Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1535 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	86R32859 SCL-D
2	1		By: Menéndez S.B. No. 1535
3		-	(Frank)
4		-	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1535: No.
5	2
6	3
7	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	5		AN ACT
9	6		relating to a complaint made by a foster child or youth.
10	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	8		SECTION 1. Section 263.008(b), Family Code, is amended to
12	9		read as follows:
13	10		(b) It is the policy of this state that each child in foster
14	11		care be informed of the child's rights provided by state or federal
15	12		law or policy that relate to:
16	13		(1) abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, and
17	14		harassment;
18	15		(2) food, clothing, shelter, and education;
19	16		(3) medical, dental, vision, and mental health
20	17		services, including the right of the child to consent to treatment;
21	18		(4) emergency behavioral intervention, including what
22	19		methods are permitted, the conditions under which it may be used,
23	20		and the precautions that must be taken when administering it;
24	21		(5) placement with the child's siblings and contact
25	22		with members of the child's family;
26	23		(6) privacy and searches, including the use of storage
27	24		space, mail, and the telephone;
28	25		(7) participation in school-related extracurricular
29	26		or community activities;
30	27		(8) interaction with persons outside the foster care
31	28		system, including teachers, church members, mentors, and friends;
32	29		(9) contact and communication with caseworkers,
33	30		attorneys ad litem, guardians ad litem, and court-appointed special
34	31		advocates;
35	32		(10) religious services and activities;
36	33		(11) confidentiality of the child's records;
37	34		(12) job skills, personal finances, and preparation
38	35		for adulthood;
39	36		(13) participation in a court hearing that involves
40	37		the child;
41	38		(14) participation in the development of service and
42	39		treatment plans;
43	40		(15) if the child has a disability, the advocacy and
44	41		protection of the rights of a person with that disability; [and]
45	42		(16) notification of the outcome of any of the
46	43		following investigations in which the child is involved:
47	44		(A) an abuse or neglect investigation conducted
48	45		by the department;
49	46		(B) a minimum standard investigation conducted
50	47		by the Health and Human Services Commission; or
51	48		(C) an investigation of a complaint to the
52	49		division of the ombudsman for children and youth in foster care; and
53	50		(17) any other matter affecting the child's ability to
54	51		receive care and treatment in the least restrictive environment
55	52		that is most like a family setting, consistent with the best
56	53		interests and needs of the child.
57	54		SECTION 2. Section 531.993, Government Code, is amended by
58		-	adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:
59		-	(c-1) Not later than the fifth day of each month, the
60		-	ombudsman shall compile and provide to the department and the
61		-	commission's child care licensing division a written report
62		-	regarding the investigations completed during the preceding month.
63		-	For each complaint investigated, the report must include:
64		-	(1) a summary of the complaint;
65		-	(2) the ombudsman's final determination; and
66		-	(3) any corrective action recommended by the
67		-	ombudsman.
68		-	(c-2) The department or the commission's child care
69		-	licensing division, as applicable, shall provide written notice to
70		-	the ombudsman on whether the department or division adopted or
	55	+	adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
	56	+	(c-1) The department and the commission's child care
	57	+	licensing division shall provide written notice to the ombudsman on
	58	+	whether the department or child care licensing division adopted or
71	59		rejected any of the ombudsman's recommended corrective actions. If
72		-	the department or division rejects a ~~recommended corrective action,~~
73		-	the department or division shall ~~include in the notice the reason~~
74		-	for the rejection.
	60	+	the department or child care licensing division rejects a
	61	+	recommended corrective action, the department or division shall
	62	+	include in the notice the reason for the rejection.
75	63		SECTION 3. Subchapter Y, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
76	64		amended by adding Section 531.9933 to read as follows:
77	65		Sec. 531.9933. COMPLAINT PROCESS FOR FOSTER CHILDREN AND
78		-	YOUTH. A child or youth in the conservatorship of the department
79		-	may file a complaint directly with the ombudsman, regardless of
80		-	whether the child or youth is served directly by the department or
81		-	by a single source continuum contractor providing services for the
82		-	department under Subchapter B-1, Chapter 264, Family Code, as added
83		-	by Chapter 319 (S.B. 11), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular
84		-	Session, 2017.
	66	+	YOUTH SERVED BY SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTOR. (a) In this
	67	+	section:
	68	+	(1) "Contractor" means a single source continuum
	69	+	contractor in this state providing services identified under
	70	+	Subchapter B-1, Chapter 264, Family Code.
	71	+	(2) "Division" means the division of the ombudsman for
	72	+	children and youth in foster care created under Section 531.9931.
	73	+	(b) A child or youth in the conservatorship of the
	74	+	department and served by a contractor may file a complaint directly
	75	+	with the division and is not required to file an initial complaint
	76	+	with the contractor.
	77	+	(c) The division may access the internal records of a
	78	+	contractor that are relevant to a complaint filed under this
	79	+	section and not included in the department's automated case
	80	+	tracking and information management system.
	81	+	(d) The division shall provide written notice of the results
	82	+	of the investigation of a complaint filed under this section to:
	83	+	(1) the child or youth who filed the complaint;
	84	+	(2) the child's or youth's contractor; and
	85	+	(3) the department.
	86	+	(e) Each contractor in this state shall provide to the
	87	+	division:
	88	+	(1) the contractor's contact information for the
	89	+	division to receive records and provide notice under this section;
	90	+	and
	91	+	(2) updates to the contact information as necessary.
	92	+	(f) A contractor may not directly or indirectly use or cause
	93	+	to be used the term "ombudsman" to describe the contractor or the
	94	+	contractor's internal complaint process.
85	95		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
86	96		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
87	97		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
88	98		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
89	99		Act takes effect September 1, 2019.