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Lack of private beds shouldn't stop Texas from using treatment, diversion strategies

At a hearing this morning in reaction to testimony from TDCJ officials about difficulties finding new aftercare beds and delays in opening authorized treatment facilities, Chairmen Turner and Whitmire expressed concern that if TDCJ can't get all its allocated treatment beds online by the time the Legislature starts, a) somebody will try to raid the unspent money and b) it will be difficult to argue for expanding treatment programs.The debate, unfortunately, avoided discussion of the most obvious solution. A central aspect of the 2007 reforms was to rely entirely on privatized contracts to expand treatment capacity. The problem has come when literally no vendors at all bid on some of the contracts. TDCJ chief Brad Livingston replied that the supply of beds had dried up in the short run...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on October 01, 2008 (boomark / email).