86R5119 MCK-D
By: Watson S.B. No. 480
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Preparation for Adult Living Program and other
services for foster children transitioning to independent living.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 264.121, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (a-3), (a-5), (e), (e-1), (e-2), and (g)
and adding Subsections (a-7), (a-8), (e-3), (e-4), (e-5), and (e-6)
to read as follows:
(a) The department shall address the unique challenges
facing foster children in the conservatorship of the department who
must transition to independent living by:
(1) expanding efforts to improve transition planning
and increasing the availability of transitional family group
decision-making to each [all] youth age 14 or older in the
department's permanent managing conservatorship, including
enrolling the youth in the Preparation for Adult Living Program as
soon as possible after the youth reaches 14 years of [before the]
age [of 16];
(2) making appropriate accommodations to address any
barrier to participation in the Preparation for Adult Living
Program for a youth who has a disability to allow the youth to
meaningfully participate in the program and documenting the
accommodations in the youth's case file;
(3) coordinating with the commission to obtain
authority, to the extent allowed by federal law, the state Medicaid
plan, the Title IV-E state plan, and any waiver or amendment to
either plan, necessary to:
(A) extend foster care eligibility and
transition services for youth up to age 21 and develop policy to
permit eligible youth to return to foster care as necessary to
achieve the goals of the Transitional Living Services Program; and
(B) extend Medicaid coverage for foster care
youth and former foster care youth up to age 21 with a single
application at the time the youth leaves foster care; and
(4) [(3)] entering into cooperative agreements with
the Texas Workforce Commission and local workforce development
boards to further the objectives of the Preparation for Adult
Living Program. The department, the Texas Workforce Commission,
and the local workforce development boards shall ensure that
services are prioritized and targeted to meet the needs of foster
care and former foster care children and that such services will
include, where feasible, referrals for short-term stays for youth
needing housing.
(a-3) The department shall conduct an independent living
skills assessment for all youth in the department's conservatorship
not later than the 45th day after the date the youth reaches 14 [who
are 16] years of age. The department shall place the assessment
results in each youth's case file [or older].
(a-5) The department shall annually update the assessment
for each youth assessed under Subsection [Subsections] (a-3) [and
(a-4)] to determine the independent living skills the youth learned
during the preceding year to ensure that the department's
obligation to prepare the youth for independent living has been
met. The department shall conduct the annual update through the
youth's plan of service in coordination with the youth, the youth's
caseworker, the staff of the Preparation for Adult Living Program,
and the youth's caregiver.
(a-7) Not later than the 45th day after the date a youth
reaches 14 years of age, the department shall hold a transition
planning meeting to prepare the youth's transition plan and assist
the youth in developing skills to support the youth's specific
strengths and address the youth's needs in preparation for
independence. The department must hold additional transition
planning meetings at least once every four months until the youth
leaves foster care.
(a-8) The department shall ensure that before a youth leaves
foster care, each youth who is 14 years of age or older has an e-mail
address through which the youth may receive encrypted copies of
personal documents and records.
(e) The department shall ensure that each youth, on or
before the date on which the youth turns 16 years of age, acquires:
(1) a copy and a certified copy of the youth's birth
certificate;
(2) [,] a social security card or replacement social
security card, as appropriate;
(3) [, and] a personal identification certificate
under Chapter 521, Transportation Code;
(4) a copy of the youth's most current high school
transcript;
(5) a copy of the record of the youth's most recent
physical medical examination and dental examinations;
(6) a copy of the youth's immunization record; and
(7) a copy of any identifying information the youth
needs to enroll in Medicaid.
(e-1) The youth's caseworker shall assist the youth with
developing a plan for keeping the documents described by Subsection
(e) in a safe place.
(e-2) The youth and the youth's caseworker shall sign a
document acknowledging the youth's receipt of the documents
described by Subsection (e) and describing the youth's plan
developed under Subsection (e-1) for keeping the documents in a
safe place. The department shall place the acknowledgment in the
youth's case file[, on or before the date on which the youth turns
16 years of age].
