COUNCIL & INTERAGENCY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (IAC) The Council on Sex Offender Treatment (CSOT) and the Interagency Advisory Committee (IAC) met At 1:00 p.m. on February 26, 2003 at Hyatt Regency Hotel @ Reunion 300 Reunion Boulevard, Dallas, Texas The meeting was delayed until 5:00 p.m. from 1:00 p.m. due to inclement weather. I. Call to order, Chairperson, Walter J. Meyer, III, M.D. Dr. Meyer called the meeting to order at 5:10 p.m. II. Introduction of Members, Guests, and Staff. Council Members Present: Walter J. Meyer, III, M.D. Maria Molett Liles Arnold Pat Lykos Interagency Advisory Committee (IAC) Present: Due to inclement weather and budget constraints no IAC members present. TDH Staff Present: Allison Taylor Jose Paiz Jim Zukowski David Richards Public Present: Lee Kicker Steve Scales Michelle Broselow Sean Braun Robert Lyons Lawrin Dean III. Approval of Meeting Minutes from October 17, 2002. Liles Arnold moved the minutes be accepted as presented, Pat Lykos seconded the motion, all were in favor. IV. Council Chairperson's Report. Dr. Meyer reported to the Council the statements recently made by Mr. Rick Bays, Associate Commissioner Consumer Health Protection, concerning the state budget crisis and its impact on the Council. Mr. Bays began by telling the Council the Department of Health was to receive a 12% cut and that cut probably wouldn't directly affect the Council per se except to the extent that they must change their travel policy: no out of state travel will be funded and he asked that most in state travel be restricted so that all the meetings of the Council would be in Austin. Secondly, he discussed the meeting that occurred on February 14, 2003 to review the possibility of joining the 4 mental health boards that are in the Department of Health which include Social Work, LPC board, Marriage and Family Therapy and The Council. The various ways of doing that was discussed and the boards agreed that the best possible way to merge and gain significant cost savings without destroying their functions was to utilize the merger plan that had been done between occupational therapy and physical therapy at the state level. This model divides the functions of each board into 2 parts, Professional functions, such as sanctions and rules policy would stay intact with the independent boards doing that. Administrative functions, particularly those that would involve investigations, registrations and certifications would be joined under a central office. This would give considerable convenience to our providers; if they had licenses under several boards, all the registrations could be done at one time with one computer system. Several lobbyists representing Social Work and LPC were also present at the meeting; after the chairs agreed to go forward with this possible design, they agreed to begin to draft a bill and look for someone to carry that bill for them in the current legislative session. If this bill passes, the Council will move outside of the Department of Health with the other 3 boards and be independent. Whether or not this would result in significant cost savings is not clear, but it should have a significant fiscal impact demonstrating at least savings in the administrative functions of all 4 boards. Civil Commitment would have to follow with the Council as would Council's education functions, which the other boards do not have. Those activities would remain the same. The bill would also have to try to maintain the $70,000 the legislature currently pays to underwrite part of the registration cost of individuals who are registered sex offenders, without the $70,000, registration would probably cost well over $500 and very few people would actually register to become sex offender therapists. Council on independent licensing boards meeting also had a presentation from the TDH Central Investigations Unit. They showed a significant reduction backlog in investigations. The Council has several outstanding cases, the longest outstanding case is Mr. David Navarre. Recently, a formal hearing was held and Mr. Navarre did not appear. The Council has sought to revoke his registration thru a default order. Mr. Bays notified Dr. Meyer on 2-18-03 Civil Commitment would not be listed under the base budget of the Health Department, but they are requesting extra funds for civil commitment. Dr. Meyer was not surprised that civil commitment is not considered part of the major mission of the Health Department, however; "It does put us in a defensive posture as far as protecting civil commitment." At the hearing, Mr. Bays and the head of the Health Department, Dr. Eduardo Sanchez testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. They reported to the subcommittee that civil commitment was not part of the departments main mission and there was some open discussion about not supporting civil commitment and not funding it. Dr. Meyer stated it would be a terrible disaster if civil commitment was not funded, but yet still existed. Dr. Meyer subsequently learned that the Department of Health has requested if the Governor is not going to fund civil commitment to abolish it, repeal the law under which it was set up. V. Division Director's Report. Jim Zukowski handed out budget worksheets and discussed TDH's budget and other programs that were below the base budget. The Council expressed it's displeasure with TDH in that the Council wasn't notified of the meeting time/date of the HAC Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. VI. