An Audit Report on Parole Division Operations at the Department of Criminal Justice Page: 19 of 43
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WarraiChapter 2-B
Training Provided to Officers Who Oversee Specialized Caseloads
Generally Occurs as Required and Is Consistent with Department
Policy; However, the Department Should Improve Its Therapeutic
Community Training
The Department's training database shows that most parole officers who
oversee a specialized caseload have completed the required Specialized
Officer Supervision School (SOSS) training. Auditors reviewed
ecialized Officer Supervision the training completed by the specialized officers as of March
Schools (SOSS) 2010 (see text box for more information about SOSS training) in
raining consists of one-week courses the training database. Specifically:
l parole officers who oversee
lized caseloads are required to
ete according to Department policy. - Ninety (97 percent) of 93 parole officers tested who supervised
March 2010, the Department offered
lowing SOSS courses: sex offenders had completed the required SOSS training.
cial Needs Offender Program
ning. This included training for - Sixty-three (98 percent) of 64 Special Needs Offender Program
ntally impaired, mentally retarded, parole officers tested had completed the required SOSS
finally ill, or physically
dicapped offenders. training.
offender training.
er-Intensive Supervision " Seventy-nine (98 percent) of 81 Super-Intensive Supervision
gram/electronic monitoring Program/electronic monitoring parole officers tested had
ning.
rapeutic Community training. This completed the required SOSS training.
uded training for officers who
rsee offenders with substance * Forty-seven (96 percent) of 49 Therapeutic Community parole
ise issues. officers tested had completed the required SOSS training.
pants must pass a class test to
ate. The classes are taught by
duals in the Parole Division's In addition, for all 30 parole officers tested who had attended
lized Programs Department and SOSS training, the Department had documentation confirming
nts Section.
their attendance and graduation from the required SOSS class.
While Department policy states that parole officers who oversee a specialized
caseload should take the next available SOSS class related to the category of
offender being supervised, the Department did not consistently offer these
classes on a regular basis. For example, during fiscal year 2009, there was a
gap of more than five months between SOSS classes for Therapeutic
Community officers and a gap of nearly nine months between SOSS classes
for Super-Intensive Supervision Program/electronic monitoring officers.
Auditors reviewed the Department's curriculum for all four SOSS classes
offered as of March 2010 and determined that the curriculum aligns with the
related policies for caseload ratios, offender contacts, and drug testing.
Survey results indicated that parole officers find SOSS training to be useful.
Of the 347 specialized parole officers who responded to the auditors' survey
statement on overall SOSS training, 190 (55 percent) agreed that SOSS
training overall prepared them for their responsibilities as a parole officer with
a specialized caseload. A total of 235 (67 percent) of the 350 specialized
An Audit Report on Parole Division Operations at the Department of Criminal Justice
SAO Report No. 11-008
October 2010
Page 14
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Texas. Office of the State Auditor. An Audit Report on Parole Division Operations at the Department of Criminal Justice, report, October 2010; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth518090/m1/19/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.