(e-3) The department shall designate one or more employees
in the Preparation for Adult Living Program as the contact person to
assist a youth who has not been able to obtain the documents
described by Subsection (e) [this subsection] in a timely manner
from the youth's primary caseworker. The department shall ensure
that:
(1) all youth who are age 16 or older are provided with
the contact information for the designated employees; and
(2) a youth who misplaces a document provided under
this subsection receives assistance in obtaining a replacement
document or information on how to obtain a duplicate copy, as
appropriate.
(e-4) Before a youth leaves foster care, the department
shall take all reasonable measures, including completing an
application for the youth, to assist the youth in obtaining
Medicaid coverage, and shall document those measures in the youth's
case file.
(e-5) [(e-1)] If, at the time a youth is discharged from
foster care, the youth is at least 18 years of age or has had the
disabilities of minority removed, the department shall provide to
the youth, not later than the 30th day before the date the youth is
discharged from foster care, the following information and
documents unless the youth already has the information or document:
(1) the youth's birth certificate;
(2) the youth's immunization records;
(3) the information contained in the youth's health
passport;
(4) a personal identification certificate under
Chapter 521, Transportation Code;
(5) a social security card or a replacement social
security card, if appropriate; [and]
(6) a copy of the youth's most current high school
transcript; and
(7) proof of enrollment in Medicaid, if appropriate.
(e-6) [(e-2)] When providing a youth with a document
required by Subsection (e-5) [(e-1)], the department shall provide
the youth with a copy and a certified copy of the document or with
the original document, as applicable.
(g) For a youth taking prescription medication, the
department shall ensure that the youth's transition plan includes
provisions to assist the youth in managing the use of the medication
and in managing the child's long-term physical and mental health
needs after leaving foster care, including:
(1) provisions that inform the youth about:
(A) [(1)] the use of the medication;
(B) [(2)] the resources that are available to
assist the youth in managing the use of the medication; and
(C) [(3)] informed consent and the provision of
medical care in accordance with Section 266.010(l); and
(2) for each youth who is 17 years of age or older and
preparing to leave foster care, a program supervised by a health
care professional to assist the youth with independently managing
the youth's medication.
SECTION 2. Section 264.1211, Family Code, as added by
Chapter 333 (H.B. 928), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2017, is amended by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read
as follows:
(d) The department, in coordination with the Texas
Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board,
shall annually collect information regarding the utilization of
tuition and fee waivers, including the number of foster children or
former foster children who:
(1) are eligible for exemption from the payment of
tuition and fees at an institution of higher education under
Section 54.366, Education Code;
(2) receive information developed under Section
54.366(b), Education Code; and
(3) are enrolled in an institution of higher education
and are exempt from the payment of tuition and fees under Section
54.366, Education Code.
(e) Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year,
the department shall prepare and submit a biennial report with the
information collected under Subsection (d) to the standing
committees of the senate and house of representatives with
jurisdiction over child protective services.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
amended by adding Sections 264.1214, 264.1215, 264.1216, and
264.1217 to read as follows:
Sec. 264.1214. EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL OR JUVENILE RECORDS.
(a) The department shall ensure that the caseworker for a youth in
the managing conservatorship of the department, in consultation
with the youth's attorney ad litem, develops a plan to facilitate
the sealing or expungement of any eligible criminal or juvenile
records for offenses for which the youth was adjudicated or
convicted before the date the youth ages out of care.
(b) The department shall record all actions taken under this
section in the youth's case file.
Sec. 264.1215. PLAN FOR ACCESSING BENEFITS FOR YOUTH AGING
OUT OF FOSTER CARE. Not later than the day a youth in the managing
conservatorship of the department turns 18 years of age, the
youth's caseworker shall create a plan detailing the steps the
youth will take to access benefits for which the youth is eligible
after the youth leaves foster care, including the transitional
living allowance, Social Security Disability Insurance benefits,
aftercare room and board assistance, and education and training
vouchers. The caseworker shall document the plan in the youth's
case file.
