81R11580 UM-D
By: Olivo H.B. No. 4696
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the investigation and prevention of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation at certain facilities and homes in which individuals
with mental retardation reside and the collection and use of
information related to those investigations in an electronic
database.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 161, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Sections 161.076, 161.077, and 161.078 to read
as follows:
Sec. 161.076. ON-SITE SURVEYS OF CERTAIN PROVIDERS. At
least every 12 months, the department shall conduct an unannounced
on-site survey in each group or foster home at which a Home and
Community-based Services (HCS) provider provides services. The
department shall ensure that the home and provider comply with the
requirements of the Home and Community-based Services waiver
program as determined by the department.
Sec. 161.077. INTENSIVE OVERSIGHT OF CERTAIN FACILITIES.
(a) At least two times every 12 months, the department shall conduct
an unannounced investigation or on-site survey in a facility
licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, or a group or
foster home at which a Home and Community-based Services (HCS)
provider provides services if the facility or home meets the
intensive oversight criteria listed in Subsection (b). The
department may use the abuse, neglect, and exploitation prevention
database established under Section 161.078 to determine whether a
facility or home meets the intensive oversight criteria.
(b) A facility licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety
Code, or group or foster home at which a Home and Community-based
Services (HCS) provider provides services requires intensive
oversight if the facility or home:
(1) has failed to comply with regulatory requirements
related to the prevention of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of
individuals with mental retardation;
(2) has had multiple allegations of abuse, neglect,
and exploitation reported regarding the facility or home within the
previous 12 months;
(3) is the residence of an individual with mental
retardation who was transferred to the facility or home within the
previous 12 months; or
(4) in accordance with department rules, is the
residence of one or more individuals with mental retardation who
have an extraordinarily high level of need and care that
necessitates additional monitoring or attention.
Sec. 161.078. ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION PREVENTION
DATABASE. (a) The department and the Department of Family and
Protective Services jointly shall develop and maintain an
electronic database to collect and analyze information regarding
the investigation and prevention of abuse, neglect, and
exploitation of individuals with mental retardation who reside in a
facility licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, or in a
group or foster home at which a Home and Community-based Services
(HCS) provider provides services.
(b) The information collected in the database regarding
investigations must be detailed, easily retrievable, and include
information relating to abuse, neglect, and exploitation
investigations performed by either department and regulatory
investigations performed by the department that may be sorted by
home, provider, and facility. The database must allow the
department, in performing the department's regulatory functions,
to identify a home, provider, or facility that needs intensive
oversight as provided by Section 161.077.
(c) The database must facilitate the entry of required
information and the sharing of information between the department
and the Department of Family and Protective Services. At a minimum,
the database must include the following information regarding
investigations of abuse, neglect, or exploitation:
(1) the number of allegations of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation received relating to a facility or home; and
(2) the number of allegations relating to a facility
or home substantiated through an investigation.
(d) Each allegation involving a unique individual in a
facility or home is considered a separate allegation for purposes
of Subsection (c).
(e) The department shall ensure that information related to
findings concerning failure to comply with regulatory standards
directly related to the prevention of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation in a facility or home is collected and stored in the
database and may be disaggregated by home, provider, and facility.
(f) The department shall maintain information in the
database regarding the placement of individuals in a facility or
home who were transferred from a state school during the previous 12
months. At a minimum, this information must include the
individual's:
(1) severity of mental retardation;
(2) medical diagnosis and needs; and
(3) need for monitoring or attention to ensure the
individual receives sufficient care.
(g) The department and the Department of Family and
Protective Services may not release or distribute information in
the database in a form that contains personally identifiable
information related to an individual in a facility or home or to a
victim of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Department of Aging and Disability Services and the
Department of Family and Protective Services shall develop the
database required by Section 161.078, Human Resources Code, as
added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.