Texas currently has over 128,000 inmates housed in 109 secure facilities across the state

The U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded a $4,295,094 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for State Prisoners Formula Grant to the Governor, Texas Office Of The Office Of The Governor State Of Texas Division, doing business as Criminal Justice DIV. The grant will fund evidence-based substance use disorder treatment programs in Texas prisons and jails, with the goal of reducing future drug-related crime and supporting successful reentry of offenders into the community.

Under this award, the Texas Criminal Justice DIV will make subawards to state and local correctional facilities, including the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Juvenile Justice Department, and county governments. The subawards will support residential and jail-based RSAT programs that provide substance abuse treatment, counseling, life-skills instruction, academic programming, and employment/workforce training to an estimated 2,000 eligible incarcerated individuals, with a target of 1,200 successful program completions. The grant performance period is from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2027.

At the end of FY2022, 14% of the states incarcerated population at that time was serving a sentence for a direct drug related offense. Texas intends to address this problem through its residential substance abuse treatment (rsat) program which will target these incarcerated offenders whom are currently serving direct or indirect drug convictions and have a validated substance use disorder. The goal of texas' rsat program is to reduce future drug-related crime by implementing residential and jail-based rsat programs that provide offenders with substance abuse treatment, prepare offenders for reentry, and assist with reintegration into their community. The public safety office (PSO) of the texas office of the governor will make subawards available to agencies operating correctional/detention facilities including the texas department of criminal justice, texas juvenile justice department, and county governments operating local facilities. PSO administers the program in partnership with these entities and designs the program with their input. PSO subrecipients will provide substance abuse and other counseling, instruction and support for life-skills, academic programs, and employment or workforce training. Training, professional development or technical assistance for personnel who provide these services is also allowable. PSO will review subrecipient applications for compliance with program requirements including needs assessment and identification of eligible participants, treatment modalities, drug testing policies, and the expected number of offenders to enroll-in and complete the program. Successful applicants will receive awards for projects beginning on or after october 1, 2023 and ending on or before september 30, 2024. Each subrecipient will be required to provide performance data for review, analysis and reporting for the performance management tool (PMT). Texas primary objective is to continue to enhance the capabilities of state, local, or tribal governments to initiate or continue evidence-based substance use disorder or CO-occurring substance use and mental health disorder treatment programs in the states prisons and jails. Texas major deliverables are to provide substance abuse treatment services to 2,000 participants and having 1,200 participants successfully complete all requirements of the respective program with an anticipated outcome of reducing drug use and increasing successful reentry of offenders back into the community.