1. (a) Eligibility. In accordance with Texas Government Code §76.005, to be eligible for employment as a Community Supervision Officers (CSO) who supervises offenders, a person:

   1. (1) must have a bachelor's degree conferred by an institution of higher education accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; and

   2. (2) unless the bachelor's degree is in criminal justice, criminology, corrections, counseling, human services development, law, law enforcement, police science, pre-law, public administration, rehabilitative studies, social work, psychology, or sociology, the person must have:

      1. (A) one year of graduate study in one of those fields; or
      2. (B) one year of experience in full-time casework, counseling, or community or group work; or
      3. (C) other education or experience, documented by letter in the employee's personnel file, which indicates that they were the most qualified applicant at the time of hiring. Such letter shall be signed by the CSCD Director.
   3. (3) cannot be employed as a peace officer or work as a reserve or volunteer peace officer; and
   4. (4) cannot be currently on community supervision or parole or serving a sentence for a criminal offense.

2. (b) Training. CSCD directors, assistant directors, CCF directors, assistant CCF directors, CSO supervisory staff and CSOs shall obtain not less than 80 documented hours of professional skill-based training each biennium. Forty hours are to be approved by the CSCD director and 40 hours to be approved by the TDCJ-CJAD director, or her/his designee. Up to 40 hours, in excess of the 80 hours, may be carried over from one biennium to the next. A certified CSO who fails to obtain the required 80 hours of training within a biennium will be ineligible to serve as a CSO. A CSO, exempt from certification, who fails to obtain the required 80 hours of training within a biennium, will be ineligible to serve as a CSO until the required hours are obtained. The CSCD director or his/her designee shall ensure that training records are maintained and available for TDCJ-CJAD auditors. Those records shall reflect the following:

   1. (1) the number of training hours accrued;
   2. (2) the type of training attended with supporting documentation;
   3. (3) specification of the number of accrued hours that are approved by the CSCD director;
   4. (4) the number of accrued hours that are approved by the TDCJ-CJAD director; and
   5. (5) the number of training hours carried over from one biennium to another.
3. (c) Certification. Any CSO who is first employed by a CSCD director or judicial district in this state after September 1, 1987, is required to complete the certification course work and obtain a passing grade on the certification examination within one year of the beginning date of employment as a CSO. An officer failing to achieve certification within one year of their employment date may not continue to be employed as a CSO beyond the specific date by which they are to have achieved certification, unless TDCJ-CJAD has granted an extension for completion of course work and examination as allowed by law. A CSO who was employed by any CSCD in this state on or at any time before September 1, 1987, is exempt from the requirements of the certification program.
4. (d) Certification Examination. A new CSO, employed on or after September 2, 1987, who completes the certification course work but fails the examination, will be allowed to take the examination one more time. An officer failing the examination a second time, will be required to complete the certification course work again before being allowed to take the examination a third and final time. CSOs will be eligible to pursue the certification requirements two years after the last testing date, and are ineligible to supervise direct cases until certification is achieved.
5. (e) Exempt Officers Certification. Certification course work and the certification examination will be available to CSOs appointed prior to September 2, 1987. An exempt officer who wishes to be certified will be given one opportunity to pass the certification examination in order to be certified. If the CSO fails the examination, the officer must complete the certification course work before attempting to pass the examination again.
6. (f) Residential Officer Certification. A residential CSO, employed or appointed as such on or after September 2, 1989, shall satisfactorily complete the course work and examination for residential certification offered by TDCJ-CJAD not later than the first anniversary of the date on which the officer begins employment with the department's residential facility. Provisions of subsections (c) - (h) of this section shall also apply to residential CSO.
7. (g) Recertification. Once an officer is certified, if the CSO fails to maintain certification, recertification will be immediately required by successful completion of the certification examination. An officer who fails the examination must complete the certification course work for recertification. If a CSO who is subject to the certification provisions of CJAD Standard subsection (c) of this section, and who has been employed as a CSO for one year or longer, leaves the employment of a Texas CSCD for more than one year the CSO is required to become recertified. Such recertification must be accomplished within one year of re-appointment by taking and successfully passing the CSO Certification exam. An officer who fails the exam must complete the CSO certification course and pass the exam to be recertified. A CSO subject to the certification provisions of CJAD Standard subsection (c) of this section, and who has been employed as a CSO for less than one year and leaves the employment of a Texas CSCD for more than one year, is required to become recertified by completing the CSO certification course and successfully passing the exam.
8. (h) Certification Status. An officer who fails to maintain his/her CSO certification or residential certification by not obtaining 80 hours of training in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, is immediately ineligible to supervise direct cases until recertification is achieved.
9. (i) Dual Certifications. Residential CSOs are required to be certified as a CSO and to further obtain certification in residential service. They must complete both certification courses as noted by the time frames specified in subsections (c) and (f) of this section. However, they only need to complete 80 hours of skill-based training related to community supervision and residential programs per biennium as specified in subsection (b) of this section to maintain both certifications.

10. (j) Residential Personnel Training. All CSCD direct care staff of a residential facility shall be provided at least 40 hours of documented professional skill based training per biennium. At least 20 training hours per biennium shall be applicable to the needs of the population served by the facility. All of the hours shall be approved by the CSCD Director. At least 20 of the hours per biennium must be approved by the TDCJ-CJAD director or his/her designee. The CSCD director shall have written policy regarding training records for each employee that are maintained to reflect the following: the number of training hours accrued, the type of training attended with supporting documentation, specification of the number of accrued hours that are approved by the CSCD Director, the number of accrued hours that are approved by the TDCJ-CJAD director, and the number of training hours carried over from one biennium to another. A maximum of 20 hours earned per biennium, which are in excess of the 40 required hours that biennium, may be carried over to the next biennium. All direct care staff of a residential facility shall receive training in the reintegration model training programs offered by the TDCJ-CJAD within the first anniversary of their hire date.

    1. (1) Initial Training Requirements. Within one year from the date of employment with the facility, all direct care staff shall receive initial training in the following areas: ethics; discrimination/sexual harassment issues; first aid procedures; cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) procedures; and HIV/AIDS education. Direct care staff shall continue to receive the necessary training as dictated by the guidelines of the granting authority that provided the initial training in first aid and CPR procedures.
    2. (2) Defensive Driving. All direct care staff, whose primary duties include transporting offenders, shall attend a defensive driving course within one year from date of employment. Direct care staff shall take defensive driving courses as needed to maintain certification.
11. (k) Supervision Officers of SAFPF Program Participants. Supervision officers who supervise participants in the substance abuse felony punishment facility (SAFPF) program shall be required to attend and complete TDCJ-CJAD approved training designed specifically for officers who supervise SAFPF program participants during the course of treatment in a SAFPF and in the continuum of care component of the SAFPF program. The required training shall be completed within 12 months of being assigned supervision of SAFPF program participants, unless TDCJ-CJAD has granted an extension for completion of the course work. Supervision officers who supervise SAFPF program participants as of the adoption date of this requirement and who have not attended the required training, must complete the training within 12 months of the adoption date.

Source Note:The provisions of this §163.33 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.