82R28668 E
By: Nelson S.B. No. 1178
(Raymond)
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1178: No.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of certain shelter day-care facilities,
child-care facilities, and individuals providing child-care
services, and access to certain criminal history record
information; providing an administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (18), Section 42.002, Human
Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
(18) "Controlling person" means a person who, either
alone or in connection with others, has the ability to directly or
indirectly influence or direct the management, expenditures, or
policies of a [residential child-care] facility or family home.
SECTION 2. Section 42.041, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding the requirements of Subsection (b)(14),
a municipality that operates an elementary-age (ages 5-13)
recreation program may, in lieu of an annual public hearing, accept
public comment through the municipality's Internet website for at
least 30 days before the municipality adopts standards of care by
ordinance if the municipality:
(1) has a population of 300,000 or more; and
(2) has held at least two annual public hearings on the
standards of care and adopted standards of care by ordinance after
those public hearings.
SECTION 3. Section 42.044, Human Resources Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2)
to read as follows:
(b) The department shall inspect all licensed or certified
facilities at least once a year and may inspect other facilities or
registered family homes as necessary. [The department shall
investigate a listed family home when the department receives a
complaint of abuse or neglect of a child, as defined by Section
261.401, Family Code.] At least one of the annual visits must be
unannounced and all may be unannounced.
(c-1) The department:
(1) shall investigate a listed family home if the
department receives a complaint that:
(A) a child in the home has been abused or
neglected, as defined by Section 261.401, Family Code; or
(B) otherwise alleges an immediate risk of danger
to the health or safety of a child being cared for in the home; and
(2) may investigate a listed family home to ensure
that the home is providing care for compensation to not more than
three children, excluding children who are related to the
caretaker.
(c-2) The department must notify the operator of a listed
family home when a complaint is being investigated under this
section and report in writing the results of the investigation to
the family home's operator.
SECTION 4. Section 42.052, Human Resources Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (j) and adding Subsection (j-1) to read as
follows:
(j) The operator of a listed family home shall undergo
initial and subsequent background and criminal history checks
required under Section 42.056. If the operator of a listed family
home fails to submit the information required by Section 42.056 for
a subsequent background and criminal history check, the department
shall automatically:
(1) suspend the home's listing until the required
information is submitted; and
(2) revoke the home's listing if the required
information is not submitted within six months after the date the
automatic suspension begins.
(j-1) A suspension or revocation under Subsection (j) is not
a suspension or revocation under Section 42.072.
SECTION 5. Subsection (f), Section 42.054, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(f) If a facility, agency, or home fails to pay the annual
fee when due, the license, listing, or registration, as
appropriate, is automatically suspended until the fee is paid. The
license, listing, or registration shall be revoked if the fee is not
paid within six months after the date the automatic suspension
begins. A suspension or revocation under this subsection is not a
suspension or revocation under Section 42.072.
SECTION 6. Section 42.056, Human Resources Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a-2) and adding Subsection (l) to read as
follows:
(a-2) In accordance with rules adopted by the executive
commissioner, the director, owner, or operator of a day-care
center, before-school or after-school program, or school-age
program shall submit a complete set of fingerprints of each person
whose name is required to be submitted by the director, owner, or
operator under Subsection (a), unless the person is only required
to have the person's name submitted based on criteria specified by
Subsection (a)(7). This subsection does not apply to a program that
is exempt from the licensing requirements of Section 42.041.
(l) In accordance with rules adopted by the executive
commissioner, a person that contracts to provide one or more
substitute employees to a facility or family home must submit to the
department for use in conducting background and criminal history
checks the name of each substitute employee. Before a substitute
employee may be present at a facility or family home, the employee
must meet the same requirements under this section as an employee
present at the facility or family home who performs similar duties.
The director, owner, or operator of a facility or family home must
verify with the department that a substitute employee is eligible
to be present at the facility or family home before allowing the
employee to begin work.
SECTION 7. Section 42.062, Human Resources Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 42.062. CERTAIN EMPLOYMENT AND SERVICE PROHIBITED. A
person may not be employed as a controlling person or serve in that
capacity in a [residential child-care] facility or family home if
the person [may not employ in any capacity a person who] is not
eligible to receive a license or certification for the operation of
a [residential child-care] facility or family home under Section
42.072(g) or [who] has been denied a license under Section 42.046
for a substantive reason.
