Contract Residential Services
When an offender needs treatment for chemical dependency and/or mental health
issues, subjects are referred to specialized residential facilities where such
services can be obtained. These placements are made with department money or
with grant money. There is generally limited space.
Court Residential Treatment Centers
The purpose of these facilities is to focus on a client's
recovery from drug or alcohol addiction then help him/her
secure employment and become self-supporting. The centers
attempt to help clients restructure their
thinking while teaching responsible living. These are not
secure facilities; failure to report as instructed or
leaving a court residential treatment center is a state jail
felony offense.
Restitution Centers
These facilities are very limited in number but do provide residential services
combined with off-site work pursuits. Once employed, the offender pays room and
board to the facility. Some of those earnings go back to the court and/or
probation office to clear debts owed and to support their families. The focus of
these centers is on living skills and self-support aimed at independent living
through self-support.
Intermediate Sanction Facility
These are generally barracks-type living facilities for subjects who have
violated their conditions of probation. Clients stay in for periods of 90 days
to 24 months to establish a regular work pattern involving five day per week (or
more) community service. Once the pattern is established and the client
has demonstrated cooperation with the program's elements, they are released to
return to intensive probation where they will be more closely monitored than on
standard supervision levels.
Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility
These facilities are operated behind prison walls. The program lasts
approximately six months. While incarcerated here, clients attend classes, group
counseling and group processing. The program is aimed at getting clients to
realize how significant chemicals are in their lives and what can be done to
accept responsibility and change their behavior. This is the most intense
chemical dependency treatment program available in the world of corrections.
Once the lock-up
portion of the program has been completed (six months), the client goes to a
half-way house or transitional treatment center. During this phase, the
probationer must get a job and begin to get used to the increasing hours of free
time in the community. All of this will be followed by six to nine months of
aftercare counseling. This counseling helps clients deal with relapse
prevention issues and other problems that are likely to arise with this
high-risk population once they return to the community. A Special (Intensive)
Probation Officer who is familiar with the regimen of these treatment facilities
supervises the year of aftercare counseling.
Anger Intervention
Offenders who assault and clients who have difficulty controlling their
behavior when angry attend and pay a fee for this program. This six-hour
program addresses the changing role of men in the abuse cycle, the
influence of drugs on assaultive behavior, relaxation and stress
reduction and elements of Albert Ellis' Rational Emotive Therapy to deal
with cognitive issues leading to abuse.
Budgeting
Course This is a two session program that covers appropriate budget
planning , checking account management, and responsible
credit management principles. It is designed for
offenders who have histories of poor financial management
patterns and for those who fall behind on money owed to the
court.
Commitment to Change
Targeted to clients in need of long-term cognitive restructuring
information, this 72-hour program addresses problem-solving skills and
underlying cognitive issues that need to be restructured in clients at
higher risk. There is a fee for this program.
Day Treatment Program
Because of a delay for an offender to
enter 90-day residential chemical dependency treatment had become as long as
six months in duration due to the sheer numbers of persons needing
treatment, the Day Treatment Program was created as an initiative in 2003 to
alleviate the lengthy waiting period, and to offer the Criminal Courts
another alternative to incarceration.
The Program Design includes 120 hours of
education and counseling over the course of a six week period. The hours of
operation are Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The curriculum
of the Program includes:
-
Chemical
dependency education and counseling;
-
Cognitive-behavioral programming;
-
Relapse
prevention;
-
Orientation
to 12-step self-help support groups;
-
Tobacco
education;
-
Education
related to HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, and Sexually Transmitted
Infections;
-
Awareness
of values, attitude and behavior;
-
Lifestyle
issues pertaining to nutrition, exercise, and leisure time;
-
Parenting;
-
Co-dependency in relationship issues;
-
Communication skills and conflict resolution;
-
Emotional
health;
-
Life
management skills; and
-
Crisis
intervention.
Discovery Group
This program is for clients with strong
indicators of drug/alcohol abuse who should be going to a 12-step
(AA/NA) program. In this six-hour program, the leader addresses chemical
dependency as a disease. Families and/or significant others are expected
to participate in this program. The goal is to get the probationer into
an ongoing 12-step program or other support group.
