87R818 EAS-D
By: Rose H.B. No. 155
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the office of minority statistics and engagement in the
Department of Family and Protective Services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 40.044 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.044. OFFICE OF MINORITY STATISTICS AND ENGAGEMENT.
(a) In this section:
(1) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
(2) "Office" means the office of minority statistics
and engagement established under this section.
(b) Using existing resources, the department, in
consultation with an institution of higher education and the child
welfare community, shall establish an office of minority statistics
and engagement within the department. The office shall address the
disproportionality in the rate of use of child protective and
welfare services by and the provision of those services to children
who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group and are in the
child welfare system.
(c) In collaboration with an institution of higher
education and appropriate persons in the child welfare community,
the office shall identify the causes of the disproportionality
described by Subsection (b) and develop recommendations for
addressing those causes and for improving the rate of use of child
protective and welfare services by and the provision of those
services to children and their families. In identifying the causes
and developing recommendations, the office shall:
(1) share with the institution any information
necessary for the institution to assist in identifying the causes
and developing recommendations;
(2) consider the unique needs and resources of this
state; and
(3) consider the outcomes for children in the child
welfare system and the services necessary to improve the outcomes.
(d) The office shall annually submit a written report to the
governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
representatives, and chair of each standing legislative committee
with primary jurisdiction over the department that includes:
(1) the recommendations developed under Subsection
(c);
(2) methods to address disproportionality across the
child welfare system; and
(3) a summary of the initiatives developed by the
department during the preceding year to address the causes of
disproportionality identified in Subsection (c).
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.