Jail Diversion Program

This comes on the heels of NAMI folks, among many other advocates went to the legislature to talk to the legislators about this issue, among many others. Seeing articles like this certainly warm the heart in knowing that some of them actually heeded to what had been said.'

The mentally ill were among those non-violent offenders who had misused their judgments and did something, often out of the ordinary, that they wouldn't ordinarily do; often times not recieving their meds for days after their arrest and booking in the jail.

Jails are overcrowded as it is... Save the jail space for the multiple repeat offenders and felonies. Attempt to rehabilitate the first time offenders; hoping to catch them before the "rush" of doing the crime actually sets in.

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Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 08:01:46 EST
Subject: $88 million sought for programs to keep nonviolent offenders out of jail.


......Halfway house programs would be expanded, substance abuse treatment would become available to thousands more convicts and probationers, probation caseloads would be reduced to allow better supervision of offenders, and mental health initiatives would be expanded.

79th LEGISLATURE

House, Senate near agreement on prison budget
$88 million sought for programs to keep nonviolent offenders out of jail.

By Mike Ward
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
In a key accord for the young legislative session, House and Senate leaders appeared to be in agreement Monday about basic details of a proposed large-scale expansion of probation and treatment programs designed to keep thousands of nonviolent convicts from filling up more expensive and much-needed prison beds.

The heads of two legislative panels on criminal justice, Rep. Sylvester Turner and Sen. John Whitmire, both Houston Democrats, said after a morning meeting that they agree about the details for well over $88 million for "prison diversion" programs.

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Those details must be approved and are subject to change by the powerful budget-writing House Appropriations Committee, for which Turner oversees criminal justice budget issues, and the Senate Finance Committee, on which Whitmire sits.

However, Monday's development could be a first step in a shift in policy from expanding the prison system each legislative session, addressing a shortage of bunks, to earmarking large amounts of money for community justice programs.

The prison system gets about $2.4 billion a year, and lawmakers say they don't expect that figure to change.

They said the funding shift is the first such move in Texas in almost 15 years, when lawmakers greatly expanded drug treatment and community justice programs. In the years since, most of those programs withered because funding dried up or wasn't allocated in subsequent legislative sessions.

"Substance abuse treatment, community-based residential beds, reduced caseloads for probation officers, incentives to keep technical violators from going to prison — they're all in here," Turner said. "I think we are beginning to turn this big ship. This appears to have wide support."

Included in the initial funding plan, approved Monday afternoon by the House Appropriations subcommittee on criminal justice, is $62 million for state prison officials to temporarily lease beds in privately run and county jails to deal with a projected overflow of convicts that could begin as soon as next month. Also included is more than $88 million more for enhancements to probation, parole and community justice programs.

Halfway house programs would be expanded, substance abuse treatment would become available to thousands more convicts and probationers, probation caseloads would be reduced to allow better supervision of offenders, and mental health initiatives would be expanded.

The criminal justice budget is expected to go to the House Appropriations Committee for review later this week.

Whitmire said that although senators will begin hearings soon on details, he is optimistic that they will take a similar course.

"I agree with where the House is right now," Whitmire said. "It's not a done deal yet, but we're heading in the right direction."