SECTION 8. Section 42.072, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c-1) and amending Subsections (e) and (g) to
read as follows:
(c-1) A person described by Subsection (c) may not be a
controlling person in any facility or family home during the
five-year period in which the person is ineligible to receive a
license, listing, registration, or certification.
(e) A person may continue to operate a facility or family
home during an appeal of a license, listing, or registration
[denial or] revocation unless the operation of the facility or
family home poses a risk to the health or safety of children. The
executive commissioner shall by rule establish the criteria for
determining whether the operation of a facility or family home
poses a risk to the health or safety of children. The department
shall notify the facility or family home of the criteria the
department used to determine that the operation of the facility or
family home poses a risk to health or safety and that the facility
or family home may not operate. A person who has been notified by
the department that the facility or home may not operate under this
section may seek injunctive relief from a district court in Travis
County or in the county in which the facility or home is located to
allow operation during the pendency of an appeal. The court may
grant injunctive relief against the agency's action only if the
court finds that the child-care operation does not pose a health or
safety risk to children. A court granting injunctive relief under
this subsection shall have no other jurisdiction over an appeal of
final agency action unless conferred by Chapter 2001, Government
Code.
(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), the department may
refuse to issue a license, listing, registration, or certification
to:
(1) a person whose license, listing, registration, or
certification for a [residential child-care] facility or family
home was revoked by the department or by court order;
(2) a person who was a controlling person of a
[residential child-care] facility or family home at the time
conduct occurred that resulted in the revocation of the license,
listing, registration, or certification of the facility or family
home;
(3) a person who voluntarily closed a [residential
child-care] facility or family home or relinquished the person's
license, listing, registration, or certification after:
(A) the department took an action under
Subsection (a) in relation to the facility, family home, or person;
or
(B) the person received notice that the
department intended to take an action under Subsection (a) in
relation to the facility, family home, or person; or
(4) a person who was a controlling person of a
[residential child-care] facility or family home at the time
conduct occurred that resulted in the closure of the facility or
family home or relinquishment of the license, listing,
registration, or certification in the manner described by
Subdivision (3).
SECTION 9. Subsection (a), Section 42.078, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The department may impose an administrative penalty
against a facility or family home licensed, [or] registered, or
listed under this chapter that violates this chapter or a rule or
order adopted under this chapter. In addition, the department may
impose an administrative penalty against a residential child-care
facility or a controlling person of a residential child-care
facility if the facility or controlling person:
(1) violates a term of a license or registration
issued under this chapter;
(2) makes a statement about a material fact that the
facility or person knows or should know is false:
(A) on an application for the issuance of a
license or registration or an attachment to the application; or
(B) in response to a matter under investigation;
(3) refuses to allow a representative of the
department to inspect:
(A) a book, record, or file required to be
maintained by the facility; or
(B) any part of the premises of the facility;
(4) purposefully interferes with the work of a
representative of the department or the enforcement of this
chapter; or
(5) fails to pay a penalty assessed under this chapter
on or before the date the penalty is due, as determined under this
section.
SECTION 10. Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER G. REGULATION OF TEMPORARY SHELTER DAY-CARE FACILITIES
Sec. 42.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Shelter" means a supervised publicly or privately
operated shelter or other facility that is designed to provide
temporary living accommodations to individuals and families,
including a family violence shelter, a homeless shelter, and an
emergency shelter. The term does not include a temporary facility
established in response to a natural or other disaster.
(2) "Shelter care" means child care that is provided:
(A) to seven or more children under 14 years of
age who temporarily reside at a shelter each with an adult who is
related to the child by blood or who is the child's managing
conservator;
(B) by a person who is not a temporary resident of
a shelter; and
(C) while the adult described by Paragraph (A) is
away from the shelter.
(3) "Shelter day-care facility" means a shelter that
provides shelter care for not more than 24 hours a day, but at least
four hours a day, three or more days a week.
Sec. 42.202. PERMIT REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided by
Subsections (b) and (e), a shelter may not provide shelter care
unless the shelter holds a permit issued by the department under
this subchapter.
(b) A shelter is not required to obtain a permit to provide
shelter care under this subchapter if the shelter holds a license to
operate a child-care facility that is issued by the department
under Subchapter C. A shelter that holds that license must comply
with the applicable provisions of Subchapter C, the applicable
rules of the department, and any specific terms of the license.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, including Section
42.041, a shelter that holds a permit issued under this subchapter
is not required to hold a license under Subchapter C to operate a
shelter day-care facility.
