Art. 46B.090. JAIL-BASED RESTORATION OF COMPETENCY PILOT PROGRAM. (a) In this article, "department" means the Department of State Health Services.
(a-1) If the legislature appropriates to the department the funding necessary for the department to operate a jail-based restoration of competency pilot program as described by this article, the department shall develop and implement the pilot program in one or two counties in this state that choose to participate in the pilot program. In developing the pilot program, the department shall coordinate and allow for input from each participating county.
(b) The department shall contract with a provider of jail-based competency restoration services to provide services under the pilot program if the department develops a pilot program under this article.
(c) Not later than November 1, 2013, the commissioner of the department shall adopt rules as necessary to implement the pilot program. In adopting rules under this article, the commissioner shall specify the types of information the department must collect during the operation of the pilot program for use in evaluating the outcome of the pilot program.
(d) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 946 , Sec. 1.15(d), eff. September 1, 2015.
(e) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 946 , Sec. 1.15(d), eff. September 1, 2015.
(f) To contract with the department under Subsection (b), a provider of jail-based competency restoration services must demonstrate to the department that:
(1) the provider:
(A) has previously provided jail-based competency restoration services for one or more years; or
(B) is a local mental health authority that has previously provided competency restoration services;
(2) the provider's jail-based competency restoration program:
(A) uses a multidisciplinary treatment team to provide clinical treatment that is:
(i) directed toward the specific objective of restoring the defendant's competency to stand trial; and
(ii) similar to the clinical treatment provided as part of a competency restoration program at an inpatient mental health facility;
(B) employs or contracts for the services of at least one psychiatrist;
(C) assigns staff members to defendants participating in the program at an average ratio not lower than 3.7 to 1; and
(D) provides weekly treatment hours commensurate to the treatment hours provided as part of a competency restoration program at an inpatient mental health facility;
(3) the provider is certified by a nationwide nonprofit organization that accredits health care organizations and programs, such as the Joint Commission on Health Care Staffing Services, or the provider is a local mental health authority in good standing with the department; and
(4) the provider has a demonstrated history of successful jail-based competency restoration outcomes or, if the provider is a local mental health authority, a demonstrated history of successful competency restoration outcomes.
(g) A contract under Subsection (b) must require the designated provider to collect and submit to the department the information specified by rules adopted under Subsection (c).
(h) The designated provider shall enter into a contract with the participating county or counties. The contract must require the participating county or counties to:
(1) ensure the safety of defendants who participate in the jail-based restoration of competency pilot program;
(2) designate a separate space in the jail for the provider to conduct the pilot program;
(3) provide the same basic care to the participants as is provided to other inmates of a jail; and
(4) supply clinically appropriate psychoactive medications to the mental health service provider for purposes of administering court-ordered medication to the participants in accordance with Article 46B.086 of this code and Section 574.106, Health and Safety Code.
(i) The psychiatrist for the provider shall conduct at least two full psychiatric evaluations of the defendant during the period the defendant receives competency restoration services in the jail. The psychiatrist must conduct one evaluation not later than the 21st day and one evaluation not later than the 55th day after the date the defendant begins to participate in the pilot program. The psychiatrist shall submit to the court a report concerning each evaluation required under this subsection.
(j) If at any time during a defendant's participation in the jail-based restoration of competency pilot program the psychiatrist for the provider determines that the defendant has attained competency to stand trial:
(1) the psychiatrist for the provider shall promptly issue and send to the court a report demonstrating that fact; and
(2) the court shall consider that report as the report of an expert stating an opinion that the defendant has been restored to competency for purposes of Article 46B.0755(a) or (b).
(k) If at any time during a defendant's participation in the jail-based restoration of competency pilot program the psychiatrist for the provider determines that the defendant's competency to stand trial is unlikely to be restored in the foreseeable future:
(1) the psychiatrist for the provider shall promptly issue and send to the court a report demonstrating that fact; and
(2) the court shall:
(A) proceed under Subchapter E or F and order the transfer of the defendant, without unnecessary delay, to the first available facility that is appropriate for that defendant, as provided under Subchapter E or F, as applicable; or
(B) release the defendant on bail as permitted under Chapter 17.
(l) If the psychiatrist for the provider determines that a defendant ordered to participate in the pilot program has not been restored to competency by the end of the 60th day after the date the defendant began to participate in the pilot program:
(1) for a defendant charged with a felony, the defendant shall be transferred, without unnecessary delay and for the remainder of the period prescribed by Article 46B.073(b), to the first available facility that is appropriate for that defendant as provided by Article 46B.073(c) or (d); and
(2) for a defendant charged with a misdemeanor, the court may:
(A) order a single extension under Article 46B.080 and the transfer of the defendant without unnecessary delay to the appropriate mental health facility or residential care facility as provided by Article 46B.073(d) for the remainder of the period under the extension;
(B) proceed under Subchapter E or F;
(C) release the defendant on bail as permitted under Chapter 17; or
(D) dismiss the charges in accordance with Article 46B.010.
(m) Unless otherwise provided by this article, the provisions of this chapter, including the maximum periods prescribed by Article 46B.0095, apply to a defendant receiving competency restoration services under the pilot program in the same manner as those provisions apply to any other defendant who is subject to proceedings under this chapter.
(n) If the department develops and implements a jail-based restoration of competency pilot program under this article, not later than December 1, 2016, the commissioner of the department shall submit a report concerning the pilot program to the presiding officers of the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives having primary jurisdiction over health and human services issues and over criminal justice issues. The report must include the information collected by the department during the pilot program and the commissioner's evaluation of the outcome of the program as of the date the report is submitted.
(o) This article expires September 1, 2019.
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 797 (S.B. 1475), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.
Amended by:
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 6.016, eff. April 2, 2015.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 946 (S.B. 277), Sec. 1.15(c), eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 946 (S.B. 277), Sec. 1.15(d), eff. September 1, 2015.
Last modified: September 28, 2016