Amend SB 1630 (house committee printing) as follows:

(1)  On page 3, lines 22-24, strike "community, as documented in a validated needs assessment conducted by the juvenile probation department serving the court." and substitute "community. The court should consider the findings of a validated risk and needs assessment and the findings of any other appropriate professional assessment available to the court."

(2)  On page 4, strike lines 4-6 and substitute the following:

(3)  On page 4, line 9, between "counties," and "or", insert "halfway houses,".

(4)  On page 5, line 1, strike "developed regional model" and substitute "regionalization plan".

(5)  On page 5, line 24, strike "may" and substitute "shall".

(6)  On page 6, lines 1-2, strike "probation or parole, or otherwise released under supervision" and substitute "parole, or discharged from the department".

(7)  On page 6, between lines 7 and 8, insert the following:

(8)  On page 6, line 21, between "initiate" and "the", insert "and support".

(9)  On page 7, line 10, strike "Section 261.101(e), Human Resources Code, is" and substitute "Sections 261.101(a) and (e), Human Resources Code, are".

(10)  On page 7, between lines 11 and 12, insert the following:

(a)  The independent ombudsman shall:

(1)  review the procedures established by the board and evaluate the delivery of services to children to ensure that the rights of children are fully observed;

(2)  review complaints filed with the independent ombudsman concerning the actions of the department and investigate each complaint in which it appears that a child may be in need of assistance from the independent ombudsman;

(3)  conduct investigations of complaints, other than complaints alleging criminal behavior, if the office determines that:

(A)  a child committed to the department or the child's family may be in need of assistance from the office; or

(B)  a systemic issue in the department's provision of services is raised by a complaint;

(4)  review or inspect periodically the facilities and procedures of any institution or residence in which a child has been placed by the department, whether public or private, to ensure that the rights of children are fully observed;

(5)  provide assistance to a child or family who the independent ombudsman determines is in need of assistance, including advocating with an agency, provider, or other person in the best interests of the child;

(6)  review court orders as necessary to fulfill its duties;

(7)  recommend changes in any procedure relating to the treatment of children committed to the  department;

(8)  make appropriate referrals under any of the duties and powers listed in this subsection;

(9)  supervise assistants who are serving as advocates in their representation of children committed to the department in internal administrative and disciplinary hearings;

(10)  review reports received by the department relating to complaints regarding juvenile probation programs, services, or facilities and analyze the data contained in the reports to identify trends in complaints; [and]

(11)  report a possible standards violation by a local juvenile probation department to the appropriate division of the department; and

(12)  immediately report the findings of any investigation related to the operation of a post-adjudication correctional facility in a county to the chief juvenile probation officer and the juvenile board of the county.