Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4696 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R11580 UM-D
2	2	By: Olivo H.B. No. 4696
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the investigation and prevention of abuse, neglect, or
8	8	exploitation at certain facilities and homes in which individuals
9	9	with mental retardation reside and the collection and use of
10	10	information related to those investigations in an electronic
11	11	database.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 161, Human Resources Code,
14	14	is amended by adding Sections 161.076, 161.077, and 161.078 to read
15	15	as follows:
16	16	Sec. 161.076. ON-SITE SURVEYS OF CERTAIN PROVIDERS. At
17	17	least every 12 months, the department shall conduct an unannounced
18	18	on-site survey in each group or foster home at which a Home and
19	19	Community-based Services (HCS) provider provides services. The
20	20	department shall ensure that the home and provider comply with the
21	21	requirements of the Home and Community-based Services waiver
22	22	program as determined by the department.
23	23	Sec. 161.077. INTENSIVE OVERSIGHT OF CERTAIN FACILITIES.
24	24	(a) At least two times every 12 months, the department shall conduct
25	25	an unannounced investigation or on-site survey in a facility
26	26	licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, or a group or
27	27	foster home at which a Home and Community-based Services (HCS)
28	28	provider provides services if the facility or home meets the
29	29	intensive oversight criteria listed in Subsection (b). The
30	30	department may use the abuse, neglect, and exploitation prevention
31	31	database established under Section 161.078 to determine whether a
32	32	facility or home meets the intensive oversight criteria.
33	33	(b) A facility licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety
34	34	Code, or group or foster home at which a Home and Community-based
35	35	Services (HCS) provider provides services requires intensive
36	36	oversight if the facility or home:
37	37	(1) has failed to comply with regulatory requirements
38	38	related to the prevention of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of
39	39	individuals with mental retardation;
40	40	(2) has had multiple allegations of abuse, neglect,
41	41	and exploitation reported regarding the facility or home within the
42	42	previous 12 months;
43	43	(3) is the residence of an individual with mental
44	44	retardation who was transferred to the facility or home within the
45	45	previous 12 months; or
46	46	(4) in accordance with department rules, is the
47	47	residence of one or more individuals with mental retardation who
48	48	have an extraordinarily high level of need and care that
49	49	necessitates additional monitoring or attention.
50	50	Sec. 161.078. ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION PREVENTION
51	51	DATABASE. (a) The department and the Department of Family and
52	52	Protective Services jointly shall develop and maintain an
53	53	electronic database to collect and analyze information regarding
54	54	the investigation and prevention of abuse, neglect, and
55	55	exploitation of individuals with mental retardation who reside in a
56	56	facility licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, or in a
57	57	group or foster home at which a Home and Community-based Services
58	58	(HCS) provider provides services.
59	59	(b) The information collected in the database regarding
60	60	investigations must be detailed, easily retrievable, and include
61	61	information relating to abuse, neglect, and exploitation
62	62	investigations performed by either department and regulatory
63	63	investigations performed by the department that may be sorted by
64	64	home, provider, and facility. The database must allow the
65	65	department, in performing the department's regulatory functions,
66	66	to identify a home, provider, or facility that needs intensive
67	67	oversight as provided by Section 161.077.
68	68	(c) The database must facilitate the entry of required
69	69	information and the sharing of information between the department
70	70	and the Department of Family and Protective Services. At a minimum,
71	71	the database must include the following information regarding
72	72	investigations of abuse, neglect, or exploitation:
73	73	(1) the number of allegations of abuse, neglect, or
74	74	exploitation received relating to a facility or home; and
75	75	(2) the number of allegations relating to a facility
76	76	or home substantiated through an investigation.
77	77	(d) Each allegation involving a unique individual in a
78	78	facility or home is considered a separate allegation for purposes
79	79	of Subsection (c).
80	80	(e) The department shall ensure that information related to
81	81	findings concerning failure to comply with regulatory standards
82	82	directly related to the prevention of abuse, neglect, or
83	83	exploitation in a facility or home is collected and stored in the
84	84	database and may be disaggregated by home, provider, and facility.
85	85	(f) The department shall maintain information in the
86	86	database regarding the placement of individuals in a facility or
87	87	home who were transferred from a state school during the previous 12
88	88	months. At a minimum, this information must include the
89	89	individual's:
90	90	(1) severity of mental retardation;
91	91	(2) medical diagnosis and needs; and
92	92	(3) need for monitoring or attention to ensure the
93	93	individual receives sufficient care.
94	94	(g) The department and the Department of Family and
95	95	Protective Services may not release or distribute information in
96	96	the database in a form that contains personally identifiable
97	97	information related to an individual in a facility or home or to a
98	98	victim of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
99	99	SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
100	100	of this Act, the Department of Aging and Disability Services and the
101	101	Department of Family and Protective Services shall develop the
102	102	database required by Section 161.078, Human Resources Code, as
103	103	added by this Act.
104	104	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
105	105	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
106	106	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
107	107	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
108	108	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.