S.B. No. 354
AN ACT
relating to the transfer to the Health and Human Services
Commission of contracting authority for children's advocacy
centers and volunteer advocate programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 264.409, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.409. ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTS. (a) The
department or the commission shall [office of the attorney general
may] contract with a statewide organization that is exempt from
federal income taxation under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as an organization described by Section 501(c)(3) of that
code and designated as a supporting organization under Section
509(a)(3) of that code and that is composed of individuals or groups
of individuals who have expertise in the establishment and
operation of children's advocacy center programs. The statewide
organization shall provide training, technical assistance, [and]
evaluation services, and funds administration to support
contractual requirements under Section 264.411 for local
children's advocacy center programs.
(b) If the commission [office of the attorney general]
enters into a contract under this section, the contract must
provide that the statewide organization may not spend annually in
the performance of duties under Subsection (a) [for administrative
purposes] more than 12 percent of the annual amount appropriated to
the commission [office of the attorney general] for purposes of
this section.
SECTION 2. Sections 264.410(a) and (c), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The statewide organization with which the department or
the commission [office of the attorney general] contracts under
Section 264.409 shall contract for services with eligible centers
to enhance the existing services of the programs.
(c) If the commission [attorney general] enters into a
contract with a statewide organization under Section 264.409, the
executive commissioner [attorney general] by rule shall adopt
standards for eligible local centers. The statewide organization
shall assist the executive commissioner [attorney general] in
developing the standards.
SECTION 3. Section 264.411(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A public entity that operated as a center under this
subchapter before November 1, 1995, or a nonprofit entity is
eligible for a contract under Section 264.410 if the entity:
(1) has a signed memorandum of understanding as
provided by Section 264.403;
(2) operates under the authority of a governing board
as provided by Section 264.404;
(3) has a multidisciplinary team of persons involved
in the investigation or prosecution of child abuse cases or the
delivery of services as provided by Section 264.406;
(4) holds regularly scheduled case reviews as provided
by Section 264.406;
(5) operates in a neutral and physically separate
space from the day-to-day operations of any public agency partner;
(6) has developed a method of statistical information
gathering on children receiving services through the center and
shares such statistical information with the statewide
organization, the department, and the commission [office of the
attorney general] when requested;
(7) has an in-house volunteer program;
(8) employs an executive director who is answerable to
the board of directors of the entity and who is not the exclusive
salaried employee of any public agency partner;
(9) operates under a working protocol that includes a
statement of:
(A) the center's mission;
(B) each agency's role and commitment to the
center;
(C) the type of cases to be handled by the center;
(D) the center's procedures for conducting case
reviews and forensic interviews and for ensuring access to
specialized medical and mental health services; and
(E) the center's policies regarding
confidentiality and conflict resolution; and
(10) implements at the center the following program
components:
(A) a case tracking system that monitors
statistical information on each child and nonoffending family
member or other caregiver who receives services through the center
and that includes progress and disposition information for each
service the multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to
the client;
(B) a child-focused setting that is comfortable,
private, and physically and psychologically safe for diverse
populations of children and nonoffending family members and other
caregivers;
(C) family advocacy and victim support services
that include comprehensive case management and victim support
services available to each child and the child's nonoffending
family members or other caregivers as part of the services the
multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a client;
(D) forensic interviews conducted in a neutral,
fact-finding manner and coordinated to avoid duplicative
interviewing;
(E) specialized medical evaluation and treatment
services that are available to all children who receive services
through the center and coordinated with the services the
multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a child;
(F) specialized trauma-focused mental health
services that are designed to meet the unique needs of child abuse
victims and the victims' nonoffending family members or other
caregivers and that are available as part of the services the
multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a client;
and
(G) a system to ensure that all services
available to center clients are culturally competent and diverse
and are coordinated with the services the multidisciplinary team
determines should be provided to a client.
SECTION 4. Sections 264.602(a), (c), (d), (e), and (f),
Family Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The statewide organization with which the commission
[attorney general] contracts under Section 264.603 shall contract
for services with eligible volunteer advocate programs to provide
advocacy services to abused or neglected children.