(d) The department may not issue a permit under this
subchapter to a shelter that provides child care to a child who is
not a resident of the shelter. A shelter that provides child care
described by this subsection must hold a license to operate a
child-care facility issued under Subchapter C.
(e) A shelter is not required to obtain a permit under this
subchapter or a license under Subchapter C if the shelter provides
shelter care for:
(1) less than four hours a day or for less than three
days a week; or
(2) six or fewer children.
Sec. 42.203. APPLICATION; INITIAL INSPECTION AND
BACKGROUND AND CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS. (a) The department shall
develop and implement a streamlined procedure by which a shelter
may apply for and be issued a permit to operate a shelter day-care
facility. The shelter must submit an application for the permit to
the department on a form prescribed by the department.
(b) Except as provided by Section 42.204, on receipt of a
shelter's application for a permit, the department shall:
(1) conduct an initial inspection of the shelter
day-care facility to ensure that the shelter is able to comply with
the provisions of this subchapter and that the facility complies
with the fire safety and sanitation standards of the political
subdivision in which the facility is located; and
(2) conduct a background and criminal history check on
each prospective caregiver whose name is submitted as required by
Section 42.206(a).
(c) The department may charge an applicant an
administrative fee in a reasonable amount that is sufficient to
cover the costs of the department in processing the application.
(d) The department shall process an application not later
than the 30th day after the date the department receives all of the
required information.
Sec. 42.204. CONVERSION OF LICENSE. (a) The department
shall develop and implement a procedure by which a shelter that
holds a license to operate a child-care facility that is issued
under Subchapter C before September 1, 2012, may convert the
license to a permit under this subchapter. The procedure must
include an abbreviated application form for use by the shelter in
applying for the permit.
(b) The department may waive the requirements under Section
42.203(b) for an initial inspection or background and criminal
history checks with respect to a licensed child-care facility
seeking to convert a license to a permit under this section if the
department determines that previously conducted inspections or
background and criminal history checks, as applicable, are
sufficient to ensure the safety of children receiving care at the
facility.
Sec. 42.205. CAREGIVER QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING;
CHILD-TO-CAREGIVER RATIOS. (a) The executive commissioner shall
adopt rules that specify the minimum:
(1) qualifications and training required for a person
providing child care in a shelter day-care facility; and
(2) child-to-caregiver ratios in a shelter day-care
facility.
(b) In adopting rules under this section, the executive
commissioner shall consider:
(1) the special circumstances and needs of families
that seek temporary shelter; and
(2) the role of a shelter in assisting and supporting
families in crisis.
Sec. 42.206. BACKGROUND AND CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS
REQUIRED. (a) In accordance with rules adopted by the executive
commissioner, a shelter shall, when applying for a permit under
this subchapter and at least once during each 24-month period after
receiving that permit, submit to the department for use in
conducting background and criminal history checks:
(1) the name of any director or prospective director
of the shelter day-care facility and the name of each caregiver or
prospective caregiver employed at the facility to provide care to
children;
(2) the name of each person counted in
child-to-caregiver ratios at the shelter day-care facility; and
(3) the name of each person 14 years of age or older
who will have unsupervised access to one or more children while in
the care of the shelter day-care facility.
(b) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (a), a
shelter shall submit a complete set of fingerprints of each person
required to undergo a criminal history check under Subsection (a)
if:
(1) the person has lived outside the state at any time
during the previous five years; or
(2) the shelter has reason to suspect that the person
has a criminal history in another state.
(c) The department shall conduct background and criminal
history checks using:
(1) the information provided under Subsection (a) or
(b), as applicable;
(2) the information made available by the Department
of Public Safety under Section 411.114, Government Code, or by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation or another criminal justice agency
under Section 411.087, Government Code; and
(3) the department's records of reported abuse and
neglect.
(d) For purposes of Sections 411.114 and 411.087,
Government Code:
(1) a shelter that applies for a permit is considered
to be an applicant for a license under this chapter; and
(2) a shelter day-care facility operating under a
permit issued under this subchapter is considered to be a
child-care facility licensed under this chapter.
(e) The department shall require the shelter to pay to the
department a fee in an amount not to exceed the administrative costs
the department incurs in conducting a background and criminal
history check under this section.
Sec. 42.207. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAW. Except as
otherwise provided by this subchapter, a shelter day-care facility
operating under this subchapter is not a child-care facility, as
defined by Section 42.002, and the provisions of this chapter and
the department's rules that apply to a child-care facility licensed
under Subchapter C do not apply to a shelter day-care facility.
