84R10118 YDB-D
By: Dukes H.B. No. 600
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to child protective services and employees of the
Department of Family and Protective Services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter N to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER N. REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF
FAMILY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES EMPLOYEES
Sec. 61.731. REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The board
shall establish a program to provide, using funds appropriated for
that purpose and in accordance with this subchapter and rules of the
board, assistance in the repayment of student loans for employees
of the Department of Family and Protective Services who apply and
qualify for the assistance.
Sec. 61.732. ELIGIBILITY. (a) To be eligible to receive
repayment assistance, a person must:
(1) apply to the board; and
(2) have been employed for at least one year as, and be
currently employed full-time at the Department of Family and
Protective Services as:
(A) a child protective services family-based
safety services caseworker;
(B) a child protective services investigator;
(C) a child-care licensing investigator or
inspector; or
(D) a residential child-care licensing
investigator or inspector.
(b) In awarding repayment assistance to first-time
applicants, the board shall give priority to applicants who
demonstrate financial need.
Sec. 61.733. AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE; LIMITATION.
(a) For each year that a person meets the eligibility requirements
provided by Section 61.732, the person may receive repayment
assistance under this subchapter in an amount determined by board
rule, not to exceed $2,500.
(b) A person may not receive repayment assistance under this
subchapter for more than four years.
(c) If the money available for repayment assistance in a
period for which assistance is awarded is insufficient to provide
assistance to all eligible applicants described by Section
61.732(b), the board shall award repayment assistance to eligible
applicants by prioritizing awards to applicants employed in regions
of this state experiencing the highest turnover.
Sec. 61.734. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
repayment assistance for the repayment of any student loan for
education at a public or private institution of higher education,
including loans for undergraduate education and graduate
education, issued through any lender.
(b) The board may not provide repayment assistance for a
student loan that is in default at the time of the person's
application.
Sec. 61.735. REPAYMENT. (a) The board shall deliver any
repayment assistance made under this subchapter in a lump sum
directly to the lender or other holder of the loan on the person's
behalf and in accordance with any applicable federal law.
(b) Repayment assistance received under this subchapter may
be applied to the principal amount of the loan and to interest that
accrues.
Sec. 61.736. FUNDING. (a) The repayment assistance
program established by this subchapter is funded only from
appropriations made specifically to fund the program and from
gifts, grants, and donations. The board shall attempt to provide
repayment assistance in each state fiscal biennium in amounts
sufficient to use all amounts appropriated for the program in that
biennium.
(b) The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
donations from any public or private source for the purposes of this
subchapter.
Sec. 61.737. RULES. (a) The board shall adopt rules
necessary for the administration of this subchapter, including a
rule that establishes the amount of repayment assistance awarded to
eligible persons each year.
(b) The board shall distribute to each institution of higher
education, the Department of Family and Protective Services, and
appropriate professional associations copies of the rules adopted
under this section and pertinent information in this subchapter.
SECTION 2. Chapter 101, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 101.0013 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.0013. AGE-APPROPRIATE ACTIVITY. "Age-appropriate
activity" means an activity or experience that is generally
accepted as suitable for a child of the same chronological age or
level of maturity or that is determined to be developmentally
appropriate for a child based on the development of cognitive,
emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that are typical for
an age or age group.
SECTION 3. Chapter 101, Family Code, is amended by amending
Section 101.0201 and adding Section 101.0202 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.0201. NORMALCY ACTIVITY. "Normalcy activity"
means an activity or experience in which a child who is not in the
conservatorship of the state is allowed to participate, including
extracurricular activities, in-school and out-of-school social
activities, enrichment activities, and employment opportunities.
Sec. 101.0202. NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR JUDICIAL WRIT OF
WITHHOLDING. "Notice of application for judicial writ of
withholding" means the document delivered to an obligor and filed
with the court as required by Chapter 158 for the nonjudicial
determination of arrears and initiation of withholding.
SECTION 4. Chapter 101, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 101.0253 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.0253. REASONABLE AND PRUDENT PARENT STANDARD.
"Reasonable and prudent parent standard" means the standard
characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that
maintain the child's health, safety, and best interests.
SECTION 5. Section 261.3021, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 261.3021. CASEWORK DOCUMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT.