(c) The commission [attorney general] shall develop a scale
of state financial support for volunteer advocate programs that
declines over a six-year period beginning on the date each
individual contract takes effect. After the end of the six-year
period, the commission [attorney general] may not provide more than
50 percent of the volunteer advocate program's funding.
(d) The executive commissioner [attorney general] by rule
shall adopt standards for a local volunteer advocate program. The
statewide organization shall assist the executive commissioner
[attorney general] in developing the standards.
(e) The department, in cooperation with the statewide
organization with which the commission [attorney general]
contracts under Section 264.603 and other interested agencies,
shall support the expansion of court-appointed volunteer advocate
programs into counties in which there is a need for the
programs. In expanding into a county, a program shall work to
ensure the independence of the program, to the extent possible, by
establishing community support and accessing private funding from
the community for the program.
(f) Expenses incurred by a volunteer advocate program to
promote public awareness of the need for volunteer advocates or to
explain the work performed by volunteer advocates that are paid
with money from the commission [attorney general] volunteer
advocate program account under Section 504.611, Transportation
Code, are not considered administrative expenses for the purpose of
Section 264.603(b).
SECTION 5. Section 264.603, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.603. ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTS. (a) The
commission [attorney general] shall contract with one statewide
organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under
Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as an organization
described by Section 501(c)(3) of that code and designated as a
supporting organization under Section 509(a)(3) of that code, and
that is composed of individuals or groups of individuals who have
expertise in the dynamics of child abuse and neglect and experience
in operating volunteer advocate programs to provide training,
technical assistance, and evaluation services for the benefit of
local volunteer advocate programs. The contract shall:
(1) include measurable goals and objectives relating
to the number of:
(A) volunteer advocates in the program; and
(B) children receiving services from the
program; and
(2) follow practices designed to ensure compliance
with standards referenced in the contract.
(b) The contract under this section shall provide that not
more than 12 percent of the annual legislative appropriation to
implement this subchapter may be spent for administrative purposes
by the statewide organization with which the commission [attorney
general] contracts under this section.
SECTION 6. Section 264.604(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The statewide organization with which the commission
[attorney general] contracts under Section 264.603 may not contract
with a person that is not eligible under this section. However, the
statewide organization may waive the requirement in Subsection
(a)(3) for an established program in a rural area or under other
special circumstances.
SECTION 7. Section 264.605, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.605. CONTRACT FORM. A person shall apply for a
contract under Section 264.602 on a form provided by the commission
[attorney general].
SECTION 8. Section 264.606, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.606. CRITERIA FOR AWARD OF CONTRACTS. The
statewide organization with which the commission [attorney
general] contracts under Section 264.603 shall consider the
following in awarding a contract under Section 264.602:
(1) the volunteer advocate program's eligibility for
and use of funds from local, state, or federal governmental
sources, philanthropic organizations, and other sources;
(2) community support for the volunteer advocate
program as indicated by financial contributions from civic
organizations, individuals, and other community resources;
(3) whether the volunteer advocate program provides
services that encourage the permanent placement of children through
reunification with their families or timely placement with an
adoptive family; and
(4) whether the volunteer advocate program has the
endorsement and cooperation of the local juvenile court system.
SECTION 9. Section 264.607, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.607. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS. [(a)] The commission
[attorney general] shall require that a contract under Section
264.602 require the volunteer advocate program to:
(1) make quarterly and annual financial reports on a
form provided by the commission [attorney general];
(2) cooperate with inspections and audits that the
commission [attorney general] makes to ensure service standards and
fiscal responsibility; and
(3) provide as a minimum:
(A) independent and factual information in
writing to the court and to counsel for the parties involved
regarding the child;
(B) advocacy through the courts for permanent
home placement and rehabilitation services for the child;
(C) monitoring of the child to ensure the safety
of the child and to prevent unnecessary movement of the child to
multiple temporary placements;
(D) reports in writing to the presiding judge and
to counsel for the parties involved;
(E) community education relating to child abuse
and neglect;
(F) referral services to existing community
services;
(G) a volunteer recruitment and training
program, including adequate screening procedures for volunteers;
(H) procedures to assure the confidentiality of
records or information relating to the child; and
(I) compliance with the standards adopted under
Section 264.602.
