82R135 MCK-F
By: Nelson S.B. No. 76
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain providers of subsidized child care.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 313 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 313. REQUIREMENTS FOR PROVIDERS OF UNREGULATED
SELF-ARRANGED CHILD CARE
Sec. 313.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Department" means the Department of Family and
Protective Services.
(2) "Unregulated self-arranged child care" means
child care that is:
(A) funded wholly or partly from money received
under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. Section 9858 et seq.); and
(B) provided by a provider who:
(i) is at least 18 years of age;
(ii) complies with any federal or state
requirements regarding subsidized child care that apply to the
provider;
(iii) provides child-care services for less
than 24 hours a day to a child who is, by marriage, blood
relationship, or court decree:
(a) the grandchild of the provider;
(b) the great-grandchild of the
provider;
(c) the sibling of the provider, and
the child resides in a separate residence from the provider; or
(d) the niece or nephew of the
provider; and
(iv) does not hold a license, listing, or
registration issued under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, to
provide care for children for less than 24 hours a day.
Sec. 313.002. REQUIREMENTS FOR UNREGULATED SELF-ARRANGED
CHILD CARE. The commission shall ensure that money appropriated to
the commission that is used by the commission or a local workforce
development board to pay for child-care services provided by an
unregulated self-arranged child-care provider is used only to pay
for care provided by a provider who, after completion of a
background and criminal history check required by this chapter, is
not precluded from providing that care.
Sec. 313.003. REQUIRED BACKGROUND AND CRIMINAL HISTORY
CHECK. (a) In accordance with department rules, an individual
seeking to provide unregulated self-arranged child care must,
before beginning to provide that care, submit for use in conducting
a background and criminal history check:
(1) the individual's name to the department; and
(2) to the Department of Public Safety in accordance
with that department's rules, a complete set of the individual's
fingerprints in a form and of a quality acceptable to that
department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for conducting a
criminal history check.
(b) The department shall conduct background and criminal
history checks by:
(1) using the information provided by an individual
under this section;
(2) submitting the fingerprints provided by an
individual under this section or causing the fingerprints to be
submitted electronically as authorized by Subsection (f) to the
Department of Public Safety for the purpose of conducting a state
and federal criminal history check and using the resulting
information made available by the Department of Public Safety under
Section 411.114, Government Code, and by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and any other criminal justice agency under Section
411.087, Government Code; and
(3) using the department's central registry of
reported cases of child abuse and neglect established under Section
261.002, Family Code.
(c) In determining whether to preclude an individual from
providing unregulated self-arranged child care, the department
shall use the standards that apply in conducting background and
criminal history checks under Section 42.056, Human Resources Code,
for listed or registered family home providers.
(d) A provider of unregulated self-arranged child care for
whom a background and criminal history check was conducted who
ceased providing that care and who seeks to resume providing that
care must provide the information described by Subsection (a) in
the manner provided by that subsection and undergo another
background and criminal history check unless the department
determines that the check is unnecessary based on the length of
elapsed time since the previous check was conducted.
(e) The commission must provide notice of the background and
criminal history check requirement to the parent or guardian of the
child who will receive care through an unregulated self-arranged
child-care provider before the parent or guardian selects the
provider.
(f) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission may adopt rules to implement this section,
including rules that require fingerprints to be submitted
electronically through an applicant fingerprinting service center.
(g) An individual seeking to provide unregulated
self-arranged child care shall pay:
(1) the cost of submitting the individual's
fingerprints under this section; and
(2) the costs incurred by the department in conducting
background and criminal history checks under this chapter.
Sec. 313.004. NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD CONCERNING
ACCURACY OF INFORMATION. (a) If the department determines that a
provider or prospective provider of unregulated self-arranged
child care is precluded from providing that care because of the
individual's background and criminal history check under Section
313.003, the department shall notify the individual of that
determination.
(b) The department shall include in the notice provided
under Subsection (a) a description of the process by which an
individual may dispute the accuracy of the individual's criminal
history record and listing on the department's central registry of
reported abuse and neglect and a description of any process for
disputing the accuracy of the individual's criminal history record
with the Department of Public Safety.
Sec. 313.005. REQUIRED STATEMENT. (a) Except as provided
by Section 313.006, an unregulated self-arranged child-care
provider and the parent or guardian of the child who receives care
through the provider shall each submit a statement to the
commission not later than the 15th day of the month following the
end of each calendar quarter during which the provider provided the
care. The statement must:
(1) specify the number of hours the provider cared for
the child during each month of the previous calendar quarter;
(2) include the sworn statement of the provider or the
parent or guardian, as applicable, that the record of the hours is
accurate; and
(3) be signed by the provider or the parent or
guardian, as applicable.
(b) The statement in Subsection (a) may be on a form
provided by the commission.
(c) The commission shall provide notice to each individual
required to submit a statement under this section that knowingly
making, presenting, or using a false governmental record is a
criminal offense under Section 37.10, Penal Code.
Sec. 313.006. ELECTRONIC VALIDATION OF CHILD-CARE SERVICES
AND ATTENDANCE. (a) If feasible, the commission shall use an
electronic validation system to verify that a provider of
unregulated self-arranged child care is providing care and that the
child for whom the care is provided is in attendance during the
period the provider states that child-care services are being
provided.
(b) An unregulated self-arranged child-care provider and a
parent or guardian of a child who receives care through the provider
is not required to submit a statement under Section 313.005 if the
commission verifies the provision of care and the attendance of the
child using an electronic validation system.
Sec. 313.007. AUDITS. The commission shall audit on a
regular basis a random sample of unregulated self-arranged
child-care providers to:
(1) determine the accuracy, as applicable, of
statements submitted under Section 313.005 or the electronic
validation system used to verify child-care services and attendance
under Section 313.006; and
(2) ensure that the commission and local workforce
development boards are paying unregulated self-arranged child-care
providers only for care that is actually provided.
SECTION 2. Section 411.114(a)(2), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(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, 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, 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; or
(M) a provider or prospective provider of
unregulated self-arranged child care, as defined by Section
313.001, Labor Code.
SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 4. Notwithstanding Chapter 313, Labor Code, as
added by this Act, the Texas Workforce Commission shall ensure that
payments made on or after November 1, 2011, to providers of
unregulated self-arranged child care, as defined by Section
313.001, Labor Code, as added by this Act, are made only to
providers with respect to whom a background and criminal history
check has been conducted as required by that chapter.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.