The Basic Supervision Program is operated from state funding in the form of per capita funds and fees collected from defendants that are supervised by the department. The Basic Supervision Program is the basic core service that the department operates. Defendants who have not been placed into a specialized program are supervised out of the basic supervision program. As a defendant is placed on probation he/she is classified according to risk and needs developed utilizing case classification tools and special assessment tools. Upon being assessed and evaluated, the defendant's supervision officer will write a supervision plan and will periodically evaluate and reassess the defendant in order to provide the most effective supervision. Efforts are made to identify any possible resources in the local communities that might aid or assist the defendant in his/her efforts to become a prosocial member of society. Officers, in their day-to-day supervision of the defendant, will monitor all aspects of the defendant's progress including compliance with court ordered conditions of probation, payment of court ordered fees and fines, and completion of court ordered community service restitution. Defendants who need special assistance or special needs are forwarded available resources within the community.

Programs that are operated within the Basic Supervision Program include the Community Service Restitution Program, DWI Education, Drug Offender Education, DWI Intervention classes, Anger Management, and theft by check classes. All of these classes are taught by supervision officers who have been certified in instructing the respective curriculum. Through collection of class participation fees, the classes are virtually cost free to the department's budget.

Sex offender counseling is also provided by the department for those defendants who have been convicted of an offense classified as a sex offense. Each defendant is ordered to attend counseling. The department contracts with a private counselor to provide these services. Also involving the sex offenders are programs such as sex offender registration, polygraph examinations, and the CODIS program. In these programs, sex offenders register with local law enforcement agencies and provide blood samples which are subsequently sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety for blood typing and entrance into the statewide DNA database. Polygraph examinations are provided by certified polygraph examiners whom the department contracts with. The department also employs a compliance officer who in conjunction with local law enforcement officials closely monitors sex offenders in the field through field visits and compliance checks.

The restitution collection program is a very important function of the department. Defendants, who have been ordered by the court to reimburse the injured party for any financial losses that may have been incurred, make regular payments though the Community Supervision and Corrections Department. These payments are then disbursed by the bookkeeping department on a monthly basis or as received by the department. Officers regularly monitor payments by defendants to insure that the victims of crime are properly and quickly reimbursed by the defendants.