Programs

The in-house Counseling Program targets those offenders who are 1) court-ordered to treatment for a misdemeanor and/or felony sex offense and supervised by officers with specialized Sex Offender caseloads or 2) those with substance abuse problems referred by their supervision officers and meeting certain criteria and placed on a specialized caseload of an officer designated for that purpose. The sex offender segment of probationers represents the apex of our non-residential Continuum of Sanctions and all participants in this category are supervised at the more restrictive level 1 or 2 of the 4-Tier Supervision System. Counseling consists of individual and group therapy sessions with the Staff Therapist, a Licensed Professional Counselor who is also a Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider. The Substance Abuse Program is administered by a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor under the supervision of the Staff Therapist. Probationers in this program progress through weekly group meetings and individual counseling sessions as necessary. This program lasts up to one year.

The Court Supervised Release Program supervises an offender awaiting trial and/or a hearing. This pretrial and/or presentence release service is funded by the Taylor County Commissioner’s Court.

The Educational Program provides in-house basic literacy and GED instruction. To link individual needs and instructional strategies, the program includes basic literacy skills, consisting of a computer literacy program, "Hooked on Phonics" by Gateway, and "Literacy to ABE" from Steck-Vaughn. The program also contains Adult Basic Education and GED. The computerized Educational Instructional Program (NCS Learn, a Program for Adults from CCC Destinations), "begins at the foundation level of literacy skills and continues through GED preparation." It also includes keyboarding and the Compton's Encyclopedia.

The Life Skills Program targets the unemployed probationer and any offender probated with hot checks and probationers who are three months, or more, delinquent with their court ordered financial obligations. In addition, defendants who are identified by means of the Case Classification System to be in need of the resource will be targeted, as will those offenders ordered by the court.

Two limited sized caseloads of high risk, high need probationers who have documented mental impairments, which may interfere with their ability to successfully complete supervision

The Intensive Supervision Program supervises felony offenders who have documented special risk or needs, i.e. employment, financial and substance abuse problems which are included in this department's profile of offenders historically committed to prison.

The Orientation, Intake and Transfer Unit Program does the intake/transfer procedure on every new offender at the time community supervision is granted. The process assures that complete and detailed information is initially available for appropriate assessment to ensure supervision dispositions to afford stability of probationer needs and community safety.

The Repeat DWI Program supervises offenders with a Motion to Dismiss a Motion to Revoke supervision because of an alcohol related violation; conviction of a subsequent alcohol related offense; a new alcohol related arrest/charge; positive UA screens for alcohol; or the conditions of supervision require an interlock device.

The Restitution Center Program is a 60 bed residential facility for male and female nonviolent property offenders which provides close supervision and a highly structured environment that promotes safety to the community and responsibility to the probationer. The average length of stay is approximately 8 months.

The Sex Offender Treatment Program provides therapy, counseling, and supervision for those offenders placed on community supervision for a misdemeanor or felony sex offense and ordered to treatment by the sentencing court. Treatment consists of individual and group therapy stressing individual responsibility for the offense, identifying thinking errors leading to the offense, and developing appropriate and effective interventions. Sex offenders placed in this program remain in treatment throughout their term of supervision and are closely monitored for compliance and progress. Treatment consists of weekly, bi-weekly, and/or monthly group attendance as well as individual sessions when required. The Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider conducting the treatment communicates often with the offender’s Community Supervision Officer.

The Substance Abuse Program is an in-house program targeting those probationers identified as having substance abuse issues. These offenders may be chemically dependent, chronic drug or alcohol users/abusers, or probationers who are recreational or experimental users. These offenders are referred by their supervision officer and placed on a specialized caseload and referred for treatment. Actual treatment is conducted by a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor under the supervision of the Staff Therapist. Treatment consists of weekly group meetings and individual sessions as needed. The program is approximately 1 year in length, but a probationer can complete the program in less time if evidencing adaptive behavior.

The Surveillance Program, in conjunction with Electronic Monitoring as a tool, provides intensive supervision to those offenders that are identified as a high risk. This program is used in our Continuum of Sanctions to provide a sentencing alternative to incarceration for felony offenders who violate their conditions of community supervision or might otherwise be sentenced to prison.

The Anger Management program is specifically designed to meet the needs of those probationers court-ordered to attend anger management therapy but also offers behavioral modification to those probationers identified as having difficulty in relationships at home or at work. Therapy is provided in the group setting and/or individually as deemed appropriate for selected clients and is conducted by the counseling department by the Staff Therapist or Substance Abuse Counselor, both identified as Certified Anger Resolution Therapists (CART). The program varies in length as determined by the staff.