2nd 25th Judicial District
Community Supervision & Corrections Department (CSCD)
PRE-TRIAL SERVICES:
Pretrial Services is a two-part program composed of pretrial bond release and pretrial diversion.
The Pretrial Bond Release Program involves the qualified, conditional release of defendants from jail prior to sentencing. While awaiting trial, defendants are supervised on a weekly basis, referred to various community resources and guided through the criminal process.
The Pretrial Diversion Program offers first time offenders a “second chance” by diverting them from the criminal justice process at an early stage. The offender must meet all criteria for placement in the program and can have no prior charges. Prior to a finding of guilt, the defendant agrees to be placed on a special probation for a period of one year for misdemeanor charges to two years for a felony charge. After the successful completion of the probation period and after all requirements are met, the defendant’s pending charges are dismissed. If the defendant fails to complete pre-trial diversion successfully, the pending charges are referred back to the court for adjudication.
PRE-SENTENCE INVESTIGATIONS:
Prior to sentencing, the presiding Judge orders the probation department to conduct a pre-sentence investigation on all felony cases and on misdemeanor cases, if ordered by the court. The CSCD conducts a detailed investigation into the defendant's background and presents the information to the sentencing Judge to consider in regards to accepting the defendant's plea entered before the court. The PSI report also includes probation recommendations to the Court for the presiding Judge to take into consideration.
SPANISH SPEAKER'S PROGRAM:
The Spanish Speaker’s Caseload provides regular probation supervision for offenders whose primary language is Spanish. The officers who supervise this caseload attend court hearings and are responsible for pre-sentence investigations and supervision of Spanish speaking offenders. The CSCD is proud to employ 5 bilingual community supervision officers across the District serving our client's needs.
SEX OFFENDER PROGRAM:
The Sex Offender Program is a specialized caseload that provides intensive supervision for both felony and misdemeanor offenders placed on probation for sexual offenses. The department contracts with sex offender treatment providers to obtain sex offender evaluations and outpatient counseling for these offenders. A specialized community supervision officer trained in sex offender law and its requirements supervises sex offenders throughout the district.
MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE CASELOAD (SPECIAL NEEDS CASELOAD):
The 2nd 25th Judicial District CSCD Special Needs Caseload provides intensive supervision to offenders who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, or who are seriously impaired in their functioning due to a mental condition and have a Global Assessment Functioning (GAF) level of 50 or below. Services are provided throughout Lavaca, Gonzales and Colorado counties whether or not the corresponding Mental Health Authority has received TCOOMMI funding. A certified community supervision officer with specialized training in the area of mental health treatment provides supervision for a mixed caseload of not more than 60 offenders throughout the district.
TREATMENT ALTERNATIVE TO INCARCERATION PROGRAM (TAIP):
The Treatment Alternative to Incarceration Program (TAIP) provides screening, assessment, and referral for substance abuse treatment services to eligible offenders in the 2nd 25th Judicial District Community Supervision and Corrections Department. The department contracts with Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors to provide all outpatient treatment to the three counties.
RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT AFTERCARE PROGRAM:
The Residential Treatment Aftercare Program serves those offenders discharged from residential treatment. Offenders are court ordered to participate in this program as part of their conditions of probation. In order to provide a smooth transition from placement to discharge, supervision by the aftercare officer begins when the offender is ordered into treatment. Contact continues while the offender is in treatment and the offender is discharged from treatment immediately into the aftercare program for supervision.
Aftercare out-patient group counseling lasts 26 weeks and provided through contract vendors in each county of the district weekly for a minimum of one hour. Up to three contract individual counseling sessions are provided for each offender by the vendor in the county where they are supervised.