SECTION 10. Section 264.608, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 264.608. REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE. (a) Not later
than December 1 of each year, the commission [attorney general]
shall publish a report that:
(1) summarizes reports from volunteer advocate
programs under contract with the commission [attorney general];
(2) analyzes the effectiveness of the contracts made
by the commission [attorney general] under this chapter; and
(3) provides information on:
(A) the expenditure of funds under this chapter;
(B) services provided and the number of children
for whom the services were provided; and
(C) any other information relating to the
services provided by the volunteer advocate programs under this
chapter.
(b) The commission [attorney general] shall submit copies
of the report to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the
house of representatives, [the] Legislative Budget Board, and
members of the legislature.
SECTION 11. Section 264.609, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 264.609. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY. The executive
commissioner [attorney general] may adopt rules necessary to
implement this subchapter [chapter].
SECTION 12. Section 264.610, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 264.610. CONFIDENTIALITY. The commission [attorney
general] may not disclose information gained through reports,
collected case data, or inspections that would identify a person
working at or receiving services from a volunteer advocate program.
SECTION 13. Section 264.611, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 264.611. CONSULTATIONS. In implementing this chapter,
the commission [attorney general] shall consult with individuals or
groups of individuals who have expertise in the dynamics of child
abuse and neglect and experience in operating volunteer advocate
programs.
SECTION 14. Section 264.612, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 264.612. FUNDING. (a) The commission [attorney
general] may solicit and receive grants or money from either
private or public sources, including by appropriation by the
legislature from the general revenue fund, to implement this
chapter.
(b) The need for and importance of the implementation of
this chapter by the commission [attorney general] requires priority
and preferential consideration for appropriation.
SECTION 15. Section 504.611, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 504.611. VOLUNTEER ADVOCATE PROGRAM LICENSE PLATES.
(a) The department shall issue specialty license plates in
recognition of children. The department shall design the license
plates in consultation with the Health and Human Services
Commission [attorney general].
(b) After deduction of the department's administrative
costs, the remainder of the fee for issuance of the license plates
shall be deposited to the credit of the [attorney general]
volunteer advocate program account in the general revenue fund.
Money deposited to the credit of the volunteer advocate program
account may be used only by the Health and Human Services Commission
[attorney general] to fund a contract entered into by the
commission [attorney general] under Section 264.602, Family Code.
SECTION 16. (a) On the effective date of this Act, the
powers and duties of the attorney general under Subchapters E and G,
Chapter 264, Family Code, are transferred to the Health and Human
Services Commission.
(b) The office of the attorney general shall work in
cooperation with and at the direction of the Health and Human
Services Commission to facilitate the transfer described by this
section.
(c) A rule, form, policy, procedure, or decision of the
attorney general that is related to a power or duty transferred
under Subsection (a) of this section continues in effect as a rule,
form, policy, procedure, or decision of the Health and Human
Services Commission until superseded by an act of the commission or
executive commissioner of the commission.
(d) A contract negotiation or proceeding involving the
attorney general that is related to a power or duty transferred
under Subsection (a) of this section is transferred without change
in status to the Health and Human Services Commission, and the
commission assumes, without a change in status, the position of the
attorney general in a negotiation or proceeding relating to a power
or duty transferred under Subsection (a) of this section to which
the attorney general is a party.
(e) All personal property, including records, in the
custody of the attorney general related to a power or duty
transferred under Subsection (a) of this section is transferred to
and becomes the property of the Health and Human Services
Commission.
(f) All contracts, memoranda of understanding, and rights
of the attorney general related to a power or duty transferred under
Subsection (a) of this section are transferred to the Health and
Human Services Commission.
(g) All money appropriated by the legislature to the
attorney general related to a power or duty transferred under
Subsection (a) of this section, including money for providing
administrative support, is transferred to the Health and Human
Services Commission.
SECTION 17. A contract transferred under Section 16 of this
Act may not be canceled by the Health and Human Services Commission
except as provided by the terms of the contract.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 354 passed the Senate on
April 30, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 354 passed the House on
May 22, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 1, two
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor