By: Harris, Van de Putte S.B. No. 717
(Truitt)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the purpose and duties of the Council on Children and
Families.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 531.802, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The Council on Children and Families is established to:
(1) coordinate the state's health, education, and
human services systems to ensure that children and families have
access to needed services;
(2) improve coordination and efficiency in state
agencies, advisory councils on issues affecting children, and local
levels of service;
(3) prioritize and mobilize resources for children;
[and]
(4) facilitate an integrated approach to providing
services for children and youth; and
(5) promote the sharing of information regarding
children and their families among state agencies.
SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 531.803, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The council shall:
(1) analyze the biennial legislative appropriations
requests of members of the council for services provided to
children and their families and identify appropriations that,
through the coordination of members of the council, could be
modified in the next legislative appropriation request to eliminate
waste or increase available services and, not later than May 1 of
each even-numbered year, prepare a report recommending those
modifications for consideration during the development of the next
biennial legislative appropriations request;
(2) investigate opportunities to increase flexible
funding for health, education, and human services provided to
children and their families;
(3) identify methods to remove barriers to local
coordination of health, education, and human services provided to
children and their families;
(4) identify methods to ensure that children and youth
receive appropriate assessment, diagnoses, and intervention
services;
(5) develop methods to prevent unnecessary parental
relinquishment of custody of children;
(6) prioritize assisting children in family settings
rather than institutional settings; [and]
(7) make recommendations about family involvement in
the provision and planning of health, education, and human services
for a child, including family partner and liaison models; and
(8) identify technological methods to ensure the
efficient and timely transfer of information among state agencies
providing health, education, and human services to children and
their families.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.