83R3046 YDB-D
By: Dukes H.B. No. 3431
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedures in certain suits affecting the parent-child
relationship and the operation of the child protective services and
foster care systems.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 107.002, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
(j) This subsection applies to a guardian ad litem who is
appointed to represent a child in the managing conservatorship of
the Department of Family and Protective Services unless the court
renders an order exempting the guardian ad litem from compliance
with this subsection. Before each scheduled hearing, the guardian
ad litem must notify the court of any court-ordered foster care
services that have not been provided to the child or the child's
family in a reasonable time or the time specified by the court. A
court requiring notice under this subsection shall establish the
procedures that the guardian ad litem must follow to provide the
notice.
SECTION 2. Subtitle D, Title 2, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 41 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 41. SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTS
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 41.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "single source
continuum" means a range of foster care services specified by the
department that is provided by one foster care service provider and
its subcontractors.
Sec. 41.002. RULES. The executive commissioner shall adopt
rules necessary to implement this chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS
Sec. 41.051. SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTORS. The
department may contract with a single source continuum contractor
to provide foster care services in a designated geographic region
of this state. Subject to Section 41.053, the contractor may
provide the services directly or through a network of
subcontractors.
Sec. 41.052. CONTRACT MONITORING SYSTEM; ANNUAL REPORT.
(a) The department shall establish a system to monitor each single
source continuum contractor's performance under a contract to
provide foster care services in a designated geographic region of
this state. The system must require the contractor to provide to
the department, in the manner prescribed by the department,
information related to the contractor, contract, and services
provided under the contract.
(b) The information provided under Subsection (a) at a
minimum must allow for:
(1) early identification of any potential problems
with the single source continuum contractor's delivery of foster
care services;
(2) an evaluation of the contractor's foster care
program operations, financial accountability for the operations,
and continued viability to provide foster care services;
(3) a comparison of the contractor's actual expenses
with the contractor's budgeted expenses and an analysis of any
variances between those amounts;
(4) an evaluation of the contractor's adherence to
approved cost allocation plans; and
(5) an evaluation of the contractor's cash flow and
cash balances.
(c) The monitoring system must require each single source
continuum contractor to submit to the department:
(1) documentation on the accuracy and timeliness of
invoices submitted by the contractor to the department;
(2) documentation on the timeliness of payments to
subcontractors with whom the contractor contracts to provide foster
care services;
(3) documentation on the composition of the
contractor's management, administrative, direct care, and other
foster care program staff and on the ratio of administrative staff
to direct care staff;
(4) quarterly documentation on the number of
contractor staff vacancies, the percentage of contractor staff
positions filled compared to the total number of budgeted
positions, and any apparent trend in the number of vacant staff
positions, including identification of any known reasons for the
vacancies; and
(5) documentation on and an analysis of the
contractor's foster care program, including:
(A) the size of the contractor's caseload;
(B) the average time that a child receives foster
care services from the contractor or a subcontractor, including
residential services;
(C) the ages of children receiving foster care
services;
(D) the percentage of children receiving in-home
foster care services and the percentage of children receiving
foster care services outside the home;
(E) the support services available to the
families of the children receiving foster care services from the
contractor;
(F) the prevention and diversion services
available to the children and their families; and
(G) the percentage of the contractor's corporate
net worth represented by the contractor's contract with the
department.
(d) Not later than October 1 of each year, the department,
in the manner prescribed by the Legislative Budget Board, shall
submit to the governor and the Legislative Budget Board a report on
the viability and performance of each single source continuum
contractor with which the department has contracted under this
subchapter.
Sec. 41.053. SERVICE PERCENTAGE LIMITATION ON SINGLE SOURCE
CONTINUUM CONTRACTS. (a) In this section, "core foster care
services" includes case management services, placement services,
residential and shelter services, foster and adoptive home
recruitment and retention services, adoption services, independent
living services, service coordination, behavioral health services,
assessment services, and any other service central to the foster
care system specified by the department.
(b) Except as provided by Section 41.054, a single source
continuum contractor may not directly provide more than 35 percent
of the foster care services in a geographic region of the state paid
under contracts with the department. The percentage must be
calculated based on the total amount paid in each state fiscal year
for all core foster care services directly provided by the
contractor and not on the category of service provided by the
contractor to allow the contractor flexibility in structuring the
provision of services under the contract.
