Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2632 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R4706 MLH-F
2	2	By: Minjarez H.B. No. 2632
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Preparation for Adult Living Program and other
8	8	services for foster children transitioning to independent living.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 264.121, Family Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsections (a), (a-2), (e-1), and (g) and adding
12	12	Subsections (a-7) and (e-4) to read as follows:
13	13	(a) The department shall address the unique challenges
14	14	facing foster children in the conservatorship of the department who
15	15	must transition to independent living by:
16	16	(1) expanding efforts to improve transition planning
17	17	and increasing the availability of transitional family group
18	18	decision-making to all youth age 14 or older in the department's
19	19	permanent managing conservatorship, including enrolling the youth
20	20	in the Preparation for Adult Living Program before the age of 16;
21	21	(2) coordinating with the commission to obtain
22	22	authority, to the extent allowed by federal law, the state Medicaid
23	23	plan, the Title IV-E state plan, and any waiver or amendment to
24	24	either plan, necessary to:
25	25	(A) extend foster care eligibility and
26	26	transition services for youth up to age 21 and develop policy to
27	27	permit eligible youth to return to foster care as necessary to
28	28	achieve the goals of the Transitional Living Services Program; and
29	29	(B) extend Medicaid coverage for foster care
30	30	youth and former foster care youth up to age 21 with a single
31	31	application at the time the youth leaves foster care; [and]
32	32	(3) entering into cooperative agreements with the
33	33	Texas Workforce Commission and local workforce development boards
34	34	to further the objectives of the Preparation for Adult Living
35	35	Program. The department, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the
36	36	local workforce development boards shall ensure that services are
37	37	prioritized and targeted to meet the needs of foster care and former
38	38	foster care children and that such services will include, where
39	39	feasible, referrals for short-term stays for youth needing housing;
40	40	(4) addressing barriers to participation in the
41	41	Preparation for Adult Living Program for a youth who has a
42	42	disability by making appropriate accommodations that allow the
43	43	youth to meaningfully participate in the program; and
44	44	(5) documenting in the youth's case file any
45	45	accommodations made under Subdivision (4).
46	46	(a-2) The experiential life-skills training under
47	47	Subsection (a-1) must include:
48	48	(1) a financial literacy education program developed
49	49	in collaboration with the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner
50	50	and the State Securities Board that:
51	51	(A) includes instruction on:
52	52	(i) obtaining and interpreting a credit
53	53	score;
54	54	(ii) protecting, repairing, and improving a
55	55	credit score;
56	56	(iii) avoiding predatory lending
57	57	practices;
58	58	(iv) saving money and accomplishing
59	59	financial goals through prudent financial management practices;
60	60	(v) using basic banking and accounting
61	61	skills, including balancing a checkbook;
62	62	(vi) using debit and credit cards
63	63	responsibly;
64	64	(vii) understanding a paycheck and items
65	65	withheld from a paycheck;
66	66	(viii) understanding the time requirements
67	67	and process for filing federal taxes;
68	68	(ix) protecting financial, credit, and
69	69	personally identifying information in personal and professional
70	70	relationships and online;
71	71	(x) forms of identity and credit theft; and
72	72	(xi) using insurance to protect against the
73	73	risk of financial loss; and
74	74	(B) assists a youth who has a source of income to:
75	75	(i) establish a savings plan and, if
76	76	available, a savings account that the youth can independently
77	77	manage; and
78	78	(ii) prepare a monthly budget that includes
79	79	the following expenses:
80	80	(a) rent based on the monthly rent for
81	81	an apartment advertised for lease during the preceding month;
82	82	(b) utilities based on a reasonable
83	83	utility bill in the area in which the youth resides;
84	84	(c) telephone service based on a
85	85	reasonable bill for telephone service in the area in which the youth
86	86	resides;
87	87	(d) Internet service based on a
88	88	reasonable bill for Internet service in the area in which the youth
89	89	resides; and
90	90	(e) other reasonable monthly
91	91	expenses; and
92	92	(2) for youth who are 17 years of age or older, lessons
93	93	related to:
94	94	(A) insurance, including applying for and
95	95	obtaining automobile insurance and residential property insurance,
96	96	including tenants insurance; [and]
97	97	(B) civic engagement, including the process for
98	98	registering to vote, the places to vote, and resources for
99	99	information regarding upcoming elections; and
100	100	(C) the documents the youth is required to
101	101	receive under Subsection (e-1) prior to being discharged from
102	102	foster care and how those documents may be used.
