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

   1. (1) Shall 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 shall have:

      1. (A) A minimum of one (1) year of graduate study in one (1) of the fields listed in (a)(2) of this rule; or
      2. (B) A minimum of one (1) 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 indicating the employee was the most qualified applicant at the time of hiring. Such letter shall be signed by the Community Supervision and Corrections Department (CSCD) director.
   3. (3) Cannot be employed as a peace officer or work as a reserve or volunteer peace officer; and
   4. (4) Cannot currently be on community supervision, parole or serving a sentence for a criminal offense.

2. (b) Training.

   1. (1) The CSCD directors and assistant directors, Community Corrections Facility (CCF) directors and assistant directors, CSO supervisory staff, CSOs and residential CSOs with less than four (4) years of experience shall complete not less than 80 documented hours of professional, skill-based training each biennium.

      1. (A) At least 40 of the hours shall be professional, skill-based training with topics related to the case management work of a CSO.
      2. (B) Up to 40 hours in excess of the 80 required hours may be carried over to the next biennium.
      3. (C) A certified CSO who fails to complete the required 80 hours of training within a biennium shall be ineligible to continue serving as a CSO until the required hours are completed. A CSO who is exempt from certification as defined in subsection (c)(4) of this rule and fails to complete the required 80 hours of training within a biennium, shall be ineligible to continue serving as a CSO until the required hours are completed.

   2. (2) CSCD directors and assistant directors, CCF directors and assistant directors, CSO supervisory staff, CSOs and residential CSOs with four (4) or more years of experience at the close of business on August 31 of any biennium, shall complete at least 40 documented hours of professional, skill-based training each biennium.

      1. (A) Up to two (2) of the four (4) years of required experience may have been earned through work in juvenile probation or parole, adult parole or similar work in other states. At least two (2) of the required four (4) years shall have been earned as a full-time, wage-earning officer in Texas community supervision. The required four (4) years need not be continuous.
      2. (B) Up to 20 hours in excess of the 40 required hours may be carried over to the next biennium.
      3. (C) A certified CSO who fails to complete the required 40 hours of training within a biennium shall be ineligible to serve as a CSO until the required hours are completed. A CSO who is exempt as defined in subsection (c)(4) of this rule from certification and fails to complete the required 40 hours of training within a biennium, shall be ineligible to serve as a CSO until the required hours are completed.

   3. (3) Training that meets the following criteria shall be considered professional, skill-based training:

      1. (A) The training program specifies behavioral learning objectives for the participants, as a result of the training program, and the participants learn a skill or gain specific knowledge in actual day-to-day community supervision work.
      2. (B) Case management topics may include, but not be limited to, knowledge that reinforces and/or updates a current skill, or are related to evidence based practices, motivational interviewing, progressive sanctions or specific knowledge to enhance the participants' performance. Professional, skill-based sessions are distinguished from information dissemination sessions.

   4. (4) The CSCD director or designee shall ensure that training records for all staff identified in subsections (b)(1) and (2) of this rule are maintained and available for Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Community Justice Assistance Division (TDCJ-CJAD) auditors. Those records shall reflect the following for each staff member:

      1. (A) The number of training hours accrued and the dates of the training;
      2. (B) The specific training programs attended with supporting documentation;
      3. (C) The number of accrued hours and the number of hours approved by the CSCD director as professional, skill-based training; and
      4. (D) The number of training hours carried over from one (1) biennium to another.

3. (c) New CSO Certification. A newly hired CSO shall complete the certification course work and achieve a passing grade on the certification examination within one (1) year of the beginning date of employment as a CSO.

   1. (1) A new, uncertified CSO who fails to achieve certification within one (1) year of the CSO's employment date may not continue to be employed as a CSO beyond the specific date by which the CSO is to have achieved certification unless the TDCJ-CJAD has granted an extension for the completion of course work and the examination as allowed by law.
   2. (2) A new, uncertified CSO, who completes the certification course work but fails to achieve a passing grade on the certification examination shall be allowed to take the examination a second time. A CSO who fails the examination a second time, shall complete the certification course work again before being allowed to take the examination for the third and final time.
   3. (3) CSOs are eligible to pursue certification two (2) years after the last testing date and are ineligible to supervise direct cases until certification is achieved.
   4. (4) A CSO who was employed by any CSCD in Texas on or before September 1, 1989 is exempt from the requirements of the certification program.
4. (d) Exempt CSO Certification. Certification course work and the certification examination shall be available to those CSOs who were appointed prior to September 2, 1989. An exempt CSO who wishes to be certified shall be given one (1) opportunity to pass the certification examination in order to be certified. If the exempt CSO fails the examination, the CSO shall complete the certification course work before attempting to pass the examination again.
5. (e) Residential CSO Certification. A residential CSO, who was employed or appointed as such on or after September 2, 1989, shall satisfactorily complete the residential certification course work and examination offered by the TDCJ-CJAD not later than the first anniversary of the date on which the CSO began employment with the CSCD residential facility. Provisions of subsections (b) through (g) of this rule shall also apply to any residential CSO.