Subject to the appropriation of money for these purposes, the
department shall:
(1) identify critical investigation actions that
impact child safety and require department caseworkers to document
those actions in a child's case file not later than the day after
the action occurs;
(2) identify and develop a comprehensive set of
casework quality indicators that must be reported in real time to
support timely management oversight;
(3) provide department supervisors with access to
casework quality indicators and train department supervisors on the
use of that information in the daily supervision of caseworkers;
(4) develop a case tracking system that:
(A) uses the latest technology to easily link
cases involving individuals in the same household by identifying
siblings, relatives, and other non-related adults living in the
home;
(B) includes expanded read-only access for
caseworkers and case coordinators;
(C) tracks subsequent investigations of child
protective services provided to children for whom caseworkers are
unable to determine whether abuse or neglect occurred; and
(D) notifies department supervisors and
management when a case is not progressing in a timely manner;
(5) use current data reporting systems to provide
department supervisors and management with easier access to
information; and
(6) train department supervisors and management on the
use of data to monitor cases and make decisions.
SECTION 6. Section 261.3022, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 261.3022. CHILD SAFETY CHECK ALERT LIST. (a) Subject
to the availability of funds, the Department of Public Safety of the
State of Texas shall create a child safety check alert list as part
of the Texas Crime Information Center to help locate a child or the
child's family for purposes of:
(1) investigating a report of child abuse or neglect;
(2) providing protective services to a child whose
life may be at risk and whose family is receiving in-home support
services; or
(3) providing protective services to a child in the
managing conservatorship of the department who has run away and
whose life may be at risk.
(b) If the child safety check alert list is established and
the department is unable to locate a child or the child's family for
a purpose stated in Subsection (a) [purposes of investigating a
report of child abuse or neglect], after the department has
exhausted all means available to the department for locating the
child or the child's family, the department may seek assistance
under this section from the appropriate [county attorney, district
attorney, or criminal district] attorney with responsibility for
representing the department as provided by Section 264.009.
(c) If the department requests assistance, the county
attorney, district attorney, or criminal district attorney, as
applicable, may file an application with the court requesting the
issuance of an ex parte order requiring the Texas Crime Information
Center to place the child or the members of the child's family whom
the department is attempting to locate on a child safety check alert
list. The application must include a summary of:
(1) either:
(A) the report of child abuse or neglect the
department is attempting to investigate; or
(B) the circumstances in a case described by
Subsection (a)(2) or (3) that cause a child to be at a substantial
risk of harm because the child or family cannot be located; and
(2) the department's efforts to locate the child or the
child's family.
(d) If the court determines after a hearing that the family
cannot be located to investigate a report of child abuse or neglect
or that a child is at risk of substantial harm because the child or
family cannot be located and that the department has exhausted all
means available to the department for locating the child or the
child's family, as applicable, the court shall approve the
application and order the appropriate law enforcement agency to
notify the Texas Crime Information Center to place the child or the
child's family, as applicable, on a child safety check alert list.
The alert list must include:
(1) if applicable, the name of the family member
alleged to have abused or neglected a child according to the report
the department is attempting to investigate;
(2) the name of the child who is the subject of the
report or an ongoing department case;
(3) if applicable, a code identifying the type of
child abuse or neglect alleged to have been committed against the
child;
(4) the family's last known address; and
(5) the minimum criteria for an entry as established
by the center.
SECTION 7. Section 261.3023(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If a law enforcement officer encounters a person,
including a child, listed on the Texas Crime Information Center's
child safety check alert list [who is alleged to have abused or
neglected a child, or encounters a child listed on the alert list
who is the subject of a report of child abuse or neglect the
department is attempting to investigate], the officer shall request
information from the person or the child regarding the child's
well-being and current residence. The officer shall immediately
report that the person or child has been located and the location of
the person or child by calling the toll-free telephone number
operated by the department to receive reports of child abuse or
neglect.
SECTION 8. Section 261.3024(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A law enforcement officer who locates a child listed on
the Texas Crime Information Center's child safety check alert list
[who is the subject of a report of child abuse or neglect the
department is attempting to investigate] and who reports the
child's current address and other relevant information to the
department under Section 261.3023 shall report to the Texas Crime
Information Center that the child has been located.
SECTION 9. Section 261.3126(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) In each county, to the extent possible, the department
and the local law enforcement agencies that investigate child abuse
in the county shall colocate in the same offices investigators from
the department and the law enforcement agencies to improve the
efficiency of child abuse investigations. With approval of the
local children's advocacy center and its partner agencies, in each
county in which a children's advocacy center established under
Section 264.402 is located, the department shall attempt to locate
investigators from the department and county and municipal law
enforcement agencies at the center and to increase the number of
department investigators located at a center if the rate of
retention for investigators at that center exceeds the retention
rate of investigators located in other offices.