103	103	(a-7) The department shall ensure that before a youth leaves
104	104	foster care, each youth who is 14 years of age or older has an e-mail
105	105	address through which the youth may receive encrypted copies of
106	106	personal documents and records.
107	107	(e-1) If, at the time a youth is discharged from foster
108	108	care, the youth is at least 18 years of age or has had the
109	109	disabilities of minority removed, the department shall provide to
110	110	the youth, not later than the 30th day before the date the youth is
111	111	discharged from foster care, the following information and
112	112	documents unless the youth already has the information or document:
113	113	(1) the youth's birth certificate;
114	114	(2) the youth's immunization records;
115	115	(3) the information contained in the youth's health
116	116	passport;
117	117	(4) a personal identification certificate under
118	118	Chapter 521, Transportation Code;
119	119	(5) a social security card or a replacement social
120	120	security card, if appropriate; and
121	121	(6) a Medicaid card or other proof of the youth's
122	122	enrollment in Medicaid or an insurance card from a health plan that
123	123	provides health coverage to foster youth[, if appropriate].
124	124	(e-4) The youth's caseworker shall:
125	125	(1) assist the youth with developing a plan for
126	126	keeping the documents described by Subsection (e) in a safe place;
127	127	and
128	128	(2) inform the youth about the documents the youth is
129	129	required to receive before the date the youth is discharged from
130	130	foster care.
131	131	(g) For a youth taking prescription medication, the
132	132	department shall ensure that the youth's transition plan includes
133	133	provisions to assist the youth in managing the use of the medication
134	134	and in managing the child's long-term physical and mental health
135	135	needs after leaving foster care, including:
136	136	(1) provisions that inform the youth about:
137	137	(A) [(1)] the use of the medication;
138	138	(B) [(2)] the resources that are available to
139	139	assist the youth in managing the use of the medication; and
140	140	(C) [(3)] informed consent and the provision of
141	141	medical care in accordance with Section 266.010(l); and
142	142	(2) for each youth who is 17 years of age or older and
143	143	preparing to leave foster care, a program supervised by a health
144	144	care professional to assist the youth with independently managing
145	145	the youth's medication.
146	146	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
147	147	amended by adding Section 264.1214 to read as follows:
148	148	Sec. 264.1214. HOUSING FOR HOMELESS YOUTH AGING OUT OF
149	149	FOSTER CARE. (a) For a youth who will voluntarily enter extended
150	150	foster care on the youth's 18th birthday, the youth's caseworker
151	151	shall, not later than six months before the youth's 18th birthday,
152	152	complete any necessary transitional living or supervised
153	153	independent living paperwork to ensure the youth has housing on the
154	154	date the youth enters extended foster care. Not later than the 90th
155	155	day before the youth's 18th birthday, the caseworker shall review
156	156	the qualifications and requirements for the youth's housing.
157	157	(b) If a youth intends to continue living with the youth's
158	158	substitute care provider after the youth's 18th birthday, the
159	159	department shall waive any background check otherwise required for
160	160	the youth to remain living with the substitute care provider.
161	161	(c) For a youth who continues living with the youth's
162	162	substitute care provider after the youth's 18th birthday, the youth
163	163	may share a bedroom with another youth who is 16 years of age or
164	164	older provided the age difference between the youths does not
165	165	exceed two years.
166	166	(d) A substitute care provider who prohibits a youth from
167	167	living in the facility after the youth's 18th birthday shall notify
168	168	the youth's caseworker of that fact:
169	169	(1) not later than:
170	170	(A) the 90th day before the youth's 18th birthday
171	171	if the facility is a foster home; or
172	172	(B) six months before the youth's 18th birthday
173	173	if the facility is a cottage family home or general residential
174	174	operation; or
175	175	(2) as soon as possible if the youth is placed in a
176	176	foster home, cottage family home, or general residential operation
177	177	less than six months before the youth's 18th birthday.
178	178	(e) After receiving notice under Subsection (d), the
179	179	youth's caseworker shall verbally communicate with the youth about
180	180	the youth's living arrangements and document the substance of the
181	181	communication in the youth's case file.
182	182	(f) The department shall assist a youth living in a
183	183	supervised independent living program arrangement to develop a
184	184	rental history by allowing the youth to cosign the lease for the
185	185	youth's housing provided the property owner does not object.
186	186	(g) The department by rule shall establish a protocol that
187	187	may be implemented for a youth to prevent the youth from aging out
188	188	of a residential treatment center. The protocol, if implemented,
189	189	must be implemented not later than the youth's 17th birthday or at
190	190	the time the youth is placed in a residential treatment center after
191	191	the youth's 17th birthday.
192	192	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.