Sec. 42.208. REPORTING OF INCIDENTS AND VIOLATIONS. A
shelter day-care facility operating under this subchapter and each
employee of that facility are subject to the reporting requirements
of Section 42.063 to the same extent a licensed child-care facility
and employees of licensed child-care facilities are subject to that
section.
Sec. 42.209. AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT LIMITED INSPECTIONS.
(a) The department may inspect a shelter day-care facility
operating under this subchapter if the department receives a
complaint or report of child abuse or neglect alleged to have
occurred at the shelter day-care facility.
(b) If the department inspects a shelter day-care facility
as authorized by this section, the department may require the
facility to take appropriate corrective action the department
determines necessary to comply with the requirements of this
subchapter and to ensure the health and safety of children
receiving care at the facility. The department may continue to
inspect the facility until corrective action is taken and for a
reasonable time after that action is taken to ensure continued
compliance.
(c) The department may charge a shelter issued a permit
under this subchapter a reasonable fee for the cost of services
provided by the department in formulating, monitoring, and
implementing a corrective action plan under this section.
Sec. 42.210. SUSPENSION, DENIAL, OR REVOCATION. (a) The
department may suspend, deny, or revoke a permit issued to a shelter
under this subchapter if the shelter does not comply with the
provisions of this subchapter or any applicable department rules.
(b) The department may refuse to issue a permit under this
subchapter to a shelter that had its authorization to operate a
child-care facility issued under another subchapter revoked,
suspended, or not renewed for a reason relating to child health or
safety as determined by the department.
(c) A shelter day-care facility is subject to the emergency
suspension of its permit to operate and to closure under Section
42.073 to the same extent and in the same manner as a licensed
child-care facility is subject to that section.
SECTION 11. Subsection (a), Section 43.010, Human Resources
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The department may deny, revoke, suspend, or refuse to
renew a license, or place on probation or reprimand a license holder
for:
(1) violating this chapter or a rule adopted under
this chapter;
(2) circumventing or attempting to circumvent the
requirements of this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter;
(3) engaging in fraud or deceit related to the
requirements of this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter;
(4) providing false or misleading information to the
department during the license application or renewal process for
any person's license;
(5) making a statement about a material fact during
the license application or renewal process that the person knows or
should know is false;
(6) having:
(A) a criminal history or central registry record
that would prohibit a person from working in a child-care facility,
as defined by Section 42.002, under rules applicable to that type of
facility; or
(B) a criminal history relevant to the duties of
a licensed child-care or child-placing administrator, as those
duties are specified in rules adopted by the executive
commissioner;
(7) using drugs or alcohol in a manner that
jeopardizes the person's ability to function as an administrator;
or
(8) performing duties as a child-care administrator in
a negligent manner.
SECTION 12. Section 411.087, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read
as follows:
(a) Unless otherwise authorized by Subsection (e), a [A]
person, agency, department, political subdivision, or other entity
that is authorized by this subchapter to obtain from the department
criminal history record information maintained by the department
that relates to another person is authorized to:
(1) obtain through the Federal Bureau of Investigation
criminal history record information maintained or indexed by that
bureau that pertains to that person; or
(2) obtain from any other criminal justice agency in
this state criminal history record information maintained by that
criminal justice agency that relates to that person.
(e) The department may provide access to state and national
criminal history record information to qualified [nongovernmental]
entities entitled to that information under 42 U.S.C. Section
5119a. The department must follow federal law and regulation,
federal executive orders, and federal policy in releasing
information under this subsection.
(f) Notwithstanding any other law, a person, agency,
department, political subdivision, or other entity entitled to
access the criminal history record information of a person under
Subsection (e) is not required to collect or submit the person's
fingerprints if:
(1) a complete set of the person's fingerprints was
previously submitted under Subsection (d)(1);
(2) the department retained the fingerprints;
(3) the fingerprints are acceptable to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation for access to criminal history record
information; and
(4) the only purpose for which the person's
fingerprints are collected is to access criminal history record
information under Subsection (e).
SECTION 13. Subsection (a), Section 411.114, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a)(1) In this subsection:
(A) "Child," "child-care facility,"
"child-placing agency," and "family home" have the meanings
assigned by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
(B) "Elderly person" has the meaning assigned by
Section 48.002, Human Resources Code.
