) return the youth to the general
population; or
(B) hold a Level III
hearing in accordance with §
380.9557 of this title to
determine whether admission criteria have been met. The staff member who
conducts the review must not have been involved in the referral to the Security
Program.
(2) If
admission criteria are not met, the youth must be returned to the general
population immediately.
(3) If
admission criteria are met, the youth may be admitted to the Security Program
for up to 24 hours.
(g)
Extension Process.
(1) Extension Criteria.
(A) An extension may be authorized if the
following criteria are met, as established through a Level III hearing
conducted in accordance with §
380.9557 of this title:
(i) based on current behavior, one or more of
the admission criteria listed in subsection (e)(1)-(5) of this section continue
to be present; or
(ii) there is
documented evidence that the youth is not complying with the Security Program
rules of conduct.
(B)
Each extension is valid for up to 24 hours.
(C) No more than four extensions may be
authorized by facility staff without approval from the division director over
residential services or his/her designee, as described in paragraph (2) of this
subsection.
(2)
Extensions Beyond Five Days.
(A) The division
director over residential services or his/her designee may approve extensions
after the fifth day of confinement only when no less-restrictive placement is
suitable for managing the youth's behavior and:
(i) the youth continues to present an
immediate physical danger to others; or
(ii) the youth continues to be likely to
interfere with a pending or ongoing investigation or a scheduled
hearing.
(B) Each
extension is valid for up to 72 hours. However, facility staff must continue to
hold Level III hearings every 24 hours to determine whether the extension
criteria in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph continue to be met.
(h) Release to the
General Population.
(1) A youth must be
released to the general population upon:
(A)
a determination that the youth's behavior no longer warrants confinement in the
security unit;
(B) expiration of
the 24th hour after the most recent Level III hearing; or
(C) a finding in a Level III hearing that
extension criteria are not met.
(2) A youth may be released from the Security
Program only by the security dorm supervisor or a staff member authorized to
conduct an admission hearing.
(i) Administrative Reviews and Appeals.
(1) The security dorm supervisor or designee
must review all admission and local extension decisions within one workday. The
person reviewing the decision must not have been involved in the decision. If
it is determined that admission or extension criteria were not met or
appropriate due process was not provided:
(A)
the youth must be returned to the general population immediately; and
(B) the youth's record must be corrected to
reflect the overturned admission or extension decision.
(2) The youth must be notified in writing of
his/her right to appeal a Security Program admission or extension. Appeals are
decided by the facility administrator or designee, unless:
(A) the admission or extension decision was
made by the facility administrator, in which case the appeal is decided by the
division director over residential services or designee; or
(B) the youth's current stay in the Security
Program has reached 120 continuous hours, in which case the appeal is decided
by the executive director or designee.
(3) The youth must be notified in writing of
the outcome of the appeal.
(j) Security Program Requirements.
(1) Staff must visually check each youth at
least once every 15 minutes and document youth activity and location during the
check unless more frequent checks are required under §
380.9188 of this title.
(2) Individual doors must be
locked.
(3) The Security Program
must adhere to a standard schedule approximating that of the general
population, including time out of the locked room as behavior
permits.
(4) The standard schedule
and Security Program rules of conduct must be posted and reviewed with
youth.
(5) The following staff must
visit the Security Program at least once each calendar day and speak with each
youth present in the program:
(A) a
nurse;
(B) a case manager;
and
(C) a staff member from the
administrative, psychology, and/or chaplaincy departments.
(6) Youth must be provided:
(A) appropriate psychological and medical
services;
(B) an opportunity to
discuss with a case manager the behavior that resulted in the admission or
extension;
(C) adequate access to
restroom facilities and drinking water;
(D) access to shower and hygiene routine at
least once every 24 hours, as behavior permits;
(E) the same food, including snacks, prepared
in the same manner as for other youth except for special diets that are
prescribed on an individual basis by a physician, dentist, or mental health
professional or special diets approved by a chaplain;
(F) access to education services during each
scheduled instructional day for the duration of instructional minutes required
by the campus master schedule;
(G)
education services that will enable the youth to meet the goals of the youth's
individualized education program, if the youth is currently receiving special
education services;
(H) access to
limited-English-proficient services for English language learners;
and
(I) one hour of large-muscle
exercise out of the room or in an enclosed outdoor recreation area at least
once every 24 hours, as the youth's behavior and weather permit.
Notes
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