6. (f) Recertification upon Re-employment.

   1. (1) A CSO who is subject to the certification provisions of subsection (c) of this rule and who leaves the employment of a Texas CSCD for more than one (1) year after having been employed as a CSO for one (1) year or longer is required to become recertified. Such recertification shall be accomplished within one (1) year of re-appointment through the CSO taking and achieving a passing grade on the CSO examination. If the CSO fails the examination, the CSO shall complete the CSO certification course work and achieve a passing grade on the examination to be recertified.
   2. (2) A CSO who is subject to the certification provisions of subsection (c) of this rule and who leaves the employment of a Texas CSCD for more than one (1) year after having been employed as a CSO for less than one (1) year shall be recertified. Such recertification shall be accomplished within one (1) year of re-appointment through the CSO's completion of the CSO certification course work and achieving a passing grade on the examination.
7. (g) Certification Status. A CSO who fails to maintain CSO certification or residential certification by not completing the required hours of training in accordance with subsection (b) of this rule is immediately ineligible to supervise direct cases until recertification is achieved. Recertification shall be immediately required by achieving a passing grade on the certification examination. An officer who fails the examination shall complete the certification course work for recertification.
8. (h) Dual Certifications. A residential CSO shall be certified as a CSO and obtain additional certification in residential service. A residential CSO shall complete both certification courses in the time frames specified in subsections (c) through (f) of this rule. However, a residential CSO needs only to complete 80 hours (or 40 hours for experienced CSOs and residential CSOs) of professional, skill-based training related to community supervision and residential programs per biennium as specified in subsection (b) of this rule to maintain both certifications.

9. (i) Residential Personnel Training.

   1. (1) Initial Training Requirements. Within one (1) year from the date of employment with the facility, all direct care staff shall receive initial training in ethics; discrimination/sexual harassment; first-aid procedures; cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) procedures; and HIV/AIDS education. Direct care staff shall continue to receive the training dictated by the guidelines of the granting authority that provided the initial training in first aid and CPR procedures.

   2. (2) All residential direct care staff, including vendor staff, of a residential facility, with less than four (4) years of experience at the close of business on August 31 of any biennium, shall be required to complete a minimum of 40 hours of documented professional, skill-based training per biennium.

      1. (A) A minimum of 20 training hours per biennium shall be specific to the needs of the offender population served by the facility.
      2. (B) Up to 20 hours in excess of the 40 required hours may be carried over to the next biennium. All direct care staff of a residential facility shall receive case management training offered by the TDCJ-CJAD before the first anniversary of their hire date.

   3. (3) Direct care residential staff with four (4) or more years experience at the close of business on August 31 of any biennium, shall be required to complete at least 20 documented hours of professional, skill-based training each biennium.

      1. (A) A maximum of two (2) years of prior employment as a correctional officer or direct care staff in a juvenile facility, jail, parole facility, state jail facility, prison, contract (private vendor) residential facility or similar work in a facility in another state may be counted toward the four (4) year experience requirement. At least two (2) of the required four (4) years shall have been as a full-time, wage earning direct care staff in a CCF funded by the TDCJ-CJAD in Texas. The required four (4) years need not be continuous.
      2. (B) The reduced number of hours of required professional, skill-based training for the direct care residential staff who have at least four (4) years of experience shall not affect or reduce the training requirements regarding CPR, first aid or defensive driving. A maximum of ten (10) hours earned in excess of the 20 required hours, may be carried over to the next biennium. Any member of the direct care residential staff who fails to complete the required 20 hours of training within a biennium shall be ineligible to serve as direct care residential staff until the required hours are completed.
   4. (4) Defensive Driving. All direct care staff whose primary duties include transporting offenders shall attend a defensive driving course by the first anniversary of their hire date. Direct care staff shall take defensive driving courses as needed to maintain certification.

   5. (5) The CSCD director shall have a written policy that requires the maintenance of training records for each employee and vendor staff that reflect:

      1. (A) The number of training hours accrued and the dates of the training;
      2. (B) The specific programs attended with supporting documentation;
      3. (C) The number of accrued hours and the number of hours approved by the CSCD director as professional, skill-based training; and
      4. (D) The number of training hours carried over from one (1) biennium to another.
10. (j) Supervision Officers of Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility (SAFPF) Program Participants. CSOs who supervise participants in the SAFPF program shall be required to attend and complete the 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 the TDCJ-CJAD has granted an extension for completion of the course work. CSOs who supervise SAFPF program participants as of the adoption date of this requirement and who have not attended the required training, shall 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; amended to be effective April 17, 2008, 33 TexReg 2961.