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Council recommendations for the upcoming Legislative session, and 78th Legislative Report from Legal Counsel. The Council discussed TDH's statement and recommendation that Civil Commitment is not a critical program and that it not be placed in the proposed TDH base budget. Dr. Sanchez spoke before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services on February 19, 2003 and stated the Civil Commitment program does not fit into the mission of TDH. The Council expressed it's displeasure with TDH in that the Council wasn't notified of the meeting time/date of the HAC Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. The testimony concluded with Representative Wohlgemuth suggesting that the Civil Commitment be eliminated or moved to another agency. Council discussed the necessity of taking a pro-active stance regarding the future of the Civil Commitment Program. Dr. Meyer wanted to schedule a meeting with Dr. Sanchez regarding the position of TDH and CSOT. Council members discussed the necessity of educating and providing information to Representatives and Senators regarding the Civil Commitment program. Dr. Meyer reported that at the last meeting of Mental Health Boards that LPC, Social Work, and Marriage and Family Therapy programs agreed to work toward moving away from TDH and forming a combined Independent, stand alone agency. The new agency would have a combined board that deals with administrative issues, while the 4 independent boards would handle rules and enforcement actions. VII. Update on Multidisciplinary Team. Maria Molett updated the Council on the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT). The MDT team has reviewed 1,704 cases; 327 referrals were made for behavioral abnormality assessment; 317 expert assessments have been received; 2 were deemed ineligible; 225 were referred to the Special Prosecution Unit; 92 were not referred; SPU has filed 58 petitions, 164 were declined; 3 cases are pending review; 25 offenders have been committed; 18 non-suited; 8 pending trail, 2 not committed and 5 abated. VIII. Executive Director's Report. Allison Taylor reported the following: * There are 373 RSOTP's; 14 new registrants (9 RSOTP and 5 ASOTP); 5 pending applications (4 RSOTP and 1 ASOTP). * There have been 4 complaints received since the last Council Meeting. 11 complaints were closed with no violations 5 complaints are pending. *Council Activities: Monthly meetings with DPS, TDCJ, and SPU are continuing. CSOT created a new combined SVP list with the information from SPU, DPS, and TDCJ. First Audit was conducted on Central Case Files and corrective measures for deficiency are in place. CSOT met with TDCJ-Private Facilities and Sheriff Frasier separately regarding Halfway House Placement of SVP's. CSOT met with TDH computer support to update the SVP software. New Case Manager training was conducted February 1-2, 2003. The Case Managers received GPS training for the first time. CSOT will hold GPS training on March 21, 2003. GPS Power Point was created. DPS has chosen not to participate in the training. Discussed meeting with DPS regarding increasing coordination and communication regarding SVP violations. Dr. Meyer discussed the Interagency Agreement between CSOT and DPS. He would like it amended to include access to GPS software for the Council. Dr. Meyer discussed Lee Kicker's GPS presentation on February 26, 2003. David Richards discussed that it is not necessary to amend the Interagency Agreement with the GPS language to receive this information because of the Health and Safety Code law (§841.142). As of February 26, 2003, there are 25 individuals who have been civilly committed as Sexually Violent Predators. 14 are in custody due to failing to abide by civil commitment orders 8 are active in the program 1 is deceased 1 is an absconder 2 pending trials New statistical data with TDH Office of Health Information and Analysis will historically track the RSOPT's by County (Ratio of RSOPT's per 100,000 population). IX. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the approval of Standardized forms relating to GPS Terms and Conditions and GPS Activity Schedule. Allison Taylor reported the need to give written documentation to each SVP in the program regarding the terms of the tracking service and an updated activity schedule for the Case Managers. Dr. Meyer motioned to approve. Liles Arnold seconded the motion. All were in favor. X. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the payment to Treatment Providers for various billable services. Allison Taylor reported that treatment providers for SVP's were not being reimbursed for collateral contacts with Case Managers, DPS, or Supervised living staff. Maria Molett suggested a billable hourly rate. Dr. Meyer motioned to approve. Liles Arnold seconded the motion. All were in favor. XI. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the elimination of assessment and supervision plans for case managers and related legal issues. Allison Taylor discussed that TDCJ had eliminated both the assessment and supervision plan for parolees and these forms were excessive work with little value for the Case Manager. Assessment were already completed by the RSOTP so it was not necessary to have the Case Manager complete an assessment. Dr.Meyer motioned to approve, Liles seconded the motion. All were in favor of continuing to use the supervision plan. XII. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Civil Commitment administrative problems associated with a flat discharge SVP versus SVP's on Parole, and related legal issues. Allison Taylor reported problems with finding housing for SVP's who have discharged supervision. David Richards and Allison Taylor met with Sheriff Frasier regarding spot purchasing work release beds. Sheriff Frasier was interested but was concerned about the legal issues regarding incarceration. David Richards explained that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld incarceration of civilly committed individuals. David Richards' paralegal is conducting research to provide Sheriff Frasier with information to present to the Travis County Commissioners for approval of such spot purchases. CSOT would like to be able to utilize county work release programs, as transitional housing for SVP's and this would allow the client to return to their legal county of residence. No Action was taken on this topic. XIII. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the payment of costs associated with transporting SVP's to Treatment Sessions and related legal issues. Allison Taylor reported transportation problems that the Council is experiencing in Houston, Texas with getting the SVP's to the treatment provider's office. She also reported the public safety issue with offenders riding the bus during the late night hours. Judge Lykos motioned to give the Executive Director latitude to resolve these issues. Maria Molett seconded the motion. All were in favor. XIV. Discussion and Possible Action regarding establishing an inactive RSOTP status. No action was taken. XV. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Treatment Guidelines developed by the Sex Offender Management Program Grant and related legal issues. No action was taken. XVI. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Treatment Plans for the mentally retarded and mentally ill SVP population. No discussion or action with this item. Liles Arnold will develop the Treatment Plan. XVII. Discussion and Possible Action regarding potential housing options for SVP's and related legal issues. Discussion of this topic was combined with item XII. XVIII. Demonstration and Presentation of Global Positioning Systems. Lee Kicker of Pro Tech conducted a demonstration of Global Positioning Systems Active Unit used in tracking SVP's. XIX. Public Comment. Norma Reed, and an RSOTP, expressed concerns and disappointment that TDH had cut Civil Commitment from TDH budget. She stated that the Civil Commitment program is a critical program and it is essential to public safety. She also stated she will be in contact with MSW association regarding this issue. XX. Presentation of Future Agenda Items. No discussion or presentation on this item. XXI. Discussion of Future Conferences. Dr. Meyer reported that due to budget constraints TDH has explained that in-state and out-of-state travel will be limited and that we should look at holding the next Adult Conference in Austin. Michelle of Sam Houston State University explained that conferences in Austin typically do not do fair well economically that hotels typically will not accommodate the State rate as a result of her report, Dr. Meyer motioned for approval to have the 12th Annual Adult Conference in Galveston, Texas. Liles Arnold seconded the motion. All were in favor. XXII. Discussion of Future Meeting Dates. David Richards suggested in mid April due to the Legislative Session and more information would be known at that time. The Council will discuss the next meeting date at a later time. XXIII. Adjournment. The meeting began on February 26, 2003 and recessed at 7:30 p.m. The council reconvened at 5:15 p.m. on February 27, 2003 and was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. For more information, contact: Lupe Ruedas, Administrative Assistant G:\CSOT\CSOT MAIN Directory\AGENDA\FY 01,02,03\Council meeting\Feb 2003\Feb. Council &IAC meeting-minutes.DOC COUNCIL ON SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT 1100 WEST 49TH STREET AUSTIN, TEXAS 78756-3183 (512) 834-4530 (512) 834-4511 - FAX Walter J. Meyer, III, MD, Chair COUNCIL MEMBERS Allison Taylor Galveston, Texas Executive Director Liles Arnold, LPC Kristy M. Carr, Public Member Judge Patricia Rae Lykos Richard Mack, M.Div, LMFT Maria Molett, MA, LPC Richardson, Texas Austin, Texas Houston, Texas Lubbock, Texas Garland, Texas