Texas Health And Safety Code Title 7, Chapter 555 - State Supported Living Centers

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 555.001 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Alleged offender resident" means a person with an intellectual disability who: (A) was committed to or transferred to a state supported...
• Texas Section 555.002 - Forensic State Supported Living Center
  (a) The department shall establish a separate forensic state supported living center for the care apart from other clients and residents of high-risk alleged offender...

SUBCHAPTER B POWERS AND DUTIES

• Texas Section 555.003 - Determination Of High-risk Alleged Offender Status
  (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date an alleged offender resident is first committed to a state supported living center and, if...
• Texas Section 555.021 - Required Criminal History Checks For Employees, Contractors, And Volunteers
  (a) The department, the Department of State Health Services, and the Health and Human Services Commission shall perform a state and federal criminal history background...
• Texas Section 555.022 - Drug Testing; Policy
  (a) The executive commissioner shall adopt a policy regarding random testing and reasonable suspicion testing for the illegal use of drugs by a center employee....
• Texas Section 555.023 - Reports Of Illegal Drug Use; Policy
  The executive commissioner shall adopt a policy requiring a center employee who knows or reasonably suspects that another center employee is illegally using or under...
• Texas Section 555.024 - Center Employee Training
  (a) Before a center employee begins to perform the employee's duties without direct supervision, the department shall provide the employee with competency training and a...

SUBCHAPTER C OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT OMBUDSMAN FOR STATE SUPPORTED LIVING CENTERS

• Texas Section 555.025 - Video Surveillance
  (a) In this section, "private space" means a place in a center in which a resident or client has a reasonable expectation of privacy, including:...
• Texas Section 555.051 - Establishment; Purpose
  The office of independent ombudsman is established for the purpose of investigating, evaluating, and securing the rights of residents and clients of state supported living...
• Texas Section 555.052 - Independence
  The independent ombudsman in the performance of the ombudsman's duties and powers under this subchapter acts independently of the department. Added by Acts 2009, 81st...
• Texas Section 555.053 - Appointment Of Independent Ombudsman
  (a) The governor shall appoint the independent ombudsman for a term of two years expiring February 1 of odd-numbered years. (b) The governor may appoint...
• Texas Section 555.054 - Assistant Ombudsmen
  (a) The independent ombudsman shall: (1) hire assistant ombudsmen to perform, under the direction of the independent ombudsman, the same duties and exercise the same...
• Texas Section 555.055 - Conflict Of Interest
  A person may not serve as independent ombudsman or as an assistant ombudsman if the person or the person's spouse: (1) is employed by or...
• Texas Section 555.056 - Report
  (a) The independent ombudsman shall submit on a biannual basis to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the...
• Texas Section 555.057 - Communication And Confidentiality
  (a) The department shall allow any resident or client, authorized representative of a resident or client, family member of a resident or client, or other...
• Texas Section 555.058 - Promotion Of Awareness Of Office
  The independent ombudsman shall promote awareness among the public, residents, clients, and center employees of: (1) how the office may be contacted; (2) the purpose...
• Texas Section 555.059 - Duties And Powers
  (a) The independent ombudsman shall: (1) evaluate the process by which a center investigates, reviews, and reports an injury to a resident or client or...
• Texas Section 555.060 - Retaliation Prohibited
  The department or a center may not retaliate against a department employee, center employee, or any other person who in good faith makes a complaint...

SUBCHAPTER D INSPECTOR GENERAL DUTIES

• Texas Section 555.061 - Toll-free Number
  (a) The office shall establish a permanent, toll-free number for the purpose of receiving any information concerning the violation of a right of a resident...
• Texas Section 555.101 - Assisting Law Enforcement Agencies With Certain Investigations
  The inspector general shall employ and commission peace officers for the purpose of assisting a state or local law enforcement agency in the investigation of...
• Texas Section 555.102 - Summary Report
  (a) The inspector general shall prepare a summary report for each investigation conducted with the assistance of the inspector general under this subchapter. The inspector...
• Texas Section 555.103 - Annual Status Report
  (a) The inspector general shall prepare an annual status report of the inspector general's activities under this subchapter. The annual report may not contain personally...

SUBCHAPTER E ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF RESIDENT'S ROOM

• Texas Section 555.104 - Retaliation Prohibited
  The department or a center may not retaliate against a department employee, a center employee, or any other person who in good faith cooperates with...
• Texas Section 555.151 - Definitions
  In this subchapter: (1) "Authorized electronic monitoring" means the placement of an electronic monitoring device in a resident's room and making tapes or recordings with...
• Texas Section 555.152 - Criminal And Civil Liability
  (a) It is a defense to prosecution under Section 16.02, Penal Code, or any other statute of this state under which it is an offense...
• Texas Section 555.153 - Covert Use Of Electronic Monitoring Device; Liability Of Department Or Center
  (a) For purposes of this subchapter, the placement and use of an electronic monitoring device in a resident's room are considered to be covert if:...
• Texas Section 555.154 - Required Form On Admission
  The executive commissioner by rule shall prescribe a form that must be completed and signed on a resident's admission to a center by or on...
• Texas Section 555.155 - Authorized Electronic Monitoring: Who May Request
  (a) If a resident has capacity to request electronic monitoring and has not been judicially declared to lack the required capacity, only the resident may...
• Texas Section 555.156 - Authorized Electronic Monitoring: Form Of Request; Consent Of Other Residents In Room
  (a) A resident or the guardian or legal representative of a resident who wishes to conduct authorized electronic monitoring must make the request to the...
• Texas Section 555.157 - Authorized Electronic Monitoring: General Provisions
  (a) A center shall permit a resident or the resident's guardian or legal representative to monitor the resident's room through the use of electronic monitoring...
• Texas Section 555.158 - Reporting Abuse, Neglect, Or Exploitation
  (a) A person who is conducting authorized electronic monitoring under this subchapter and who has cause to believe, based on the viewing of or listening...
• Texas Section 555.159 - Use Of Tape Or Recording By Agency Or Court
  (a) Subject to applicable rules of evidence and procedure and the requirements of this section, a tape or recording created through the use of covert...
• Texas Section 555.160 - Notice At Entrance To Center
  Each center shall post a notice at the entrance to the center stating that the rooms of some residents may be being monitored electronically by...
• Texas Section 555.161 - Enforcement
  The department may impose appropriate sanctions under this chapter on a director of a center who knowingly: (1) refuses to permit a resident or the...
• Texas Section 555.162 - Interference With Device; Criminal Penalty
  (a) A person who intentionally hampers, obstructs, tampers with, or destroys an electronic monitoring device installed in a resident's room in accordance with this subchapter...

Last modified: September 28, 2016