85R7545 MK-D
By: Burkett H.B. No. 1549
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of services by the Department of Family
and Protective Services, including child protective services and
prevention and early intervention services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 49.10, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (i-1) to read as follows:
(i-1) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, if the
deceased was a child younger than six years of age whose death is
determined under Section 264.514, Family Code, to be unexpected or
the result of abuse or neglect, a justice of the peace must order a
complete autopsy of the deceased.
SECTION 2. Section 9(a), Article 49.25, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) If the cause of death shall be determined beyond a
reasonable doubt as a result of the investigation, the medical
examiner shall file a report thereof setting forth specifically the
cause of death with the district attorney or criminal district
attorney, or in a county in which there is no district attorney or
criminal district attorney with the county attorney, of the county
in which the death occurred. If in the opinion of the medical
examiner an autopsy is necessary, or if such is requested by the
district attorney or criminal district attorney, or county attorney
where there is no district attorney or criminal district attorney,
the autopsy shall be immediately performed by the medical examiner
or a duly authorized deputy. In those cases where a complete
autopsy is deemed unnecessary by the medical examiner to ascertain
the cause of death, the medical examiner may perform a limited
autopsy involving the taking of blood samples or any other samples
of body fluids, tissues or organs, in order to ascertain the cause
of death or whether a crime has been committed. If the deceased was
a child younger than six years of age and the death is determined
under Section 264.514, Family Code, to be unexpected or the result
of abuse or neglect, the medical examiner shall perform a complete
autopsy. In the case of a body of a human being whose identity is
unknown, the medical examiner may authorize such investigative and
laboratory tests and processes as are required to determine its
identity as well as the cause of death. In performing an autopsy
the medical examiner or authorized deputy may use the facilities of
any city or county hospital within the county or such other
facilities as are made available. Upon completion of the autopsy,
the medical examiner shall file a report setting forth the findings
in detail with the office of the district attorney or criminal
district attorney of the county, or if there is no district attorney
or criminal district attorney, with the county attorney of the
county.
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 261, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 261.2031 to read as follows:
Sec. 261.2031. DESIGNATED CHILD FATALITY INVESTIGATION
CASEWORKERS. The department shall designate caseworkers or create
a specialized unit of department employees to conduct
investigations involving child fatalities. Caseworkers or
employees designated for child fatality investigations shall be
assigned based on experience and length of time working for the
department.
SECTION 4. Section 261.301, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
(j) In geographic areas with demonstrated need, the
department shall designate employees to serve specifically as
investigators and responders for after-hours reports of child abuse
or neglect.
SECTION 5. Section 264.107, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-2) to read as follows:
(b-2) The department shall, subject to the availability of
funds, use a web-based system to assist the department in making the
best placement decision for a child in foster care. The system must:
(1) recommend a level of care for the child;
(2) suggest placements based on the child's needs;
(3) display the proximity of potential providers to
the child's home;
(4) incorporate foster care provider preferences;
(5) provide access to the foster care provider's
history in providing safe and stable placements for children; and
(6) include any other provider information the
department determines to be relevant.
SECTION 6. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 264.1131 to read as follows:
Sec. 264.1131. FOSTER CARE PROVIDER RECRUITMENT PLAN. In
addition to foster parent recruitment from faith-based
organizations under Section 264.113, the department shall, subject
to the availability of funds, collaborate with current foster and
adoptive parents to develop and implement a foster care provider
recruitment plan. The plan must:
(1) identify geographic areas in the state where there
is a need for foster care providers using risk stratification
modeling or risk assessments of geographic areas with high
occurrences of child abuse and neglect or child fatalities;
(2) use data analysis, social media, partnerships with
faith-based and volunteer organizations, and other strategies for
recruitment, including targeted and child-focused recruitment;
(3) increase the number of available foster care
providers for children with high needs and expand the use of
therapeutic or treatment foster care for children in those
placements;
(4) require the provision of:
(A) quality customer service to prospective and
current foster and adoptive parents; and
(B) assistance to prospective foster parents
with the certification and placement process;
(5) include strategies for increasing the number of
kinship providers;
(6) include strategies to ensure that children in
foster care do not have to transfer schools after entering foster
care, unless transferring is in the child's best interest; and
(7) include programs to support foster and adoptive
families, including programs that provide training, respite care,
and peer assistance.
SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 264.2012 to read as follows:
Sec. 264.2012. FAMILY PRESERVATION SERVICES. The
department shall implement an evidence-based program that provides
frequent in-home visits with families who have a history of child
abuse or neglect or who display risk factors for child abuse or
neglect with the goal of improving family preservation and family
reunification. The program must contain guidelines for the
frequency of monthly contact by the department with the family,
based on the risk factors for child abuse and neglect in each case.
SECTION 8. Sections 264.502(a) and (b), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The child fatality review team committee is composed of:
(1) a person appointed by and representing the state
registrar of vital statistics;
(2) a person appointed by and representing the
commissioner of the department;
(3) a person appointed by and representing the Title V
director of the Department of State Health Services; [and]
(4) a person appointed by and representing the speaker
of the house of representatives;
(5) a person appointed by and representing the
lieutenant governor;
(6) a person appointed by and representing the
governor; and
(7) individuals selected under Subsection (b).
(b) The members of the committee who serve under Subsections
(a)(1) through (6) [(3)] shall select the following additional
committee members:
(1) a criminal prosecutor involved in prosecuting
crimes against children;
(2) a sheriff;
(3) a justice of the peace;
(4) a medical examiner;
(5) a police chief;
(6) a pediatrician experienced in diagnosing and
treating child abuse and neglect;
(7) a child educator;
(8) a child mental health provider;
(9) a public health professional;
(10) a child protective services specialist;
(11) a sudden infant death syndrome family service
provider;
(12) a neonatologist;
(13) a child advocate;
(14) a chief juvenile probation officer;
(15) a child abuse prevention specialist;
(16) a representative of the Department of Public
Safety;
(17) a representative of the Texas Department of
Transportation;
(18) an emergency medical services provider; and
(19) a provider of services to, or an advocate for,
victims of family violence.
SECTION 9. Section 264.503, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsection (h) to read
as follows:
(d) The Department of State Health Services shall:
(1) recognize the creation and participation of review
teams;
(2) promote and coordinate training to assist the
review teams in carrying out their duties;
(3) assist the committee in developing model protocols
for:
(A) the reporting and investigating of child
fatalities for law enforcement agencies, child protective
services, justices of the peace and medical examiners, and other
professionals involved in the investigations of child deaths;
(B) the collection of data regarding child
deaths; and
(C) the operation of the review teams;
(4) develop and implement procedures necessary for the
operation of the committee; [and]
(5) develop and implement training for justices of the
peace and medical examiners regarding inquests in child death
cases; and
(6) promote education of the public regarding the
incidence and causes of child deaths, the public role in preventing
child deaths, and specific steps the public can undertake to
prevent child deaths.
(e) In addition to the duties under Subsection (d), the
Department of State Health Services shall:
(1) collect data under this subchapter and coordinate
the collection of data under this subchapter with other data
collection activities; [and]
(2) perform annual statistical studies of the
incidence and causes of child fatalities using the data collected
under this subchapter; and
(3) evaluate the available child fatality data and use
the data to create public health strategies for the prevention of
child fatalities.
(h) Each member of the committee must be a member of the
child fatality review team in the county where the committee member
resides.
SECTION 10. Subchapter F, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
amended by adding Sections 264.5031 and 264.5032 to read as
follows:
Sec. 264.5031. COLLECTION OF NEAR FATALITY DATA. (a) The
Department of State Health Services shall develop a definition for
the term "near fatality" to allow for statewide consistency in
child fatality investigations.
(b) The Department of State Health Services shall include
near fatality child abuse or neglect cases in the child fatality
case database, for cases in which child abuse or neglect is
determined to have been the cause of the near fatality. The
Department of State Health Services must also develop a data
collection strategy for near fatality child abuse or neglect cases.
