Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1543 Compare Versions

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1	1	83R14860 ADM-F
2	2	By: Allen, et al. H.B. No. 1543
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1543:
4	4	By: White C.S.H.B. No. 1543
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the eligibility for reappointment of the independent
10	10	ombudsman of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and the
11	11	authority of the independent ombudsman in regard to juveniles in
12	12	custody in certain facilities other than the department's
13	13	facilities.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Section 261.001, Human Resources Code, is
16	16	amended by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (1-a)
17	17	and (1-b) to read as follows:
18	18	(1) "Child" means an individual who is:
19	19	(A) 10 years of age or older and younger than 19
20	20	years of age; and
21	21	(B) placed in or committed to a facility for
22	22	conduct violating a penal law that occurred or an offense committed
23	23	before the individual's 17th birthday.
24	24	(1-a) "Facility" means:
25	25	(A) a juvenile justice facility, as defined by
26	26	Section 261.405, Family Code;
27	27	(B) a correctional facility operated by the
28	28	department; or
29	29	(C) a penal institution operated by or under
30	30	contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
31	31	(1-b) "Independent ombudsman" means the individual
32	32	who has been appointed under this chapter to the office of
33	33	independent ombudsman.
34	34	SECTION 2. Section 261.002, Human Resources Code, is
35	35	amended to read as follows:
36	36	Sec. 261.002. ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE. The office of
37	37	independent ombudsman is a state agency established for the purpose
38	38	of investigating, evaluating, and securing the rights of the
39	39	children placed in or committed to a facility [the department],
40	40	including a child released under supervision before final
41	41	discharge.
42	42	SECTION 3. Section 261.051(b), Human Resources Code, is
43	43	amended to read as follows:
44	44	(b) A person appointed as independent ombudsman is eligible
45	45	for reappointment [but may not serve more than three terms in that
46	46	capacity].
47	47	SECTION 4. Section 261.055(b), Human Resources Code, is
48	48	amended to read as follows:
49	49	(b) The independent ombudsman shall immediately report to
50	50	the board, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of
51	51	the house of representatives, the state auditor, and the office of
52	52	the inspector general of the department or of the Texas Department
53	53	of Criminal Justice, as applicable, any particularly serious or
54	54	flagrant:
55	55	(1) case of abuse or injury of a child placed in or
56	56	committed to a facility [the department];
57	57	(2) problem concerning the administration of a
58	58	department program or operation;
59	59	(3) problem concerning the delivery of services in a
60	60	facility operated by or under contract with the department; or
61	61	(4) interference by an operator of a facility [the
62	62	department] with an investigation conducted by the office.
63	63	SECTION 5. Section 261.056(a), Human Resources Code, is
64	64	amended to read as follows:
65	65	(a) The operator of a facility [department] shall allow any
66	66	child placed in or committed to the facility [the department] to
67	67	communicate with the independent ombudsman or an assistant to the
68	68	ombudsman. The communication:
69	69	(1) may be in person, by mail, or by any other means;
70	70	and
71	71	(2) is confidential and privileged.
72	72	SECTION 6. Section 261.057, Human Resources Code, is
73	73	amended to read as follows:
74	74	Sec. 261.057. PROMOTION OF AWARENESS OF OFFICE. The
75	75	independent ombudsman shall promote awareness among the public and
76	76	the children placed in or committed to a facility [the department]
77	77	of:
78	78	(1) how the office may be contacted;
79	79	(2) the purpose of the office; and
80	80	(3) the services the office provides.
81	81	SECTION 7. Section 261.058(b), Human Resources Code, is
82	82	amended to read as follows:
83	83	(b) The office and the board shall adopt rules necessary to
84	84	implement Section 261.060, including rules that establish
85	85	procedures for an operator of a facility [the department] to review
86	86	and comment on reports of the office and for the operator
87	87	[department] to expedite or eliminate review of and comment on a
88	88	report due to an emergency or a serious or flagrant circumstance
89	89	described by Section 261.055(b).
90	90	SECTION 8. Section 261.060(a), Human Resources Code, is
91	91	amended to read as follows:
92	92	(a) The office shall accept, both before and after
93	93	publication, comments from the board concerning the following types
94	94	of reports published by the office under this chapter:
95	95	(1) the office's quarterly report under Section
96	96	261.055(a);
97	97	(2) reports concerning serious or flagrant
98	98	circumstances under Section 261.055(b); and
99	99	(3) any other formal reports containing findings and
100	100	making recommendations concerning systemic issues that affect an
101	101	operator of a facility [the department].