SECTION 10. Section 263.102(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The service plan must:
(1) be specific;
(2) be in writing in a language that the parents
understand, or made otherwise available;
(3) be prepared by the department or other agency in
conference with the child's parents;
(4) state appropriate deadlines;
(5) state whether the goal of the plan is:
(A) return of the child to the child's parents;
(B) termination of parental rights and placement
of the child for adoption; or
(C) because of the child's special needs or
exceptional circumstances, continuation of the child's care out of
the child's home;
(6) state steps that are necessary to:
(A) return the child to the child's home if the
placement is in foster care;
(B) enable the child to remain in the child's
home with the assistance of a service plan if the placement is in
the home under the department's or other agency's supervision; or
(C) otherwise provide a permanent safe placement
for the child;
(7) state the actions and responsibilities that are
necessary for the child's parents to take to achieve the plan goal
during the period of the service plan and the assistance to be
provided to the parents by the department or other authorized
agency toward meeting that goal;
(8) state any specific skills or knowledge that the
child's parents must acquire or learn, as well as any behavioral
changes the parents must exhibit, to achieve the plan goal;
(9) state the actions and responsibilities that are
necessary for the child's parents to take to ensure that the child
attends school and maintains or improves the child's academic
compliance;
(10) state the name of the person with the department
or other agency whom the child's parents may contact for
information relating to the child if other than the person
preparing the plan; [and]
(11) provide for the elimination of impediments to the
child's participation in age-appropriate normalcy activities; and
(12) prescribe any other term or condition that the
department or other agency determines to be necessary to the
service plan's success.
SECTION 11. Section 263.105, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) As part of the review under Subsection (b), the court
shall ensure that the child's caregiver under the plan understands:
(1) the importance of the child's participation in
age-appropriate normalcy activities; and
(2) the flexibility the reasonable and prudent parent
standard provides the caregiver in approving the child's
participation in normalcy activities.
SECTION 12. Section 263.306, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) At each permanency hearing, the court shall review the
efforts of the department in ensuring that:
(1) the child's caregiver is following the reasonable
and prudent parent standard; and
(2) the child has regular, ongoing opportunities to
engage in age-appropriate normalcy activities, including
activities not listed in the child's service plan.
SECTION 13. Section 263.503, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) At each placement review hearing, the court shall review
the efforts of the department in ensuring that:
(1) the child's caregiver is following the reasonable
and prudent parent standard; and
(2) the child has regular, ongoing opportunities to
engage in age-appropriate normalcy activities, including
activities not listed in the child's service plan.
SECTION 14. Section 264.015, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) In the training for prospective foster parents and in
the annual training for foster parents, the department shall
include programs to address the potential impact on the family of
providing foster care and to recommend methods for maintaining
household stability, including respite care and stress relief
techniques.
SECTION 15. Section 264.114, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) A foster parent, relative or other designated
caregiver, or other substitute caregiver caring for a child in the
department's managing conservatorship is not liable for harm caused
to the child that results from the child's participation in an
age-appropriate activity approved by the caregiver if the caregiver
acted in the same manner as a reasonable and prudent parent would in
approving the child's participation in the activity.
SECTION 16. Section 264.121(f), Family Code, as amended by
Chapters 168 (S.B. 1589) and 342 (H.B. 2111), Acts of the 83rd
Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
(f) The department shall require a person with whom the
department contracts for transitional living services for foster
youth to provide or assist youth in obtaining:
(1) housing services;
(2) job training and employment services;
(3) college preparation services beginning at age 14;
(4) services that will assist youth in obtaining a
general education development certificate;
(5) services that will assist youth in developing
skills in food preparation;
(6) nutrition education that promotes healthy food
choices; [and]
(7) [(5)] a savings or checking account if the youth
is at least 18 years of age and has a source of income; and
(8) [(7)] any other appropriate transitional living
service identified by the department.
SECTION 17. Sections 264.123(a) and (d), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) If a child in the department's managing conservatorship
is missing from the child's substitute care provider, including a
child who is abducted or is a runaway, the department shall notify
the following persons and entities that the child is missing:
(1) the appropriate law enforcement agencies;
(2) the court with jurisdiction over the department's
managing conservatorship of the child;
(3) the child's attorney ad litem;
(4) the child's guardian ad litem; [and]
(5) the child's parent unless the parent:
(A) cannot be located or contacted;
(B) has had the parent's parental rights
terminated; or
(C) has executed an affidavit of relinquishment
of parental rights; and
(6) the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children.