Sec. 264.5032. TRACKING OF CHILD FATALITY AND NEAR FATALITY
DATA. (a) The department shall track and analyze data relating to
child fatality and near fatality cases resulting from child abuse
or neglect and produce a report containing the following
information:
(1) any prior contact the department had with the
child's family and the manner in which the case was disposed,
including cases in which the department made the following
dispositions:
(A) priority none or administrative closure;
(B) call screened out;
(C) alternative or differential response
provided;
(D) unable to complete the investigation;
(E) unable to determine whether abuse or neglect
occurred;
(F) reason to believe abuse or neglect occurred;
or
(G) child removed and placed into substitute
care;
(2) for any case investigated by the department
involving the child or the child's family:
(A) the number of caseworkers assigned to the
case before the fatality or near fatality occurred;
(B) the level of education for each caseworker
assigned to the case and the caseworker's employment tenure; and
(C) the caseworker's caseload at the time the
case was opened and at the time the case was closed;
(3) for any case in which the department investigation
concluded that there was reason to believe that abuse or neglect
occurred, and the family was referred to family-based safety
services:
(A) the safety plan provided to the family;
(B) the services offered to the family; and
(C) the level of compliance with the safety plan
or completion of the services by the family;
(4) the number of contacts the department made with
children and families in family-based safety services cases; and
(5) the initial and attempted contacts the department
made with child abuse and neglect victims.
(b) The department shall make the data collected under
Subsection (a) available to allow research into the determining
factors related to child abuse fatalities, with the purpose of:
(1) reducing child fatalities or near fatalities and
repeated referrals of a child or family to the department; and
(2) predicting future occurrences of child fatalities
and near fatalities to improve prevention and early intervention
strategies.
SECTION 11. Sections 264.505(a) and (c), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A multidisciplinary and multiagency child fatality
review team may be established for a county to review child deaths
in that county. A [review team for a] county [with a population of
less than 50,000] may join with an adjacent county or counties to
establish a combined review team.
(c) A review team must reflect the diversity of the county's
population and may include:
(1) a criminal prosecutor involved in prosecuting
crimes against children;
(2) a sheriff;
(3) a justice of the peace or medical examiner;
(4) a police chief;
(5) a pediatrician experienced in diagnosing and
treating child abuse and neglect;
(6) a child educator;
(7) a child mental health provider;
(8) a public health professional;
(9) a child protective services specialist;
(10) a sudden infant death syndrome family service
provider;
(11) a neonatologist;
(12) a child advocate;
(13) a chief juvenile probation officer; and
(14) a child abuse prevention specialist.
SECTION 12. Section 264.506(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) To achieve its purpose, a review team shall:
(1) adapt and implement, according to local needs and
resources, the model protocols developed by the department and the
committee;
(2) meet on a regular basis to review child fatality
cases and recommend methods to improve coordination of services and
investigations between agencies that are represented on the team;
(3) collect and maintain data as required by the
committee; [and]
(4) review and analyze the collected data to identify
any demographic trends in child fatality cases, including whether
there is a disproportionate number of child fatalities in a
particular population group or geographic area; and
(5) submit to the vital statistics unit data reports
on deaths reviewed as specified by the committee.
SECTION 13. Section 264.509, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) The Department of State Health Services shall provide
a review team with electronic access to the preliminary death
certificate for a deceased child.
SECTION 14. (a) Section 264.514, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (b) to read as
follows:
(a-1) The commissioners court of a county shall adopt
regulations relating to the timeliness for conducting an inquest
into the death of a child. The regulations adopted under this
subsection must be as stringent as the standards issued by the
National Association of Medical Examiners unless the commissioners
court determines that it would be cost prohibitive for the county to
comply with those standards.
(b) The medical examiner or justice of the peace shall
immediately notify an appropriate local law enforcement agency if
the medical examiner or justice of the peace determines that the
death is unexpected or the result of abuse or neglect, and that
agency shall investigate the child's death. The medical examiner or
justice of the peace shall notify the appropriate county child
fatality review team of the child's death not later than the 120th
day after the date the death is reported.
(b) A county must attempt to implement the timeliness
standards for inquests as described by Section 264.514(a-1), Family
Code, as added by this Act, as soon as possible after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 15. Section 264.755, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) The executive commissioner by rule may set the maximum
monetary payment amount that may, subject to an appropriation of
funds for that purpose, be provided to a relative or designated
caregiver under this section in an amount not to exceed the amount
that the department would pay to a licensed foster care provider for
the care of the child.