102	102	SECTION 9. Section 261.101(a), Human Resources Code, is
103	103	amended to read as follows:
104	104	(a) The independent ombudsman shall:
105	105	(1) review the procedures established by the board and
106	106	evaluate the delivery of services to children to ensure that the
107	107	rights of children are fully observed;
108	108	(2) review complaints filed with the independent
109	109	ombudsman concerning the actions of an operator of a facility [the
110	110	department] and investigate each complaint in which it appears that
111	111	a child may be in need of assistance from the independent ombudsman;
112	112	(3) conduct investigations of complaints, other than
113	113	complaints alleging criminal behavior, if the office determines
114	114	that:
115	115	(A) a child placed in or committed to a facility
116	116	[the department] or the child's family may be in need of assistance
117	117	from the office; or
118	118	(B) a systemic issue in [the department's]
119	119	provision of services by an operator of a facility is raised by a
120	120	complaint;
121	121	(4) review or inspect periodically the facilities and
122	122	procedures of any institution or residence in which a child has been
123	123	placed by the department, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
124	124	a juvenile probation department, or a county, whether public or
125	125	private, to ensure that the rights of children are fully observed;
126	126	(5) provide assistance to a child or family who the
127	127	independent ombudsman determines is in need of assistance,
128	128	including advocating with an agency, provider, or other person in
129	129	the best interests of the child;
130	130	(6) review court orders as necessary to fulfill its
131	131	duties;
132	132	(7) recommend changes in any procedure relating to the
133	133	treatment of children placed in or committed to a facility
134	134	[the department];
135	135	(8) make appropriate referrals under any of the duties
136	136	and powers listed in this subsection;
137	137	(9) supervise assistants who are serving as advocates
138	138	in their representation of children placed in or committed to a
139	139	facility [the department] in internal administrative and
140	140	disciplinary hearings;
141	141	(10) review reports received by the department
142	142	relating to complaints regarding juvenile probation programs,
143	143	services, or facilities and analyze the data contained in the
144	144	reports to identify trends in complaints; and
145	145	(11) report a possible standards violation by a local
146	146	juvenile probation department to the appropriate division of the
147	147	department.
148	148	SECTION 10. Section 261.102, Human Resources Code, is
149	149	amended to read as follows:
150	150	Sec. 261.102. TREATMENT OF [DEPARTMENT] EMPLOYEES WHO
151	151	COOPERATE WITH INDEPENDENT OMBUDSMAN. The operator of a facility
152	152	[department] may not discharge or in any manner discriminate or
153	153	retaliate against an employee who in good faith makes a complaint to
154	154	the office of independent ombudsman or cooperates with the office
155	155	in an investigation.
156	156	SECTION 11. Section 261.104, Human Resources Code, is
157	157	amended to read as follows:
158	158	Sec. 261.104. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. (a) The office
159	159	and an operator of a facility [the department] shall enter into a
160	160	memorandum of understanding concerning:
161	161	(1) the most efficient manner in which to share
162	162	information with one another; and
163	163	(2) the procedures for handling overlapping
164	164	monitoring duties and activities performed by the office and the
165	165	department, the inspector general of the Texas Department of
166	166	Criminal Justice, or a county.
167	167	(b) The memorandum of understanding entered into under
168	168	Subsection (a), at a minimum, must:
169	169	(1) address the interaction of the office with that
170	170	portion of the department that conducts an internal audit under
171	171	Section 203.013;
172	172	(2) address communication between the office and the
173	173	operator of a facility [department] concerning individual
174	174	situations involving children placed in or committed to the
175	175	facility [department] and how those situations will be documented
176	176	and handled;
177	177	(3) contain guidelines on the office's role in
178	178	relevant working groups and policy development decisions at the
179	179	department;
180	180	(4) ensure opportunities for sharing information
181	181	between the office and the department for the purposes of assuring
182	182	quality and improving programming within the department; and
183	183	(5) preserve the independence of the office by
184	184	authorizing the office to withhold information concerning matters
185	185	under active investigation by the office from the operator of a
186	186	facility [department] and the [department] staff of the facility
187	187	and to report the information to the board and the governor.
188	188	SECTION 12. Sections 261.151(a) and (c), Human Resources
189	189	Code, are amended to read as follows:
190	190	(a) The independent ombudsman has access to the
191	191	[department's] records of the operator of a facility relating to
192	192	the children placed in or committed to the facility [department].
193	193	(c) A local law enforcement agency shall allow the
194	194	independent ombudsman access to its records relating to any child
195	195	in the care or custody of an operator of a facility [the
196	196	department].
197	197	SECTION 13. Section 261.152, Human Resources Code, is
198	198	amended to read as follows:
199	199	Sec. 261.152. ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF PRIVATE
200	200	ENTITIES. The independent ombudsman shall have access to the
201	201	records of a private entity that relate to a child placed in or
202	202	committed to a facility [the department].
203	203	SECTION 14. Section 261.101(e), Human Resources Code, is
204	204	repealed.
205	205	SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.