SPECIALIZED PROGRAMS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS

(a) The department shall develop specialized programs for children with a determinate sentence and children committed under Section 54.04013, Family Code. The programs must ensure safety and security for committed children and provide developmentally appropriate program strategies. (b) The department shall establish performance-based goals related to improved outcomes that: (1) must include measures to reduce recidivism; and (2) shall include other well-being outcome measures. (c) The department shall use case review strategies to identify children in department facilities who can safely and appropriately be transferred to alternative local placements or halfway houses, placed on parole, or discharged from the department. (d) The department shall study and report to the board on the potential for repurposing existing secure facilities for the confinement of children with a determinate sentence or children committed under Section 54.04013, Family Code, or for other purposes. (e) The department or any local probation department may use or contract with a facility that was constructed or previously used for the confinement of adult offenders if the department determines that the facility is appropriately retrofitted to accommodate youth-specific requirements and needs.