85R11579 MK-D
By: Swanson H.B. No. 3552
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the foster care payment rate for certain foster parents
and the reimbursement of certain expenses for the foster parent;
creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 264.101, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-3) to read as follows:
(a-3) If the department places one or more children assigned
a basic or moderate service level with a foster parent, the
department shall pay the foster parent the cost of foster care in
accordance with the following schedule:
(1) 100 percent of the daily foster care reimbursement
rate for the first child placed with the foster parent;
(2) 80 percent of the daily foster care reimbursement
rate for the second child placed with the foster parent;
(3) 60 percent of the daily foster care reimbursement
rate for the third child placed with the foster parent;
(4) 40 percent of the daily foster care reimbursement
rate for the fourth child placed with the foster parent;
(5) 20 percent of the daily foster care reimbursement
rate for the fifth child placed with the foster parent; and
(6) the foster parent will not receive any additional
payment if the department places more than five children with the
foster parent.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 264.1252 to read as follows:
Sec. 264.1252. REIMBURSEMENT FOR ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES;
CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) In this section, "enrichment activities"
includes athletic camps and competition, art and music classes and
camps, school-related extracurricular activities, faith-based
camps or mission trips, and the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl
Scouts of the United States of America, or similar organizations
and activities. The term does not include entertainment activities
that a child participates in solely with the child's foster parent.
(b) At the foster parent's discretion, the foster parent may
enroll a foster child in age-appropriate enrichment activities.
(c) The department shall reimburse a foster parent for any
monetary expenses relating to the participation of a child in
enrichment activities. The foster parent must provide the
department with receipts for any expenses under this subsection to
receive reimbursement.
(d) A person commits an offense if, with intent to defraud
or deceive the department, the person knowingly makes or causes to
be made a false statement or misrepresentation of a material fact
that allows a person to receive a reimbursement under Subsection
(c). An offense under this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.
SECTION 3. As soon as possible after the effective date of
this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission shall increase the 24-hour residential child
care rates paid to a foster family for a child by 20 percent.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.