SECTION 16. Section 264.903, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) The department shall expedite the evaluation of a
potential caregiver under this section to ensure that the child is
placed with a caregiver who has the ability to protect the child
from the alleged perpetrator of abuse or neglect against the child.
SECTION 17. (a) Subchapter L, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 264.907 to read as follows:
Sec. 264.907. CAREGIVER ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT. (a) The
department may, subject to the availability of funds, enter into a
caregiver assistance agreement with a caregiver to provide monetary
assistance and additional support services to the caregiver. The
monetary assistance and support services must be based on the
caregiver's and child's needs, as determined by rules adopted by the
executive commissioner.
(b) The department may agree to provide to a caregiver in an
agreement under this section any monetary assistance or additional
support services that may be provided in a caregiver assistance
agreement under Section 264.755.
(b) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
Section 264.907, Family Code, as added by this Act, not later than
December 1, 2017.
SECTION 18. Section 265.005, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(b) A strategic plan required under this section must:
(1) identify methods to leverage other sources of
funding or provide support for existing community-based prevention
efforts;
(2) include a needs assessment that identifies
programs to best target the needs of the highest risk populations
and geographic areas;
(3) identify the goals and priorities for the
department's overall prevention efforts;
(4) report the results of previous prevention efforts
using available information in the plan;
(5) identify additional methods of measuring program
effectiveness and results or outcomes;
(6) identify methods to collaborate with other state
agencies on prevention efforts; [and]
(7) identify specific strategies to implement the plan
and to develop measures for reporting on the overall progress
toward the plan's goals; and
(8) include annual targets that increase each year for
the number of families receiving prevention and early intervention
services, with the initial goal of providing services to 50 percent
of the highest risk families that are eligible to receive services
through home visiting and community-based programs financed with
federal, state, local, or private resources.
(f) In this section, "highest risk family" means a family
that has children five years of age or younger and whose family
income is at or below 50 percent of the federal poverty level.
SECTION 19. Subchapter A, Chapter 265, Family Code, is
amended by adding Sections 265.007 and 265.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 265.007. IMPROVING PROVISION OF PREVENTION AND EARLY
INTERVENTION SERVICES. To improve the effectiveness and delivery
of prevention and early intervention services, the department
shall:
(1) use a geographic focus to ensure that prevention
and early intervention services are provided to families with the
greatest need;
(2) identify the geographic areas that have the
highest need for prevention and early intervention services using:
(A) verified external risk terrain modeling; or
(B) geographic risk assessments that use risk
indicators of child abuse or neglect and child abuse fatalities;
(3) identify geographic areas that have a high need
for prevention and early intervention services but do not have
prevention and early intervention services available in the area or
have only unevaluated prevention and early intervention services
available in the area; and
(4) develop strategies for community partners to:
(A) improve the early recognition of child abuse
or neglect;
(B) improve the reporting of child abuse and
neglect; and
(C) prevent child fatalities.
Sec. 265.008. EVALUATION OF PREVENTION AND EARLY
INTERVENTION SERVICES. (a) The department and the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall enter into agreements with
institutions of higher education to conduct efficacy reviews of any
prevention and early intervention services provided under this
chapter that have not previously been evaluated for effectiveness
in a research evaluation that meets the standards described by
Subsection (b). The efficacy review shall include, when possible, a
cost-benefit analysis of the program to the state.
(b) A prevention and early intervention services program is
considered to have been previously evaluated if it has been
evaluated by at least one rigorous randomized controlled research
trial across heterogeneous populations or communities, the results
of at least one of which has been published in a peer-reviewed
journal.
(c) The department is not required to enter into an
agreement to conduct a program efficacy evaluation under this
section unless:
(1) the department is specifically appropriated money
for the purposes of this section; or
(2) the agreement with the institution of higher
education is cost neutral.
SECTION 20. Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 40.038 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.038. SECONDARY TRAUMA SUPPORT FOR CASEWORKERS. (a)
In this section, "secondary trauma" means trauma incurred as a
consequence of a person's exposure to acute or chronic trauma.
(b) The department shall develop and make available a
program to provide ongoing support to caseworkers who experience
secondary trauma resulting from exposure to trauma in the course of
the caseworker's employment. The program must include critical
incident stress debriefing. The department may not require that a
caseworker participate in the program.
