A. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections is authorized to establish a substance abuse probation program within the department.

            B. The program shall provide counseling and treatment for defendants with substance abuse disorders, or defendants with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders, who are sentenced to substance abuse probation pursuant to the provisions of Article 903.2.

            C. The department may enter into cooperative endeavors or contracts with local governmental entities or the office of behavioral health, training facilities, and service providers to provide for substance abuse treatment and counseling and mental health treatment for defendants participating in the program.

            D. The department shall adopt rules and guidelines as it deems necessary for the administration and implementation of this program.

            E. The provisions of this Article shall be implemented only to the extent that funds are available within the department for this purpose and to the extent that is consistent with available resources and appropriate classification criteria.

            Acts 2013, No. 389, §1; Acts 2015, No. 199, §2; Acts 2018, No. 431, §1.

NOTE: Pursuant to the Section 2 of Act No. 199 of the 2015 R.S., the provisions of Articles 903 through 903.3 enacted by Section 4 of Act No. 389 of the 2013 R.S. shall become null, void, and have no effect on August 1, 2020, and thereafter.