85R13072 MK-D
By: Burkett H.B. No. 3098
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to secondary trauma support, case assignment, and caseload
management for child protective services caseworkers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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 2. 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 3. 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 0.3 or less.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.