Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB69 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R32964 MCK-D
2	2	By: Nelson, et al. S.B. No. 69
3	3	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 69:
4	4	By: Rose C.S.S.B. No. 69
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to child protective services and foster care.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
12	12	amended by adding Section 264.015 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 264.015. COLOCATION OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES. (a) In
14	14	this section, "conservatorship services" has the meaning assigned
15	15	by Section 264.106.
16	16	(b) To the extent feasible, the department may contract with
17	17	child-placing agencies throughout the state for the child-placing
18	18	agencies to provide office space for department employees who
19	19	provide conservatorship services and employees who perform
20	20	licensing functions.
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 264.101, Family Code, is amended by
22	22	adding Subsections (g) and (h) to read as follows:
23	23	(g) The department shall study the feasibility of
24	24	implementing a financial incentive program to encourage foster
25	25	children to achieve and maintain the progress goals set under each
26	26	child's individualized treatment or service plan. At a minimum,
27	27	the study must include an analysis of the cost, benefits, and types
28	28	of incentives that would be of value to foster children. Not later
29	29	than December 1, 2010, the department shall report its findings and
30	30	recommendations to the speaker of the house of representatives, the
31	31	lieutenant governor, the House Human Services Committee or its
32	32	successor, and the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services or
33	33	its successor. This subsection expires January 1, 2011.
34	34	(h) The commission shall coordinate with the department to
35	35	study the feasibility of making changes to the foster care
36	36	assessment, placement, and reimbursement methodologies to improve
37	37	outcomes for children in foster care. At a minimum, the study must
38	38	include an analysis of those children who are classified as needing
39	39	the highest level of care, an analysis of the ways in which children
40	40	can be effectively assessed and placed in substitute care with the
41	41	least impact to the child and substitute care provider during any
42	42	change of placement, an analysis of the service level of care system
43	43	and how related placement moves impact children, and an estimate of
44	44	the amount of money necessary to implement the proposed changes.
45	45	Not later than September 1, 2010, the commission shall report its
46	46	findings and recommendations to the speaker of the house of
47	47	representatives, the lieutenant governor, the House Human Services
48	48	Committee or its successor, and the Senate Committee on Health and
49	49	Human Services or its successor. The department shall consider
50	50	recommendations from the report required under this subsection when
51	51	developing the department's request for legislative appropriations
52	52	to be considered by the 82nd Legislature. This subsection expires
53	53	January 1, 2011.
54	54	SECTION 3. Section 264.1075, Family Code, is amended by
55	55	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
56	56	(c) In performing a service level review of a child, the
57	57	department shall consider as part of the review whether, during the
58	58	90 days preceding the date of the review, the child engaged in
59	59	behavior that caused life-threatening injury to the child or
60	60	another individual or has undergone a psychiatric hospitalization.
61	61	SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
62	62	amended by adding Sections 264.119 and 264.120 to read as follows:
63	63	Sec. 264.119. NOTICE OF CHANGE OF PLACEMENT. (a) Except
64	64	in the case of an emergency or as otherwise provided by a court
65	65	order, the department must provide written notice to the substitute
66	66	care provider and any child-placing agency involved with the child
67	67	before the department may change the child's substitute care
68	68	provider.
69	69	(b) The department must provide the notice required under
70	70	Subsection (a) not later than the fifth day before the date the
71	71	child's substitute care provider is changed.
72	72	Sec. 264.120. EXIT SURVEY. (a) The department shall adopt
73	73	a policy that provides for an exit survey of each foster parent who
74	74	decides to leave the foster care system.
75	75	(b) The department shall encourage the foster parent to
76	76	state in the foster parent's own words the reasons why the foster
77	77	parent decided to leave the foster care system.
78	78	(c) Not later than December 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
79	79	department shall submit a report summarizing the results of the
80	80	exit surveys to the speaker of the house of representatives, the
81	81	lieutenant governor, the House Human Services Committee or its
82	82	successor, and the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services or
83	83	its successor.
84	84	SECTION 5. Section 264.121, Family Code, is amended by
85	85	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
86	86	(d) The department shall ensure that each individual
87	87	enrolled in the Preparation for Adult Living Program receives
88	88	information about the community resources that are available in the
89	89	county in which the individual intends to reside to assist the
90	90	individual in obtaining employment, job training, educational
91	91	services, housing, food, and health care. If there are no community
92	92	resources available in the county in which the individual intends
93	93	to reside, the department shall ensure that the individual receives
94	94	information about any community resources that are available in the
95	95	surrounding counties.
96	96	SECTION 6. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
97	97	amended by adding Section 264.123 to read as follows:
98	98	Sec. 264.123. FOSTER PARENT MENTOR PILOT PROGRAM. The
99	99	department shall establish a pilot program under which the foster
100	100	parents of a child may provide mentoring services to the child's
101	101	parents to assist the child's parents in complying with the terms of
102	102	the service plan.
103	103	SECTION 7. Subchapter A, Chapter 263, Family Code, is
104	104	amended by adding Section 263.007 to read as follows:
105	105	Sec. 263.007. FOSTER CHILDREN'S BILL OF RIGHTS. (a) In
106	106	this section:
107	107	(1) "Agency foster group home," "agency foster home,"
108	108	"facility," "foster group home," and "foster home" have the
109	109	meanings assigned by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
110	110	(2) "Foster care" means the placement of a child who is
111	111	in the conservatorship of the department or an authorized agency
112	112	and in care outside the child's home in an agency foster group home,
113	113	agency foster home, foster group home, foster home, or another
114	114	facility licensed or certified under Chapter 42, Human Resources
115	115	Code, in which care is provided for 24 hours a day.
116	116	(3) "Foster children's bill of rights" means a list of
117	117	rights described by Subsection (b).
118	118	(b) It is the policy of this state that each child in foster
119	119	care be informed of the child's rights under state or federal law or
120	120	policy that relate to:
121	121	(1) abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, and
122	122	harassment;
123	123	(2) food, clothing, shelter, and education;
124	124	(3) medical, dental, vision, and mental health
125	125	services, including when the child may have the right to consent to
126	126	treatment;
127	127	(4) emergency behavior intervention, including what
128	128	methods are permitted and not permitted, when emergency behavior
129	129	intervention may be used, precautions that caregivers must take
130	130	before, during, and after implementing emergency behavior
131	131	intervention;
132	132	(5) placement with siblings and contacts with members
133	133	of the child's family;
134	134	(6) privacy, including storage space, searches, mail,
135	135	and telephone conversations;
136	136	(7) participation in school-related extracurricular
137	137	or community activities;
138	138	(8) interactions with persons outside of the foster
139	139	care system, including teachers, church members, mentors, and
140	140	friends;
141	141	(9) contact and communication with a caseworker,
142	142	attorney ad litem, guardian ad litem, and court-appointed special
143	143	advocate;
144	144	(10) religious services and activities;
145	145	(11) confidentiality of the child's records;
146	146	(12) job skills, personal finances, and preparation
147	147	for adulthood;
148	148	(13) participation in court hearings that involve the
149	149	child;
150	150	(14) participation in the development of service and
151	151	treatment plans;
152	152	(15) the advocacy and protection of rights of a child
153	153	with a disability; and
154	154	(16) any other subject affecting the child's ability
155	155	to receive care and treatment in the least restrictive environment
156	156	that is most like a family setting, consistent with the best
157	157	interests and needs of the child.
158	158	(c) The department shall provide a written copy of the
159	159	foster children's bill of rights to each child placed in foster care
160	160	in the child's primary language, if possible, and shall inform the
161	161	child of the rights provided by the foster children's bill of
162	162	rights:
163	163	(1) orally in the child's primary language, if
164	164	possible, and in simple, nontechnical terms; or
165	165	(2) for a child who has a disability, including an
166	166	impairment of vision or hearing, through any means that can
167	167	reasonably be expected to result in successful communication with
168	168	the child.
169	169	(d) A child placed in foster care may, at the child's
170	170	option, sign a document acknowledging the child's understanding of
171	171	the foster children's bill of rights after the department provides
172	172	a written copy of the foster children's bill of rights to the child
173	173	and informs the child of the rights provided by that bill of rights
174	174	in accordance with Subsection (c). If a child signs a document
175	175	acknowledging the child's understanding of the foster children's
176	176	bill of rights, the document must be placed in the child's case
177	177	file.
178	178	(e) An agency foster group home, agency foster home, foster
179	179	group home, foster home, or other facility in which a child is
180	180	placed in foster care shall provide a copy of the foster children's
181	181	bill of rights to a child on the child's request. The foster
182	182	children's bill of rights must be printed in English and in a second
183	183	language.
184	184	(f) The department shall promote the participation of
185	185	foster children and former foster children in educating other
186	186	foster children about the foster children's bill of rights.
187	187	(g) Except as provided by this subsection, the executive
188	188	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission and the
189	189	department, as appropriate, shall ensure that the rules and
190	190	policies governing foster care are consistent with the state policy
191	191	outlined by Subsection (b). The executive commissioner or the
192	192	department, as appropriate, may adopt rules or policies that
193	193	provide greater protections for the rights of children in foster
194	194	care.
195	195	(h) The department shall develop and implement a policy for
196	196	receiving and handling reports that a foster child's rights are not
197	197	being met. The department shall inform a child and, as appropriate,
198	198	the child's managing conservator or guardian of the method for
199	199	reporting to the department that the child's rights are not being
200	200	met.
201	201	(i) This section does not create a cause of action.
202	202	SECTION 8. Subsections (d), (e), and (f), Section 42.0221,
203	203	Human Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
204	204	(d) The committee shall meet three times [twice] a year at
205	205	the call of the presiding officer. At least one meeting each year
206	206	must provide an opportunity for public testimony.
207	207	(e) The committee shall review and analyze the information
208	208	provided by the department and committee members and shall make
209	209	recommendations for policy and statutory changes relating to
210	210	licensing standards and facility inspections. The review and
211	211	analysis by the committee shall include the analysis of:
212	212	(1) the deaths of children who are in substitute care,
213	213	including reports and findings of child fatality review teams under
214	214	Subchapter F, Chapter 264, Family Code;
215	215	(2) the types of licensing violations for each
216	216	weighted risk and region;
217	217	(3) the details of administrative reviews and appeals;
218	218	[and]
219	219	(4) the type of technical assistance provided and the
220	220	qualifications of those providing technical assistance; and
221	221	(5) the department's policies, standards, and
222	222	procedures relating to the licensing of foster care providers and
223	223	consider modifications to the policies, standards, and procedures
224	224	to increase the capacity of a foster care provider while continuing
225	225	to ensure the health and safety of children placed in the care of
226	226	the foster care provider.
227	227	(f) The committee shall report its findings and
228	228	recommendations to the department and the legislature not later
229	229	than September [December] 1 of each year.
230	230	SECTION 9. Section 531.048, Government Code, is amended by
231	231	adding Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:
232	232	(d-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (d) and subject to the
233	233	appropriation of money for the specific purposes of this
234	234	subsection, from funds appropriated in the General Appropriations
235	235	Act for the fiscal biennium 2010-2011, the Department of Family and
236	236	Protective Services shall spend up to $12 million for the biennium
237	237	with the goal of ensuring that 95 percent of children in the
238	238	department's conservatorship or whose parent, managing
239	239	conservator, possessory conservator, guardian, caretaker, or
240	240	custodian is receiving family-based safety services from the
241	241	department are visited by the child's caseworker at least one time
242	242	each month.
243	243	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.