(a) Core Services.
  (1) Court Services. Each community supervision and corrections department (CSCD) shall:
    (A) conduct pre/post-sentence investigations as ordered by the court and in accordance with law;
    (B) report violations to the court;
    (C) provide testimony as custodian of the record;
    (D) conduct assessments and complete reports mandated by law;
    (E) make recommendations to the court regarding conditions of supervision; and
    (F) maintain case files.
  (2) Basic Supervision. Each CSCD shall:
    (A) enforce conditions of community supervision;
    (B) perform case intake;
    (C) conduct assessments, reassessments, and case planning, and implement strategies to address identified offender risks and needs with the resources available to jurisdictions;
    (D) provide contacts to offenders on direct community supervision per Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Community Justice Assistance Division (CJAD) standards;
    (E) maintain case files;
    (F) develop and monitor community service restitution programs;
    (G) as ordered by the court, assess and, when needed, provide access to education, substance abuse, and mental impairment services;
    (H) monitor employment and provide job and/or vocational services to employable offenders; and
    (I) provide access to assessment and treatment services for sex offenders and violent offenders and maintain appropriate levels of supervision for these offenders.
  (3) Administrative Services. Each CSCD shall provide adequate management and support service to the CSCD operation, commensurate with available resources, to include:
    (A) administrative support staff;
    (B) data processing support;
    (C) data control and evaluation support;
    (D) fiscal services support; and
    (E) training coordinators.
(b) Continuum of Sanctions. Each CSCD director shall ensure the development and implementation of a continuum of sanctions that address the risks and needs of offenders as identified in the jurisdiction's strategic plan, subject to available resources and local policy.
(c) Regional Planning. Regional programs and services shall address regional needs as identified in each jurisdiction's strategic plan and respond efficiently and economically to specific offender issues for each of the participating jurisdictions. Each CSCD director participating in regional programs and services shall work with other CSCD directors affected by those regional efforts in the planning, developing, and implementing regional programs and services to address offender needs.
(d) Community Service Restitution (CSR). Each CSCD director shall maintain written agreements with governmental and/or nonprofit entities to provide offenders opportunities to comply with court-ordered community service restitution according to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 42A.304.
(e) Educational Skill Level. Using a standardized educational screening instrument, each CSCD director shall ensure that all persons placed on community supervision, who are unable to document attainment of a high school diploma or GED shall be screened to determine if the persons possess:
  (1) Educational skills equal to or greater than the sixth grade level; or
  (2) The intellectual capacity or learning ability to achieve the sixth grade skills level. Programs that assist offenders in attaining the educational skill level of sixth grade and above shall be developed and/or made available to the courts for offender referral. Each CSCD director may maintain written agreements with school and volunteer organizations to provide tutoring to teach reading to functionally illiterate offenders.
(f) Methods for Measuring the Success of Community Supervision and Corrections Program. For purposes of Texas Government Code §509.007(b), the success of programs provided by a CSCD or an entity served by a CSCD is measured by assessing rates of program completion and recidivism.
  (1) Program completion is the completion of all required components of the program, and/or an offender's release from the program that is not related to any non-compliant behavior, an inappropriate placement, or death.
  (2) Recidivism is a subsequent arrest for a new, separate offense that is punishable by incarceration. This definition does not include arrests for motions to revoke community supervision and bond forfeitures.
(g) Conflicts of Interest. Each CSCD director shall ensure the adoption of a written policy that prohibits possible conflicts of interest affecting the CSCD, its supervision officers, and employees.
(h) Partnerships with Law Enforcement Agencies. Each CSCD shall cooperate with and provide assistance to municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies or peace officers in situations relating to offender supervision, absconder apprehension, victim services, and other community-based criminal justice activities.
(i) A CSCD may contract with another CSCD for services or facilities.
(j) A judicial district may contract for programs and services with a CSCD established for another judicial district, in lieu of establishing its own CSCD, if such a contract promotes administrative convenience, economy, or improved services.
(k) More than one CSCD may serve a judicial district that includes more than one county if providing more than one CSCD promotes administrative convenience, economy, or improved services.

Source Note: The provisions of this §163.31 adopted to be effective March 1, 1993, 18 TexReg 944; amended to be effective August 16, 1995, 20 TexReg 5799; amended to be effective October 13, 1997, 22 TexReg 9896; amended to be effective June 20, 2002, 27 TexReg 5220; amended to be effective February 12, 2008, 33 TexReg 1120; amended to be effective March 29, 2020, 45 TexReg 2024