TITLE 37.PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS

Part 3. TEXAS YOUTH COMMISSION

Chapter 87. TREATMENT

Subchapter B. SPECIAL NEEDS OFFENDER PROGRAMS

37 TAC §87.75

The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) proposes new §87.75, concerning Mental Retardation Treatment Program. The new section will establish the Mental Retardation Program at the Corsicana Residential Treatment Center, a facility of the Texas Youth Commission. The specialized program will provide appropriate services for TYC youth who have been identified as mentally retarded. This section will establish admission criteria, program requirements, and release/transition options and procedures.

Don McCullough, Assistant Deputy Executive Director for Financial Support, has determined that for the first five-year period the section is in effect there will be no fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of enforcing or administering the section.

Mr. McCullough also has determined that for each year of the first five years the section is in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing the section will be providing appropriate services for TYC youth who have been identified as mentally retarded, and adapting the Resocialization program to enable the progress of such youth. There will be no effect on small businesses. There is no anticipated economic cost to persons who are required to comply with the section as proposed. No private real property rights are affected by adoption of this rule.

Comments on the proposal may be submitted to DeAnna Lloyd, Policy Coordinator, Texas Youth Commission, 4900 North Lamar, P.O. Box 4260, Austin, Texas 78765, or e-mail to deanna.lloyd@tyc.state.tx.us.

The new section is proposed under the Human Resources Code, §61.075, Determination of Treatment, which provides the Texas Youth Commission with the authority to order a youth's confinement under conditions it believes are best designed for the welfare of the youth and protection of the public.

The proposed rule affects the Human Resource Code, §61.034.

§87.75.Mental Retardation Treatment Program.

(a) Purpose. The Mental Retardation Treatment Program (MRTP) at Corsicana Residential Treatment Center (CRTC) is a specialized program for youth with Mental Retardation. The program will provide appropriate services for youth who have been identified as mentally retarded. The rule will establish admission criteria and procedures, and release/transition options for youth with mental retardation.

(b) Authorized Facility. The Corsicana Residential Treatment Center (CRTC) in Corsicana, Texas is the only facility authorized to administer the MRTP.

(c) Applicability.

(1) See (GAP) §85.29 of this title (relating to Program Completion and Movement of Other than Sentenced Offenders).

(2) See (GAP) §85.33 of this title (relating to Program Completion and Movement of Sentenced Offenders).

(3) See (GAP) §87.79 of this title (relating to Discharge of Mentally Ill and Mentally Retarded Youth).

(d) Admissions.

(1) Admission Criteria.

(A) Youth from a secure residential program may be admitted to the MRTP if a diagnosis of mental retardation has been established according to the guidelines published in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association.

(B) Priority for admission will be based on the extent to which the youth's ability to function in Texas Youth Commission (TYC) programs is impaired by his/her mental retardation.

(2) Admission Process.

(A) If youth is referred from a facility other than MOAU, the action is considered an administrative transfer according to (GAP) §85.29 of this title.

(B) The referring facility must complete the referral packet with the appropriate signatures and submit to the director of clinical services (DOCS) at CRTC.

(e) Program Requirements. The MRTP will adapt the agency's Resocialization program to enable the progress of youth diagnosed with mental retardation. These adaptations will be documented monthly in the youth's Individual Case Plan (ICP).

(f) Release and Transition Options.

(1) Youth in the MRTP who meet criteria for transfer or release according to (GAP) §85.29 of this title or (GAP) §85.33 of this title, may be transitioned to a less restrictive setting or paroled to the community.

(2) Youth may be transitioned from the MRTP to an alternative placement if their functional ability improves to a level at which they can continue to progress with identified program adaptations in a general program.

(3) Youth in the MRTP who have completed the initial minimum length of stay and are determined to be unable to progress in the agency's Resocialization Program due mental retardation in accordance with (GAP) §87.79 of this title shall be discharged.

This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on July 15, 2003.

TRD-200304279

Steve Robinson

Executive Director

Texas Youth Commission

Earliest possible date of adoption: August 31, 2003

For further information, please call: (512) 424-6014