Health & Safety Code, Title 7, Chapter 614, Section § 614.017. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION. (a) An agency shall: (1) accept information relating to a special needs offender that is sent to the agency to serve the purposes of this chapter regardless of whether other state law makes that information confidential; and (2) disclose information relating to a special needs offender, including information about the offender's identity, needs, treatment, social, criminal, and vocational history, supervision status and compliance with conditions of supervision, and medical and mental health history, if the disclosure serves the purposes of this chapter. (b) Repealed by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 6, § 6. (c) In this section: (1) "Agency" includes any of the following entities and individuals, a person with an agency relationship with one of the following entities or individuals, and a person who contracts with one or more of the following entities or individuals: (A) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; (B) the Board of Pardons and Paroles; (C) the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation; (D) the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; (E) the Texas Youth Commission; (F) the Texas Rehabilitation Commission; (G) the Texas Education Agency; (H) the Criminal Justice Policy Council; (I) the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse; (J) the Commission on Jail Standards; (K) the Texas Department of Human Services; (L) the Texas Department on Aging; (M) the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired; (N) the Texas Department of Health; (O) the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; (P) community supervision and corrections departments; (Q) personal bond pretrial release offices established under Article 17.42, Code of Criminal Procedure; (R) local jails regulated by the Commission on Jail Standards; (S) a municipal or county health department; (T) a hospital district; (U) a judge of this state with jurisdiction over criminal cases; and (V) an attorney who is appointed or retained to represent a special needs offender. (2) "Special needs offender" includes an individual for whom criminal charges are pending or who after conviction or adjudication is in custody or under any form of criminal justice supervision. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, § 1.107, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 312, § 8, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1067, § 1, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1188, § 3.06, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 247, § 1, eff. May 22, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 6, § 1, 2, 6, eff. April 10, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 856, § 18, eff. Sept. 1, 2003. § 614.019. PROGRAMS FOR JUVENILES. The office, in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, the Texas Youth Commission, and the Texas Education Agency, may establish and maintain programs, building on existing successful efforts in communities, to address prevention, intervention, and continuity of care for juveniles with mental health and substance abuse disorders. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 328, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 856, § 19, eff. Sept. 1, 2003. § 614.020. YOUTH ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY TREATMENT PROGRAM. (a) The office may establish and maintain in Tarrant County an assertive community treatment program to provide treatment, rehabilitation, and support services to individuals in that county who: (1) are under 18 years of age; (2) have severe and persistent mental illness; (3) have a history of: (A) multiple hospitalizations; (B) poor performance in school; (C) placement in emergency shelters or residential treatment facilities; or (D) chemical dependency or abuse; and (4) have been placed on probation by a juvenile court. (b) The program must be modeled after other assertive community treatment programs established by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. The program is limited to serving not more than 30 program participants at any time. (c) If the office creates and maintains a program under this section, the office shall provide for the program a team of licensed or degreed professionals in the clinical treatment or rehabilitation field to administer the program. A team provided under this subsection must include: (1) a registered nurse to provide full-time direct services to the program participants; and (2) a psychiatrist available to the program for 10 or more hours each week. (d) In administering the program, the program's professional team shall: (1) provide psychiatric, substance abuse, and employment services to program participants; (2) maintain a ratio of one or more team members for each 10 program participants to the extent practicable; (3) be available to program participants during evening and weekend hours; (4) meet the needs of special populations; (5) maintain at all times availability for addressing and managing a psychiatric crisis of any program participant; and (6) cover the geographic areas served by the program. (e) The office and the program shall cooperate with or contract with local agencies to avoid duplication of services and to maximize federal Medicaid funding. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1499, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Health & Safety § 614.019 and amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 856, § 20, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.