"At every opportunity we are going to try to shift spending from the back end of the system, which is prison, to the front end -- investments in prevention and treatment," said Texas House Corrections Committee chairman Rep. Ray Allen (R-Grand Prairie). "It is more cost-effective and will better protect the public."

The change of heart has simple roots: Texas cannot afford to build any more prisons, and wants to keep the prison beds it has available for violent criminals.

State prison officials are asking for $27 million to create 500 new treatment beds, along with $28 million to hire more probation officers. Officials said that the key to making probation work is to ensure that former inmates get the supervision and services they need so they don't return to prison -- as 54 percent did last year, mostly for technical parole violations like failing drug tests for failing to report to their parole officer.

Between 2001 and 2004, the percentage of parolees returned to prison for such violations increased 18 percent. "We put so many on probation for so long, they get no supervision," said Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee chair Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston). "We need to shorten time frames and give meaningful supervision to give the judges an alternative."

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