Sec. 41.054. TEMPORARY EXEMPTION FROM SERVICE PERCENTAGE
LIMITATION. (a) The department may temporarily exempt a single
source continuum contractor from the service percentage limitation
provided by Section 41.053 in a region that does not have enough
foster care service providers to manage the number of child
protective services cases in the region.
(b) An exemption granted under this section may not exceed
six months.
(c) A single source continuum contractor may apply for a
temporary exemption by submitting to the department in the manner
prescribed by the department:
(1) documentation of the shortage of available foster
care service providers in the region; and
(2) a plan, developed by the contractor in
consultation with county child welfare boards and other appropriate
local interested parties in the region, to increase the number of
foster care service providers in the region or the capacity of those
providers before the temporary exemption expires.
(d) The commissioner shall approve or disapprove a request
for a temporary exemption under this section based on the
documentation and plan submitted by the single source continuum
contractor.
(e) The department shall consult with the county child
welfare boards and other appropriate local interested parties in a
region in which a temporary exemption has been granted to:
(1) establish criteria for documenting the shortage of
available foster care service providers in the region and
determining when the shortage has been alleviated; and
(2) determine the actions necessary to increase the
number of available foster care service providers in the area or the
capacity of those providers before the temporary exemption expires.
Sec. 41.055. TRANSFER OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR FOSTER CARE
SERVICE TO CONTRACTOR. The department may not transfer to a single
source continuum contractor the responsibility of providing foster
care services under a contract with the department until:
(1) the department and the readiness assessment team
complete a readiness assessment of the contractor under Section
41.056;
(2) the readiness assessment team determines and
certifies in writing to the commissioner that the department is
prepared to transfer the responsibility for providing foster care
services to the contractor and the contractor is ready to deliver
and be held accountable for the services; and
(3) based on the results of the readiness assessment,
the commissioner determines that the contractor is sufficiently
ready for the department to transfer responsibility for the
provision of foster care services to the contractor.
Sec. 41.056. READINESS ASSESSMENT. (a) The department
shall conduct a readiness assessment on a single source continuum
contractor to:
(1) based on criteria developed under Subsection (c),
evaluate the contractor's readiness to provide foster care services
in a geographic region of this state under a contract with the
department and to be held accountable for delivery of the services
in that region; and
(2) identify any weakness that would adversely affect
the contractor's delivery of foster care services in the region and
allow the contractor to take corrective actions to address the
weakness before the contractor accepts clients under the contract.
(b) The department, in consultation with single source
continuum contractors, shall develop a readiness assessment
process that includes:
(1) the preparation of a draft readiness assessment
report;
(2) a review of the draft report by a readiness
assessment team appointment under Section 41.057;
(3) an on-site visit of the contractor's business and
other service locations by the readiness assessment team not later
than the 120th day after the date the contract is signed by the
contractor and the department;
(4) a review of the contractor's finalized operational
plan by the team and department; and
(5) a subsequent on-site visit of the contractor's
business and other service locations not earlier than the 45th day
or later than the 30th day before the date the contractor is
scheduled to begin accepting clients.
(c) The department shall develop a set of uniform criteria
for conducting the readiness assessment. The criteria at a minimum
must:
(1) reflect applicable national accreditation
standards considered appropriate by the department;
(2) consider local criteria that reflect the
geographic region in which the single source continuum contractor
will be providing services;
(3) realistically assess the contractor's readiness to
begin foster care service delivery and accept clients;
(4) require specific evidence of the contractor's
readiness on each element specified in the assessment, including
each element identified as needing improvement and actions taken to
address elements needing improvement; and
(5) allow the department to evaluate:
(A) the contractor's obligations under the
contract;
(B) the contractor's foster care program
operations, including financial competency, data collection and
information technology security, technical assistance competency,
program organization, staffing levels, personnel training,
procedures for monitoring foster care service provider
subcontractors, and consumer complaint procedures; and
(C) any other factor the department determines
useful.
(d) The department shall provide detailed instructions on,
and examples of, the information a readiness assessment team and
single source continuum contractor are required to submit under
this section.
Sec. 41.057. READINESS ASSESSMENT TEAM. (a) The
department shall appoint a readiness assessment team to assess a
single source continuum contractor's readiness to deliver foster
care services and accept clients before the responsibility of
providing the services is transferred to the contractor.