Domestic Violence Prevention
Offenders with domestic violence issues are enrolled in this program
which costs $150 for locally supervised clients or $300 for others. A
24-session program designed to address factors leading to family
violence: the abuse cycle, the influence of drugs/alcohol in assaultive
situations, stress reduction, relaxation and creative ways to express
emotions without violence.
Drug Offender Education
This program targets offenders
convicted of drug-related offenses and other probationers who have
drug-related symptoms. There is a charge for this program. Sanctioned by
the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, this program is designed
to educate clients on the dangers of drug use/abuse and associated
illegal activities. The eight sessions of this program include both
pre-admission and exit interviews and cover topics including:
-
Illegal aspects of drug use/abuse
-
History of drug abuse
-
Effects of specific drugs
-
Downward steps to drug dependence
-
Costs
of drug use/abuse
-
HIV
infection
-
Values and behavior inventory
-
Drug
replacements
-
Relapse prevention and warning signs
-
Personal action plan to remain drug free.
DWI-Education
This program targets first time DWI offenders and requires a fee. This
course is certified by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
Six sessions, including a pre-admission and exit interview, plus four
modules:
-
DWI as a
social problem, the law and client hostilities toward the criminal
justice system
-
Physical
and psychological effects of alcohol
-
Problem
drinking and alcoholism
-
Decision-making including a plan to prevent future DWI behavior.
DWI-Intervention
This program targets repeat DWI offenders and there is a charge for this
program. This program includes much of the same information as the DWI-Education
program explained above, except it lasts 18-20 sessions and covers the
following topics in-depth:
-
Costs vs.
benefits of using alcohol
-
Good
eating & physical/leisure time activities
-
Emotional
issues
-
Communication styles and personal goal-setting
-
Family
roles in the user/abuser
-
Use of
12-step support group (AA/NA) with a local resource guide
-
Support
network
-
Relaxation
and creative ways to deal with stress effectively
-
Warning
signs of relapse
-
Drink
refusal role-plays
-
Personal
action plan to avoid future problematic behavior.
DWI-Victim
Impact Panel
In this free program, DWI offenders listen as a panel of victims who
have been personally injured and those who have lost family members as a
result of DWI-related accidents tell how the DWI behavior of someone
affected their lives.
In-House Out-Patient Program (IHOPP)
This free program is offered to clients suspected of chemical dependency
problems identified through CSO assessment, prior record and/or positive
urine samples. Facilitated by a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor
this program includes three aspects of chemical dependency programming:
-
Individual
assessment/evaluation
-
Individual
counseling for crisis issues and relapse prevention
-
Ongoing
out-patient program services (group or individual).
Life Management Series for Theft Intervention & Life Skills
This program targets clients in need of self-improvement values
clarification and behavior control. Fees are charged. This is a short
program designed to help clients develop a personal plan for a
successful future. Homework assignments are a big part of this program.
Male/Female
Offender Group
This is a cognitive restructure, long-term (1-2 years)
program aimed at confronting criminal thinking patterns to
redirect thought processes into pro-social and acceptable
ways.
Nature of
Marijuana Program
Three session education program for offenders probated for
or involved with the use on marijuana. The program
looks critically at the illegal actions involved in using
marijuana and points out the dangers for people choosing to
use this drug in today's world.
Recovery Works
Clients who have completed residential treatment participate in this
free support group which is facilitated by a licensed chemical
dependency counselor to aid those clients who have begun to walk
the 12-steps of recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics
Anonymous (NA) but who need encouragement and technical advice to
complete their recovery.
Relapse
Prevention Group After completing a
treatment program along with a significant number of 12-step
(AA/NA) meetings, clients are referred to this program.
The focus of this group is awareness and avoidance of
"triggers" that may lead to use of drugs or alcohol again,
keeping the participant sober, and dealing with the needed
changes to maintain the sobriety started in treatment.
Sex Offender
Group
These programs are facilitated by Registered Sex Offender
Treatment Providers in Texas and deal with cognitive
restructuring of the thinking patterns of offenders under
supervision for sex offenses defined by state law.
Victim Impact Panel
A panel of victims of various types of crime (from property to crimes of
violence) speak to help offenders understand the full effects that
criminal behavior has had on their lives. This free program is offered
to criminal offenders whose crime involved a victim.
