SECTION 163.38. Sex Offender Supervision

(a) Definitions.

(1) Jurisdictional Authority is a sentencing court, the Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP), or a division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as applicable to the offender.

(2) Sex Crime is a reportable offense under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.001(5) or an offense identified as a sexual offense by the Texas Penal Code laws of the United States, another state, another country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

(3) Sex Offender is an offender who:

(A) is convicted of committing or adjudicated to have committed a sex crime;

(B) is awarded deferred adjudication for a sex crime; or

(C) has been ordered by the jurisdictional authority to participate in sex offender supervision or treatment.

(b) A community supervision and corrections department (CSCD) supervising sex offenders shall ensure consistency in the manner in which sex offenders are supervised throughout the department. Policies and procedures shall be developed that, at a minimum, include the following:

(1) contact standards as per 37 Texas Administrative Code §163.35(c)(5);

(2) sex offender registration as per Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 62;

(3) DNA collection as per Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42A.301(b)(21);

(4) violation procedures as per 37 Texas Administrative Code §163.35(c)(7);

(5) victim notification as per Texas Government Code §76.016;

(6) treatment referral process as per Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42A.453(i);

(7) treatment participation requirements;

(8) team approach to supervision;

(9) sharing of information and documentation with the appropriate agencies; and

(10) specialized caseload size, if applicable.

(c) Each CSCD shall develop policies and procedures that address the needs and safety of victims or potential victims. The policies may include collaborating with victims, victim advocates, or sexual assault task forces in the supervision and treatment of sex offenders.

(d) Community supervision officers (CSOs) shall use a record keeping system to document all significant actions, decisions, services rendered, and periodic evaluations in each offender's case file, including the offender's level of supervision, compliance with the conditions of community supervision, progress with the supervision plan, and responses to intervention.

(e) CSOs shall collaborate with collateral sources, including treatment providers, polygraph examiners, significant others, sex offender registration personnel, sex offenders' families, local law enforcement, schools, Child Protective Services, employers, chaperones, and victim service providers.

(f) CSOs shall recommend that conditions be tailored to the sex offender's identified risk.

(g) CSOs shall make face-to-face field visits and collateral contacts with the offender, family, community resources, or other persons consistent with a supervision plan and the level of supervision on which the offender is being supervised. Each CSCD director shall establish supervision contact and casework standards at a level appropriate for that jurisdiction, but in all cases, offenders at higher levels of supervision shall receive a higher level of contacts than offenders at lower levels of supervision. Supervision contacts shall be specified in the CSCD written policies and procedures.

(h) Each CSCD director shall work with the local judiciary to specify written policies and procedures wherein CSOs may make recommendations to the courts regarding violations of conditions of community supervision, as well as when violations may be handled administratively. The continuum of sanctions or alternatives to incarceration shall be considered by the CSO and recommended to the court in eligible cases as determined appropriate by the jurisdiction.

(i) CSOs shall timely transmit information regarding supervision and treatment upon transfer of supervision.

(j) In addition to the above, a CSCD may operate specialized caseloads for sex offenders. In this event, the CSCD shall have a written policy that:

(1) establishes minimum qualifications and training requirements for CSOs supervising sex offenders; and

(2) specifies the number of staff required for the increased level of supervision essential for the specialized supervision of sex offenders. The caseload size shall not exceed 60 offenders per caseload.

Source Note: The provisions of this §163.38 adopted to be effective April 17, 2003, 28 TexReg 3066; amended to be effective April 17, 2008, 33 TexReg 2961; amended to be effective April 28, 2013, 38 TexReg 2513; amended to be effective September 13, 2018, 43 TexReg 5809