(d) The department shall make continuing efforts to
determine the location of a missing child until the child returns to
substitute care, including:
(1) contacting on a monthly basis:
(A) the appropriate law enforcement agencies;
(B) the child's relatives;
(C) the child's former caregivers; and
(D) any state or local social service agency that
may be providing services to the child; [and]
(2) conducting a supervisory-level review of the case
on a quarterly basis if the child is 15 years of age or younger to
determine whether sufficient efforts have been made to locate the
child and whether other action is needed; and
(3) appointing a special investigator to assist in
locating the child and in investigating the events affecting the
child that occurred while the child was missing.
SECTION 18. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 264.126 to read as follows:
Sec. 264.126. NORMALCY ACTIVITIES; REASONABLE AND PRUDENT
PARENT STANDARD. (a) The department shall use its best efforts to
normalize the lives of children in the managing conservatorship of
the department and to allow substitute caregivers to make
decisions, similar to the decisions that a parent is entitled to
make, regarding the child's participation in age-appropriate
normalcy activities without the department's prior approval.
(b) A substitute caregiver shall use a reasonable and
prudent parent standard in determining whether to permit a child in
the conservatorship of the department to participate in an
activity. When making a decision according to the reasonable and
prudent parent standard, the caregiver must consider:
(1) the overall health and safety of the child and the
child's age, maturity, and development level;
(2) any potential risk factors and the appropriateness
of the activity;
(3) the best interest of the child based on the
caregiver's knowledge of the child;
(4) the importance of encouraging the child's social,
emotional, and developmental growth;
(5) the importance of providing the child with the
most family-like living experience possible; and
(6) the behavioral history of the child and the child's
ability to safely participate in the proposed activity.
(c) The department shall verify that substitute caregivers
providing substitute care services under contract with the
department:
(1) promote and protect the ability of a child to
participate in age-appropriate normalcy activities; and
(2) implement policies consistent with this section.
(d) The department shall review its policies and procedures
to identify policies and procedures that impede a substitute
caregiver's ability to make reasonable and prudent parenting
decisions and shall adopt new policies that promote a substitute
caregiver's ability to make reasonable and prudent parenting
decisions.
(e) The department shall require a child's substitute
caregiver to complete training on:
(1) decision-making as a reasonable and prudent
parent;
(2) appropriate and trauma-informed procedures for
addressing a child's misbehavior; and
(3) the importance of a child's participation in
age-appropriate normalcy activities and the benefits of
participation to a child's social, emotional, and developmental
growth, well-being, and mental health.
SECTION 19. Section 264.408(c), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The department, a law enforcement agency, and a
prosecuting attorney may share with a center or a statewide child
advocacy center organization information that is confidential
under Section 261.201 as needed to provide services under this
chapter. Confidential information shared with or provided to a
center or organization remains the property of the agency that
shared or provided the information to the center or organization.
SECTION 20. Section 264.503, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f-1) to read as follows:
(f-1) The Department of State Health Services shall
identify opportunities for improving the information provided in
the report under Subsection (f) and, in areas of this state where a
review team is not established, shall monitor the impact on that
area of inadequate services.
SECTION 21. Section 264.852, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) The department shall provide to a foster child's
relative, or other adult with whom that child has a longstanding and
significant relationship, with whom the child is residing
information about qualifying and becoming licensed or verified by
the department as a kinship provider.
SECTION 22. Chapter 265, Family Code, is amended by adding
Sections 265.005, 265.006, and 265.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 265.005. EVALUATION OF SERVICES. (a) The department
shall establish a process to identify each child or family member
who receives prevention and early intervention services and
subsequent child protective services and evaluate the success of
the prevention and early intervention services initially provided.
(b) The department shall use the information obtained
through the evaluation process to determine and provide the most
intensive prevention and early intervention services to children
and families who are determined most at risk for abuse and neglect
and most in need of the services.
Sec. 265.006. HEALTHY OUTCOMES THROUGH PREVENTION AND EARLY
SUPPORT (HOPES) AND HELP THROUGH INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION (HIP)
PROJECTS. (a) The department shall establish:
(1) a healthy outcomes through prevention and early
support (HOPES) project to provide, in communities selected by the
department, flexible, community-based child abuse and neglect
prevention programs to families of children under five years of age
who are at risk of abuse and neglect; and
(2) a help through intervention and prevention (HIP)
project to provide voluntary extensive family assessment, home
visitation, and education services to families at risk for abuse
and neglect to increase protection of the child and prevent child
abuse.
