Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB723 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R5275 YDB-D
2	2	By: Wu H.B. No. 723
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of county boards to oversee the
8	8	provision of child protective services in certain counties.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Title 2, Human Resources Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Subtitle F to read as follows:
12	12	SUBTITLE F. COUNTY OVERSIGHT OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
13	13	CHAPTER 57. COUNTY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES BOARDS
14	14	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
15	15	Sec. 57.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
16	16	(1) "Board" means the child protective services board
17	17	for a county.
18	18	(2) "Department" means the Department of Family and
19	19	Protective Services.
20	20	SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD
21	21	Sec. 57.051. ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
22	22	BOARD. (a) The commissioners court of a county with a population
23	23	of 300,000 or more shall establish a child protective services
24	24	board to oversee the child protective services provided in the
25	25	county.
26	26	(b) The commissioners court of a county with a population of
27	27	less than 300,000 may establish a child protective services board
28	28	to oversee the child protective services provided in the county.
29	29	(c) The commissioners courts of two or more counties may
30	30	agree to operate a combined board to oversee child protective
31	31	services in each county.
32	32	Sec. 57.052. COMPOSITION OF BOARD. (a) The commissioners
33	33	court of a county shall coordinate the appointment of members to the
34	34	board. The board is composed of the following members:
35	35	(1) except as provided by Subsection (b), each judge
36	36	of a district court in the county with jurisdiction over child
37	37	protective services cases, or the judge's appointed associate judge
38	38	who is assigned those cases;
39	39	(2) a representative from the office of the attorney
40	40	who represents the state in child protective services cases brought
41	41	in the county, selected by that office;
42	42	(3) the county judge of the county or a commissioners
43	43	court representative, selected by the commissioners court;
44	44	(4) one department employee in the regional office
45	45	located in the county, selected by the department;
46	46	(5) one court-appointed special advocate, selected by
47	47	a county child advocate organization designated by the
48	48	commissioners court; and
49	49	(6) except as provided by Subsection (c), one attorney
50	50	in the county who has experience as an attorney ad litem in child
51	51	protective services cases, selected by the board.
52	52	(b) If a county has more than six judges described by
53	53	Subsection (a)(1), the local administrative judge shall appoint
54	54	three of the described judges to serve on the board.
55	55	(c) The commissioners court of a county shall make the
56	56	initial appointment of the member described by Subsection (a)(6).
57	57	(d) The members who are selected for appointment under
58	58	Subsection (a) serve two-year terms and may be reappointed by the
59	59	selecting entity subject to the approval of the board or
60	60	commissioners court, as appropriate.
61	61	Sec. 57.053. PRESIDING OFFICER. The board shall elect one
62	62	of its members as presiding officer at the first regular board
63	63	meeting each calendar year. The presiding officer shall perform
64	64	the duties required by the board to accomplish the purposes of this
65	65	chapter.
66	66	Sec. 57.054. MEETINGS; PUBLIC INTEREST INFORMATION AND
67	67	PUBLIC ACCESS. (a) The board shall hold regular meetings each year
68	68	on dates set by the board and special meetings at the call of the
69	69	presiding officer.
70	70	(b) The board shall develop and implement policies that
71	71	provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear before
72	72	the board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of the
73	73	board.
74	74	(c) The board shall prepare information of public interest
75	75	describing the functions of the board. The board shall make the
76	76	information available to the public and appropriate state agencies.
77	77	SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES
78	78	Sec. 57.101. DUTIES. (a) The board shall oversee, review,
79	79	and make recommendations related to the department's child
80	80	protective services program in the county, including:
81	81	(1) the protective services provided to children;
82	82	(2) the investigations of alleged abuse or neglect of
83	83	children;
84	84	(3) the family support and family preservation
85	85	services;
86	86	(4) the programs for early intervention or prevention
87	87	of at-risk behaviors that lead to child abuse, delinquency, running
88	88	away, truancy, and dropping out of school; and
89	89	(5) the policies, including financial policies, for
90	90	the provision of child protective services.
91	91	(b) The recommendations provided under Subsection (a)
92	92	should include procedures the department can implement to:
93	93	(1) reduce the number of abused and neglected children
94	94	in the county;
95	95	(2) increase the number of foster care placements in
96	96	the county for children residing in the county at the time of
97	97	initial placement in child protective services;
98	98	(3) increase foster parent recruiting in the county;
99	99	(4) reduce the time a child is placed in foster care;
100	100	(5) facilitate adoptions in the county for children
101	101	residing in the county at the time of initial placement in the
102	102	department's managing conservatorship;
103	103	(6) provide additional assistance to children aging
104	104	out of foster care and to children with special needs; and
105	105	(7) increase the treatment options and services
106	106	available to children in the managing conservatorship of the
107	107	department and to the children's families.
108	108	Sec. 57.102. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION. (a) The
109	109	board shall establish and enforce policies governing the custody,
110	110	use, and preservation of the board's records and communications.
111	111	(b) The board shall prescribe safeguards to govern the use
112	112	or disclosure of privileged or confidential information relating to
113	113	the board's duties or to an investigation the board conducts in
114	114	performing its duties. The safeguards must be consistent with the
115	115	purposes of the board's duties and comply with applicable state and
116	116	federal law.
117	117	Sec. 57.103. REPORTS; APPROPRIATION REQUESTS. (a) A board
118	118	described by Section 57.051(a) shall and a board described by
119	119	Section 57.051(b) or (c) may annually prepare and submit to the
120	120	lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
121	121	and each member of the legislature a report on:
122	122	(1) the provision of child protective services in the
123	123	county;
124	124	(2) recommendations for changes in the provision of
125	125	child protective services in the county; and
126	126	(3) any other information required by the legislature.
127	127	(b) The board may submit any legislative appropriation
128	128	request related to the operations of the board to the department for
129	129	incorporation in the department's budget.
130	130	Sec. 57.104. IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY. (a) A board member
131	131	is not liable for damages arising from an act or omission committed
132	132	while performing duties as a board member.
133	133	(b) This section does not apply if the act or omission is:
134	134	(1) reckless or intentional;
135	135	(2) done wilfully, wantonly, or with gross negligence;
136	136	or
137	137	(3) done with conscious indifference or reckless
138	138	disregard for the safety of others.
139	139	SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
140	140	of this Act, each county with a population of 300,000 or more shall
141	141	establish a child protective services board for the county in
142	142	accordance with Chapter 57, Human Resources Code, as added by this
143	143	Act.
144	144	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.