SECTION 21. Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 40.0529 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.0529. CASELOAD MANAGEMENT. (a) Subject to a
specific appropriation for that purpose, the department shall
develop and implement a caseload management system for child
protective services caseworkers and managers that:
(1) ensures equity in the distribution of workload,
based on the complexity of each case;
(2) calculates caseloads based on the number of
individual caseworkers who are available to handle cases;
(3) includes geographic case assignment in areas with
concentrated high risk populations, to ensure that an adequate
number of caseworkers and managers with expertise and specialized
training are available;
(4) includes a plan to deploy master investigators in
anticipation of emergency shortages of personnel; and
(5) anticipates vacancies in caseworker positions in
areas of the state with high caseworker turnover to ensure the
timely hiring of new caseworkers in those areas.
(b) In calculating the caseworker caseload under Subsection
(a)(2), the department:
(1) may not count caseworkers who are on leave for four
weeks or more as available caseworkers;
(2) may not create fictive caseworkers to compensate
for overtime hours worked by caseworkers; and
(3) shall only count caseworkers who are on reduced
caseloads at a value of .3 or less.
SECTION 22. Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 40.078 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.078. PREVENTION ADVISORY BOARD. (a) In this
section, "board" means the Prevention Advisory Board.
(b) The board is established in the department to promote
public awareness and make recommendations to the Health and Human
Services Commission, the Department of State Health Services, the
department, the governor, and the legislature for changes to law,
policy, and practices regarding:
(1) the prevention of child abuse and neglect;
(2) the development of a state strategy to promote
child safety and well-being using enhanced data collection and
analysis; and
(3) the expansion of evidence-based and promising
practice programs, as those terms are described by Sections
531.983(b) and (c), Government Code.
(c) The board is composed of not more than 25 members,
appointed as follows:
(1) one member appointed by the governor from the
governor's staff;
(2) one member appointed by the lieutenant governor
from the lieutenant governor's staff;
(3) one member appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives from the speaker's staff;
(4) one staff member from the Senate Health and Human
Services Committee;
(5) one staff member from the House Public Health
Committee; and
(6) any remaining members appointed by the
commissioner.
(d) The members appointed under Subsections (c)(1) through
(5) serve as ex officio nonvoting members of the board.
(e) In appointing members to the board, the commissioner
shall attempt to select individuals whose qualifications are not
already represented by existing members of the board. Board
members must include:
(1) a chair of a child fatality review team committee;
(2) a pediatrician;
(3) a judge;
(4) representatives of relevant state agencies;
(5) prosecutors who specialize in child abuse and
neglect;
(6) medical examiners;
(7) representatives of service providers to the
department; and
(8) policy experts in child abuse and neglect
prevention, community advocacy, or related fields.
(f) The board shall select a chair from among its members
and shall meet at least quarterly, with additional meetings called
by the chair as necessary.
(g) A vacancy on the board shall be filled in the same manner
as the original appointment.
(h) A member of the board is not entitled to compensation or
reimbursement of expenses incurred in performing board duties.
(i) The board may take testimony and receive evidence that
the board considers necessary to carry out the duties of the board.
(j) In developing the recommendations under Subsection (b),
the board shall collaborate with the prevention and early
intervention services division of the department to:
(1) use a public health approach by applying
population-based, universal, and targeted strategies for
prevention;
(2) consider the evidence-based and promising
practice programs for home visiting under Section 531.983,
Government Code, and parent education under Section 265.101, Family
Code, as added by Chapter 1257 (H.B. 2630), Acts of the 84th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, in structuring accountability
and evidence-based measures for child abuse fatality prevention
programming;
(3) maximize funding sources to expand prevention
programs, including federal and local government funds and private
funds; and
(4) research and make recommendations regarding the
training of external stakeholders, including the expansion of
mandated training for medical professionals, child care workers,
educators, and higher education professionals with access to
minors, to improve the identification, recognition, reporting, and
prevention of child abuse and neglect.
(k) The board shall collaborate with the department and the
Department of State Health Services to develop and maintain a
database of the most effective state and national evidence-based or
promising practice programs that address child abuse and neglect
and the prevention of child abuse and neglect fatalities. The
database shall include the cost per family and a cost-benefit
analysis for each program.
SECTION 23. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.