Sec. 264.1216. DRIVER'S EDUCATION. Subject to this
section, the department shall develop a plan to ensure driver's
education classes are provided to each youth in the managing
conservatorship of the department who satisfies the minimum age
requirements to receive a learner license and chooses to take
driver's education. The department is not required to provide a
driver's education class to a youth who is not physically,
developmentally, or medically able to safely participate in
driver's education.
Sec. 264.1217. HOUSING FOR HOMELESS YOUTH AGING OUT OF
FOSTER CARE. (a) The department shall ensure that homeless youth
who have aged out of foster care receive aftercare housing and other
benefits under the Preparation for Adult Living Program for not
less than six months while the youth is actively seeking employment
or prevocational or vocational training services or other
educational services.
(b) For a youth who will voluntarily enter extended foster
care on the youth's 18th birthday, the youth's caseworker shall, not
later than six months before the youth's 18th birthday, complete
any necessary paperwork to ensure the youth has housing on the date
the youth enters extended foster care. Not later than the 90th day
before the youth's 18th birthday, the caseworker shall review the
qualifications and requirements for the youth's housing.
(c) If a youth intends to continue living with the youth's
substitute care provider after the youth's 18th birthday, the
department shall waive any background check otherwise required for
the youth to remain living with the substitute care provider.
(d) For a youth who continues living with the youth's
substitute care provider after the youth's 18th birthday, the youth
may share a bedroom with another youth who is 16 years of age or
older provided the age difference between the youths does not
exceed two years.
(e) A substitute care provider who prohibits a youth from
living in the facility after the youth's 18th birthday shall notify
the youth and the youth's caseworker of that fact in writing not
later than:
(1) the 90th day before the youth's 18th birthday if
the facility is a foster home; and
(2) six months before the youth's 18th birthday if the
facility is a residential treatment center or cottage home.
(f) The department shall assist youth living in supervised
independent living program arrangements to develop a rental history
by allowing the youth to cosign the lease for the youth's housing
provided the property owner does not object.
(g) The department by rule shall establish a protocol that
may be implemented for a youth to prevent the youth from aging out
of a residential treatment center. The protocol must be
implemented not later than the youth's 17th birthday.
(h) The department annually shall conduct a study to:
(1) determine the number of youth in voluntary
extended foster care who are unable to obtain housing as part of the
supervised independent living program;
(2) determine the type of housing the youth are trying
to obtain; and
(3) analyze the housing options available for the
youth.
SECTION 4. Section 264.125, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:
(e) The department shall include a provision in each
contract with a residential child-care facility with which children
in the conservatorship of the department are placed that requires
the facility to provide those children with age-appropriate
normalcy activities and experiential life skills.
(f) Not later than the December 1 of each year, the
department shall submit to the lieutenant governor, speaker of the
house of representatives, and chairs of the standing committees of
the senate and house of representatives having primary jurisdiction
over child protection issues a report containing information
relating to normalcy activities and experiential life skills
provided to children in the conservatorship of the department.
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 191, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 191.0049 to read as follows:
Sec. 191.0049. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO FOSTER CHILD OR YOUTH
OR HOMELESS OR UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH. On request of a child or youth
described by this section, the state registrar, a local registrar,
or a county clerk shall issue, without fee or parental consent, a
certified copy of the child's or youth's birth record to:
(1) a homeless child or youth or an unaccompanied
youth as those terms are defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11434a;
(2) a child in the managing conservatorship of the
Department of Family and Protective Services; and
(3) a young adult who:
(A) is at least 18 years of age, but younger than
21 years of age; and
(B) resides in a foster care placement, the cost
of which is paid by the Department of Family and Protective
Services.
SECTION 6. Subchapter E, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 521.1015 to read as follows:
Sec. 521.1015. PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CERTIFICATE ISSUED
TO FOSTER CHILD OR YOUTH, HOMELESS CHILD OR YOUTH, OR UNACCOMPANIED
YOUTH. (a) In this section:
(1) "Foster child or youth" means:
(A) a child in the managing conservatorship of
the Department of Family and Protective Services; or
(B) a young adult who:
(i) is at least 18 years of age, but younger
than 21 years of age; and
(ii) resides in a foster care placement,
the cost of which is paid by the Department of Family and Protective
Services.
(2) "Homeless child or youth" has the meaning assigned
by 42 U.S.C. Section 11434a.
(3) "Unaccompanied youth" has the meaning assigned by
42 U.S.C. Section 11434a.
(b) This section applies to the application for a personal
identification certificate only for a foster child or youth, a
homeless child or youth, or an unaccompanied youth.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 521.101, Section 521.1426, or
any other provision of this chapter, a child or youth described by
Subsection (b) may, in applying for a personal identification
certificate:
(1) provide a copy of the child's or youth's birth
certificate as proof of the child's or youth's identity and United
States citizenship, as applicable; and
(2) if the child or youth does not have a residence or
domicile:
(A) provide a letter certifying the child or
youth is a homeless child or youth or an unaccompanied youth issued
by:
(i) the school district in which the child
or youth is enrolled;
(ii) the director of an emergency shelter
or transitional housing program funded by the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development; or
(iii) the director of:
(a) a basic center for runaway and
homeless youth; or
(b) a transitional living program; or
(B) use the address of the regional office where
the Department of Family and Protective Services caseworker for the
child or youth is based.
(d) A child or youth described by Subsection (b) may apply
for and the department may issue a personal identification
certificate without the signature or presence of or permission from
a parent or guardian of the child or youth.
(e) A child or youth described by Subsection (b) is exempt
from the payment of any fee for the issuance of a personal
identification certificate under this chapter.
SECTION 7. Section 521.1811, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 521.1811. WAIVER OF FEES FOR FOSTER CHILD OR YOUTH,
HOMELESS CHILD OR YOUTH, OR UNACCOMPANIED [CARE] YOUTH. A person is
exempt from the payment of any fee for the issuance of a driver's
license, as provided under this chapter, if that person is:
(1) younger than 18 years of age and in the managing
conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective
Services; [or]
(2) at least 18 years of age, but younger than 21 years
of age, and resides in a foster care placement, the cost of which is
paid by the Department of Family and Protective Services; or
(3) a homeless child or youth or an unaccompanied
youth as those terms are defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11434a.
SECTION 8. Sections 264.121(a-4) and (a-6), Family Code,
are repealed.
SECTION 9. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the Department of Family and Protective Services
shall identify all youth in the department's conservatorship who
are 14 years of age or older who have not:
(1) received a life skills assessment or a Circles of
Support or Transition Plan Meeting; or
(2) had the youth's transition plan updated:
(A) within the preceding six months if the youth
is 16 years of age or older; or
(B) within the preceding 12 months if the youth
is 14 years of age or older.
(b) The Department of Family and Protective Services shall
ensure that all youth who have been identified under Subsection (a)
of this section immediately receive the required services.
SECTION 10. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Department of Family and Protective Services shall
identify each youth in the department's permanent managing
conservatorship who has not been assigned an attorney ad litem and
request the court to appoint an attorney ad litem for the youth.
SECTION 11. Not later than November 1, 2020, the Department
of Family and Protective Services shall submit to the standing
committees of the senate and house of representatives with
jurisdiction over child protective services the initial report
required by Section 264.1211(e), Family Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 12. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
191, Health and Safety Code, and Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
apply to an application for a driver's license, personal
identification certificate, or birth record submitted on or after
the effective date of this Act. An application for a driver's
license, personal identification certificate, or birth record
submitted before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.