(b) A readiness assessment team consists of the following
four members:
(1) one representative of the department from the
department's central office;
(2) one representative of the department from the
department's office in the geographic region in which the
contractor has contracted to provide foster care services; and
(3) two members appointed by the commissioner who
represent interested parties in the area.
(c) The commissioner shall select the assessment team
members appointed under Subsection (b)(3) from individuals
nominated by court-appointed special advocates serving in the
region in which the contractor has contracted to provide foster
care services, the department's regional advisory council serving
in that region, or a child welfare board in the region.
(d) A member appointed under Subsection (b)(3) may not be an
employee of the single source continuum contractor or of a foster
care service provider in the region and may not have a conflict of
interest that the commissioner determines disqualifies the member
from serving on the assessment team.
Sec. 41.058. PROGRESSIVE INTERVENTION PLAN. (a) The
department shall develop a progressive intervention plan to ensure
the continuity of foster care services in a geographic region
served by a single source continuum contractor.
(b) A progressive intervention plan must include a plan for
a range of potential problems that do not qualify as crisis events
under Section 41.059 but that may affect the ability of a single
source continuum contractor to provide foster care services under a
contract if the problems are not resolved.
(c) A progressive intervention plan must:
(1) detail the actions department and contractor staff
must take to correct any identified problem and include a schedule
for completing the actions; and
(2) provide consequences if the contractor fails to
correct an identified problem.
Sec. 41.059. CONTINGENCY PLAN. (a) The department shall
develop a contingency plan that details specific actions to be
taken by department staff and a single source continuum contractor
to address specific crisis events that may affect the delivery of
foster care services in the geographic region served by the
contractor and to ensure the continuity of those services.
(b) The contingency plan must include specific actions to
address the following crisis events:
(1) a financial emergency with a contractor or with
two or more contractors simultaneously;
(2) an incident of abuse or death of a child in the
care of a contractor;
(3) a serious violation of state or federal law;
(4) a security breach of electronic or other
information held by a contractor or a subcontractor; and
(5) any other foreseeable event identified by the
department.
(c) A contingency plan must:
(1) contain details sufficient for affected
department staff to know their responsibilities and who to contact
during a crisis event;
(2) contain a communication plan for distributing
information concerning the event to children receiving foster care
services and their families, caseworkers, local interested
parties, state officials, media, and other relevant parties;
(3) provide schedules for the transfer of foster care
operations, materials, staff, records, and money; and
(4) for a crisis event in which a contractor is unable
to continue to provide services, detail actions for department
staff to take to assist with the contractor's daily operations
until a new single source continuum contractor is available to
provide those services.
(d) A copy of each contingency plan and any update to the
plan should be provided to the Legislative Budget Board, the
governor, the department's advisory council, and the executive
commissioner not later than December 1 of each odd-numbered year.
SECTION 3. Section 2155.1442, Government Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (f) to
read as follows:
(b) The Health and Human Services Commission shall contract
with the state auditor to perform as necessary on-site financial
audits of selected residential contractors and on-site financial
and program audits of single source continuum contractors [as
necessary]. The state auditor, in consultation with the
commission, shall select the contractors to audit based on the
contract's risk assessment rating, allegations of fraud or misuse
of state or other contract funds, or other appropriate audit
selection criteria. The [residential] contractors selected to be
audited must be included in the audit plan and approved by the
legislative audit committee under Section 321.013.
(c) The Department of Family and Protective Services shall
require that all files related to contracts for residential care of
foster children and to single source continuum contracts:
(1) be complete and accurately reflect the
contractor's actual updated contract performance; and
(2) be maintained in accordance with the department's
record retention procedures and made available to the state auditor
when requested.
(f) In this section, "single source continuum" has the
meaning assigned by Section 41.001, Human Resources Code.
SECTION 4. (a) Not later than December 1, 2013, the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
shall adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 41, Human
Resources Code, as added by this Act.
(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act, but not later than December 1, 2013, the Department of Family
and Protective Services shall develop the contract monitoring
system, the temporary exemption process, the readiness assessment
process, the progressive intervention plan, and the contingency
plan as required by Chapter 41, Human Resources Code, as added by
this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.