[(C) "Maternity home" has the meaning assigned by
Section 249.001, Health and Safety Code.]
(D) "Person with a disability" means a disabled
person as defined by Section 48.002, Human Resources Code.
(E) "Ward" has the meaning assigned by Section
601, Texas Probate Code.
(2) The Department of Family and Protective Services
shall obtain from the department criminal history record
information maintained by the department that relates to a person
who is:
(A) an applicant for a license, registration,
certification, or listing under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code[,
or Chapter 249, Health and Safety Code];
(B) an owner, operator, or employee of or an
applicant for employment by a child-care facility, child-placing
agency, or family home[, or maternity home] licensed, registered,
certified, or listed under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code[, or
Chapter 249, Health and Safety Code];
(C) a person 14 years of age or older who will be
regularly or frequently working or staying in a child-care facility
or[,] family home[, or maternity home] while children are being
provided care, other than a child in the care of the home or
facility;
(D) an applicant selected for a position with the
Department of Family and Protective Services, the duties of which
include direct delivery of protective services to children, elderly
persons, or persons with a disability;
(E) an employee of, an applicant for employment
with, or a volunteer or an applicant volunteer with a business
entity or person that contracts with the Department of Family and
Protective Services to provide direct delivery of protective
services to children, elderly persons, or persons with a
disability, if the person's duties or responsibilities include
direct contact with children, elderly persons, or persons with a
disability;
(F) a registered volunteer with the Department of
Family and Protective Services;
(G) a person providing or applying to provide
in-home, adoptive, or foster care for children in the care of the
Department of Family and Protective Services and other persons
living in the residence in which the child will reside;
(H) a Department of Family and Protective
Services employee who is engaged in the direct delivery of
protective services to children, elderly persons, or persons with a
disability;
(I) a person who is the subject of a report the
Department of Family and Protective Services receives alleging that
the person has abused, neglected, or exploited a child, an elderly
person, or a person with a disability, provided that:
(i) the report alleges the person has
engaged in conduct that meets the statutory definition of abuse,
neglect, or exploitation under Chapter 261, Family Code, or Chapter
48, Human Resources Code; and
(ii) the person who is the subject of the
report is not also the victim of the alleged conduct;
(J) a person providing child care for a child who
is in the care of the Department of Family and Protective Services
and who is or will be receiving adoptive, foster, or in-home care;
(K) through a contract with a nonprofit
management center, an employee of, an applicant for employment
with, or a volunteer or an applicant volunteer with a nonprofit,
tax-exempt organization that provides any service that involves the
care of or access to children, elderly persons, or persons with a
disability; or
(L) an applicant for a child-care administrator
or child-placing agency administrator license under Chapter 43,
Human Resources Code.
(3) The Department of Family and Protective [and
Regulatory] Services is entitled to obtain from the department
criminal history record information maintained by the department
that relates to a person who is:
(A) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with a
local affiliate in this state of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of
America;
(B) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with the
"I Have a Dream/Houston" program;
(C) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with an
organization that provides court-appointed special advocates for
abused or neglected children;
(D) a person providing, at the request of the
child's parent, in-home care for a child who is the subject of a
report alleging the child has been abused or neglected;
(E) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with a
Texas chapter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of America;
(F) a person providing, at the request of the
child's parent, in-home care for a child only if the person gives
written consent to the release and disclosure of the information;
(G) a child who is related to the caretaker, as
determined under Section 42.002, Human Resources Code, and who
resides in or is present in a child-care facility or[,] family
home[, or maternity home], other than a child described by
Subdivision (2)(C), or any other person who has unsupervised access
to a child in the care of a child-care facility or[,] family home[,
or maternity home];
(H) an applicant for a position with the
Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services,
other than a position described by Subdivision (2)(D), regardless
of the duties of the position;
(I) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with the
Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services,
other than a registered volunteer, regardless of the duties to be
performed;
(J) a person providing or applying to provide
in-home, adoptive, or foster care for children to the extent
necessary to comply with Subchapter B, Chapter 162, Family Code;
(K) a Department of Family and Protective [and
Regulatory] Services employee, other than an employee described by
Subdivision (2)(H), regardless of the duties of the employee's
position;
(L) a relative of a child in the care of the
Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services, to
the extent necessary to comply with Section 162.007, Family Code;
(M) a person, other than the subject of a report
described in Subdivision (2)(I), living in the residence in which
the alleged victim of the report resides;
(N) a contractor or an employee of a contractor
who delivers services to a ward of the Department of Family and
Protective [and Regulatory] Services under a contract with the
estate of the ward;
(O) a person who seeks unsupervised visits with a
ward of the Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory]
Services, including a relative of the ward; or
(P) an employee, volunteer, or applicant
volunteer of a children's advocacy center under Subchapter E,
Chapter 264, Family Code, including a member of the governing board
of a center.
(4) Subject to Section 411.087, the Department of
Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services is entitled to:
(A) obtain through the Federal Bureau of
Investigation criminal history record information maintained or
indexed by that bureau that pertains to a person described by
Subdivision (2); and
(B) obtain from any other criminal justice agency
in this state criminal history record information maintained by
that criminal justice agency that relates to a person described by
Subdivision (2) or (3). Law enforcement entities shall expedite
the furnishing of such information to Department of Family and
Protective [and Regulatory] Services workers to ensure prompt
criminal background checks for the safety of alleged victims and
Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services
workers.
(5) The Department of Family and Protective [and
Regulatory] Services may not use the authority granted under this
section to harass an employee or volunteer. The executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission [Board of
Protective and Regulatory Services] shall adopt rules to prevent
the harassment of an employee or volunteer through the request and
use of criminal records.
(6) Criminal history record information obtained by
the Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services
under this subsection may not be released to any person except:
(A) on court order;
(B) with the consent of the person who is the
subject of the criminal history record information;
(C) for purposes of an administrative hearing
held by the Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory]
Services concerning the person who is the subject of the criminal
history record information; or
(D) as provided by Subdivision (7).
(7) The Department of Family and Protective [and
Regulatory] Services is not prohibited from releasing criminal
history record information obtained under this subsection to:
(A) the person who is the subject of the criminal
history record information;
(B) a child-care facility, child-placing agency,
or family home[, or maternity home] listed in Subdivision (2) that
employs or is considering employing the person who is the subject of
the criminal history record information;
(C) a person or business entity described by
Subdivision (2)(E) or (3) who uses or intends to use the services of
the volunteer or employs or is considering employing the person who
is the subject of the criminal history record information; or
(D) an adult residing with a child, elderly
person, or person with a disability and the person who is the
subject of the criminal history record information, if the
Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services
determines that the release of information to the adult is
necessary to ensure the safety or welfare of the child, elderly
person, or person with a disability or the adult.
SECTION 14. Subsection (e), Section 81.042, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(e) The following persons shall report to the local health
authority or the department a suspected case of a reportable
disease and all information known concerning the person who has or
is suspected of having the disease if a report is not made as
required by Subsections (a)-(d):
(1) a professional registered nurse;
(2) an administrator or director of a public or
private temporary or permanent child-care facility;
(3) an administrator or director of a nursing home,
personal care home, [maternity home,] adult respite care center, or
adult day-care center;
(4) an administrator of a home health agency;
(5) an administrator or health official of a public or
private institution of higher education;
(6) an owner or manager of a restaurant, dairy, or
other food handling or processing establishment or outlet;
(7) a superintendent, manager, or health official of a
public or private camp, home, or institution;
(8) a parent, guardian, or householder;
(9) a health professional;
(10) an administrator or health official of a penal or
correctional institution; or
(11) emergency medical service personnel, a peace
officer, or a firefighter.
SECTION 15. (a) The Department of Family and Protective
Services shall develop and implement a procedure by which a
maternity home that provides residential child care to a minor
mother and that holds a license issued under Chapter 249, Health and
Safety Code, before September 1, 2012, may convert the license to a
residential child-care facility license issued under Chapter 42,
Human Resources Code.
(b) The Department of Family and Protective Services may
waive requirements for an initial inspection or initial background
and criminal history checks with respect to a maternity home
seeking to convert a license under Subsection (a) of this section if
the department determines that previously conducted inspections or
background and criminal history checks, as applicable, are
sufficient to ensure the safety of children receiving care at the
facility.
SECTION 16. The following laws are repealed:
(1) Chapter 249, Health and Safety Code; and
(2) Subsection (g-2), Section 42.042, Human Resources
Code.
SECTION 17. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act by the amendment of
Subsection (a), Section 411.114, Government Code, and Subsection
(e), Section 81.042, Health and Safety Code, the enactment of
Subchapter G, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, and the repeal of
Chapter 249, Health and Safety Code, and Subsection (g-2), Section
42.042, Human Resources Code, take effect September 1, 2012.