(b) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the department shall submit electronically to each legislative
committee with jurisdiction over child protective services a report
on the department's efforts and strategies to expand the services
provided under Subsection (a) to additional areas in this state and
to populations identified as being at higher risk for abuse and
neglect.
Sec. 265.007. IDENTIFICATION OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES. The
department shall collaborate with the Department of State Health
Services to identify additional funding opportunities for children
and families receiving prevention and early intervention services
to address individual and community factors that contribute to
parental substance abuse and domestic violence in those families.
SECTION 23. Section 40.032(c), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The executive director or the executive director's
designated representative shall develop a system of annual
performance evaluations based on measurable job tasks. All merit
pay for department employees must be based on the system
established under this subsection. The department's retention
strategies for child protective services caseworkers may include
merit-based advancement opportunities for caseworkers and coaching
or corrective action procedures to address deficient performance
evaluations without negatively impacting merit eligibility.
SECTION 24. Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 40.03211 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.03211. SALARY SUPPLEMENT PILOT PROJECT FOR CHILD
PROTECTIVE SERVICES CASEWORKERS. (a) The department may establish
a pilot project to supplement the salary of a child protective
services caseworker based on the average salary for similar
positions in the area of the employee's assigned place of
employment, the extent to which the caseworker's salary meets
cost-of-living expenses in that area, and other location factors.
(b) Section 659.020, Government Code, does not apply to the
supplement authorized by this section.
SECTION 25. Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Sections 40.0328 and 40.0329 to read as
follows:
Sec. 40.0328. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES CASEWORKERS. (a)
The department shall periodically restructure the duties of
caseworkers as necessary to maintain the safety of children in
child protective services, increase the time a caseworker spends
with children, prioritize the time required to effectively address
cases above caseload, and successfully manage child protective
services caseloads.
(b) The department shall:
(1) create a streamlined child protective services
policy handbook to assist caseworkers in understanding their
duties;
(2) establish caseworker support centers to provide
administrative support to the caseworkers;
(3) increase the number of support staff for
investigation units to be separately located from other
investigation units;
(4) develop information resources to assist
caseworkers and their supervisors in prioritizing caseworker time;
and
(5) assign master caseworkers to areas with high
caseworker vacancy numbers or case numbers.
(c) The department shall require a caseworker each month to
report a face-to-face visit with each foster child assigned to the
caseworker.
Sec. 40.0329. DISRUPTION SPECIALISTS. The department shall
designate as disruption specialists a sufficient number of
personnel to provide family group conference services, support
timely intervention efforts that reduce preventable placement
disruptions, and more frequently use family team meetings to engage
the family and community in making critical child-placing
decisions.
SECTION 26. Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 40.0565 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.0565. REGIONAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP COUNCILS. The
department shall establish and fund regional youth leadership
councils. The department shall include the councils in making
decisions related to creating stable environments for foster
children.
SECTION 27. Section 40.058(c), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The department shall monitor a contractor's performance
under a contract for the purchase of program-related client
services. In monitoring performance, the department shall:
(1) use a risk-assessment methodology that employs
empirically driven predictive analytics to monitor the contracts
and ensure compliance with financial and performance requirements
under the contract; and
(2) obtain and evaluate program cost information to
ensure that all costs, including administrative costs, are
reasonable and necessary to achieve program objectives.
SECTION 28. Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 40.075 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.075. RECORDS RETENTION. The department shall
retain child protective services records as follows:
(1) for cases in which the department has reason to
believe a child was abused or neglected and the child was removed
from the child's home, 50 years;
(2) for cases in which the department has reason to
believe a child was abused or neglected, the designated perpetrator
of the abuse or neglect appeals the department's findings, and the
findings are substantiated, 20 years;
(3) for cases in which the department has reason to
believe a child was abused or neglected, the department is unable to
determine whether the abuse or neglect happened or is unable to
complete the investigation, and the child remains in the child's
home, 20 years; and
(4) for cases in which the department rules out abuse
or neglect and the department's risk assessment indicates a
significant level of risk remains with the family, no significant
risks exist within the family, or the risk factors within the family
are controlled, five years.
SECTION 29. Section 42.053, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) A licensed child-placing agency shall conduct an annual
home study for each agency foster home or agency foster group home
operated by the agency.
SECTION 30. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission shall adopt the necessary rules and policies
and the Department of Family and Protective Services shall develop
the procedures and take the steps necessary to implement the
changes in law made by this Act.
SECTION 31. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt the rules for the repayment assistance program under
Subchapter N, Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act, not
later than December 1, 2015.
SECTION 32. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 33. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.