By: Rodriguez, et al. H.B. No. 1912
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 4, 2009;
May 6, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
and Human Services; May 13, 2009, reported favorably by the
following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 13, 2009, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Transitional Living Services Program and the
Preparation for Adult Living Program for foster children
transitioning to independent living.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 264.121, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 264.121. TRANSITIONAL [PREPARATION FOR ADULT] LIVING
SERVICES PROGRAM.
SECTION 2. Section 264.121, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-1), (d),
(e), and (f) to read as follows:
(a) The department shall address the unique challenges
facing foster children in the conservatorship of the department who
must transition to independent living by:
(1) expanding efforts to improve transition
[discharge] planning and increasing the availability of
transitional family group decision-making to all youth age 14 [16]
or older in the department's permanent managing conservatorship,
including enrolling the youth in the Preparation for Adult Living
Program before the age of 16;
(2) coordinating with the Health and Human Services
Commission to obtain authority, to the extent allowed by federal
law, the state Medicaid plan, the Title IV-E state plan, and any
waiver or amendment to either plan, necessary to:
(A) extend foster care eligibility and
transition services for youth up to age 21 and develop policy to
permit eligible youth to return to foster care as necessary to
achieve the goals of the Transitional Living Services [Preparation
for Adult Living] Program; and
(B) extend Medicaid coverage for foster care
youth and former foster care youth up to age 21 with a single
application at the time the youth leaves foster care; and
(3) entering into cooperative agreements with the
Texas Workforce Commission and local workforce development boards
to further the objectives of the Preparation for Adult Living
Program. The department, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the
local workforce development boards shall ensure that services are
prioritized and targeted to meet the needs of foster care and former
foster care children and that such services will include, where
feasible, referrals for short-term stays for youth needing housing.
(a-1) The department shall require a foster care provider to
provide or assist youth who are age 14 or older in obtaining
experiential life-skills training to improve their transition to
independent living. Experiential life-skills training must be
tailored to a youth's skills and abilities and may include training
in practical activities that include grocery shopping, meal
preparation and cooking, using public transportation, performing
basic household tasks, and balancing a checkbook.
(b) In this section:
(1) "Local [local] workforce development board" means
a local workforce development board created under Chapter 2308,
Government Code.
(2) "Preparation for Adult Living Program" means a
program administered by the department as a component of the
Transitional Living Services Program and includes independent
living skills assessment, short-term financial assistance, basic
self-help skills, and life-skills development and training
regarding money management, health and wellness, job skills,
planning for the future, housing and transportation, and
interpersonal skills.
(3) "Transitional Living Services Program" means a
program, administered by the department in accordance with
department rules and state and federal law, for youth who are age 14
or older but not more than 21 years of age and are currently or were
formerly in foster care, that assists youth in transitioning from
foster care to independent living. The program provides
transitional living services, Preparation for Adult Living Program
services, and Education and Training Voucher Program services.
(d) The department shall allow a youth who is at least 18
years of age to receive transitional living services, other than
foster care benefits, while residing with a person who was
previously designated as a perpetrator of abuse or neglect if the
department determines that despite the person's prior history the
person does not pose a threat to the health and safety of the youth.
(e) The department shall ensure that each youth acquires a
certified copy of the youth's birth certificate, a social security
card or replacement social security card, as appropriate, and a
personal identification certificate under Chapter 521,
Transportation Code, on or before the date on which the youth turns
16 years of age. The department shall designate one or more
employees in the Preparation for Adult Living Program as the
contact person to assist a youth who has not been able to obtain the
documents described by this subsection in a timely manner from the
youth's primary caseworker. The department shall ensure that:
(1) all youth who are age 16 or older are provided with
the contact information for the designated employees; and
(2) a youth who misplaces a document provided under
this subsection receives assistance in obtaining a replacement
document or information on how to obtain a duplicate copy, as
appropriate.
(f) The department shall require a person with whom the
department contracts for transitional living services for foster
youth to provide or assist youth in obtaining:
(1) housing services;
(2) job training and employment services;
(3) college preparation services;
(4) services that will assist youth in obtaining a
general education development certificate; and
(5) any other appropriate transitional living service
identified by the department.
SECTION 3. (a) To achieve the best possible outcomes for
foster care youth transitioning to independent living, the
Department of Family and Protective Services shall:
(1) examine and identify, both in this state and in
other states, the best practices for an individualized approach to
services for foster care youth transitioning to independent living
that considers the skills and abilities of each youth and provides
opportunities for self-determination;
(2) establish a transitional living services
workgroup that includes former foster care youth, providers of
life-skills and after-care services, court-appointed special
advocates, and other persons with expertise in the needs of
transition-age youth to assist the department; and
(3) develop a comprehensive transitional living
services plan to improve the department's Transitional Living
Services Program that incorporates the best practices identified
under Subdivision (1) of this subsection and the recommendations of
the transitional living services workgroup created under
Subdivision (2) of this subsection and assists the department in:
(A) ensuring that each foster youth who is age 16
or older receives an individual assessment of the youth's
developmental needs and future goals to be used to develop an
individualized transitional living services plan, tailored to the
youth;
(B) modifying the Preparation for Adult Living
Program training curriculum to include online training options and
a selection of training modules that may be selected to meet the
needs of an individual youth; and
(C) ensuring that transitional living services
are appropriate and meet the individual and specialized needs of a
foster care youth with disabilities.
(b) Not later than September 1, 2010, the Department of
Family and Protective Services shall submit to the legislature a
report that includes:
(1) the transitional living services plan developed
under Subsection (a) of this section;
(2) any recommended statutory changes necessary to
implement the transitional living services plan; and
(3) a request for any additional funding necessary for
implementation of the transitional living services plan.
SECTION 4. If before implementing any provision of this Act
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
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