87R14445 TYPED
By: Frank H.B. No. 3691
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the statewide implementation of community-based foster
care by the Department of Family and Protective Services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 264.151, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.151. LEGISLATIVE INTENT AND PURPOSE. (a) It is
the intent of the legislature that the department contract with
community-based nonprofit and local governmental entities that
have the ability to provide child welfare services. The services
provided by the entities must include direct case management to
prevent entry into substitute care, reunify and preserve families,
and ensure child safety, permanency, and well-being, in accordance
with state and federal child welfare goals.
(b) It is the intent of the legislature that the provision
of community-based care for children be implemented with measurable
goals relating to:
(1) the safety of children in placements;
(2) the placement of children in each child's home
community;
(3) the minimal amount of time that a child is placed
in substitute care, foster care and is in conservatorship of the
Department [provision of services to children in the least
restrictive environment possible and, if possible, in a family home
environment];
(4) the provision of services to children in the least
restrictive environment possible and with minimal placement
changes [minimal placement changes for children];
(5) the maintenance of contact between children and
their families and other important persons;
(6) the placement of children with siblings, when
possible;
(7) the provision of services that respect each
child's culture;
(8) the preparation of children and youth in foster
care for adulthood;
(9) the provision of opportunities, experiences, and
activities for children and youth in foster care that are available
to children and youth who are not in foster care; and
(10) the participation by children and youth in making
decisions relating to their own lives.
(11) the reunification of children with the biological
parents of the children when possible; [and]
(12) the promotion of the placement of children with
relative or kinship caregivers if reunification is not possible;
and
(13) the preservation of families to avoid the
placement of children into foster care.
(c) The department shall implement community-based care in
a manner that, to the extent possible, achieves the following
outcomes in order of priority:
(1) ensures the safety of children placed in
substitute care;
(2) increases the number of children and youth placed
with their siblings;
(3) increases the placement of children and youth in
their home communities;
(4) increases the number of children and youth who are
reunified with one or both parents;
(5) increases the number of children and youth who are
placed with or achieve permanency with relatives;
(6) decreases the time children and youth spend in
substitute care;
(7) increases the number of children and youth placed
in least restrictive, family-like settings;
(8) decreases the number of placement changes that
children and youth experience while in substitute care; and
(9) decreases the number children and families
referred to the department or the number of times that a child and
the child's family re-enters services and care described in this
subchapter.
SECTION 2. Section 264.152, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(1) "Alternative caregiver" means a person who is not
the foster parent of the child and who provides temporary care for
the child for more than 12 hours but less than 60 days.
(2) "Case management" means the provision of case
management services to a child for whom the department has been
appointed temporary or permanent managing conservator or to the
child's family, a young adult in extended foster care, a relative or
kinship caregiver, or a child who has been placed in the catchment
area through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children,
and includes:
(A) caseworker visits with the child;
(B) family and caregiver visits;
(C) convening and conducting permanency planning
meetings;
(D) placement and monitoring of children in substitute
care with relative or kinship caregivers while in the
conservatorship of the department as described in Section 264.107
[the development and revision of child and family plans of service,
including a permanency plan and goals for a child or young adult in
care];
(E) the development and revision of child and family
plans of service, including a permanency plan and goals for a child
or young adult in care [coordination and monitoring of services
required by the child and the child's family];
(F) the coordination and monitoring of services
required by the child and the child's family;
(G) [(F)] the assumption of court-related duties
regarding the child, including:
(i) providing any required notifications or
consultations;
(ii) preparing court reports;
(iii) attending judicial and permanency
hearings, trials, and mediations;
(iv) complying with applicable court orders; and
(v) ensuring the child is progressing toward the
goal of permanency within state and federally mandated guidelines;
and
(H) [(G)] any other function or service that the
department determines or a single source continuum contractor
proposes as necessary to allow a single source continuum contractor
to assume responsibility for case management under the terms and
conditions of a contract executed by both the department and a
single source continuum contractor.
(3) "Catchment area" means a geographic service area
for providing child protective services that is identified as part
of community-based care.
(4) "Community-based care" means the provision of
child welfare services by a community-based nonprofit or a local
governmental entity under a contract that includes direct case
management to prevent entry into foster care, reunify and preserve
families, ensure child safety, permanency, and well-being, and
reduce future referrals of children or parents to the department in
accordance with state and federal child welfare goals. [foster
care redesign required by Chapter 598 (S.B. 218), Acts of the 82nd
Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, as designed and implemented in
accordance with the plan required by Section 264.153.]
(5) "Child who is a candidate for foster care" means a
child who is at imminent risk of being removed from the child's home
and placed into the conservatorship of the department because of a
continuing danger to the child's physical health or safety caused
by an act or failure to act of a person entitled to possession of the
child but for whom a court of competent jurisdiction has issued an
order allowing the child to remain safely in the child's home or in
a kinship placement with the provision of family preservation
services.
(6) "Family preservation services" means time-limited
services subject to the Family First Prevention Services Act (42
U.S.C. 671, et seq.) provided to the family of a child who is a
candidate for foster care to prevent or eliminate the need for
removing the child and make it possible for the child to remain
safely in the child’s home.
(7) "Family preservation services plan" means a
written plan, based on a professional assessment and subject to the
Family First Prevention Services Act (Title VII, Div. E., Pub. L.
No. 115-123), listing the family preservation services to be
provided to the family of a child who is a candidate for foster
care.
(8) "Foster care services" means substitute care as
defined by 263.001 and includes the assessment and referral of
children into a residential placement outside the child's home in
the least restrictive setting through a network of residential
providers or the assessment and referral of a child for adoption in
the most appropriate adoptive home within a network of licensed
providers or with a qualified relative or kinship caregiver.
SECTION 3. Section 264.153, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.153. COMMUNITY-BASED CARE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
(a) The department shall develop and maintain a plan for
implementing community-based care. The plan must:
(1) define and report [describe] the department's
expectations, goals, and cost and finance methodologies, and
statewide strategic plan for [approach to] implementing
community-based care;
(2) include a timeline for implementing
community-based care throughout this state, identify the order and
rationale of implementation for all specific catchment areas of the
state where community-based care will expand, any limitations
related to the implementation, and a progressive intervention plan
and a contingency plan to provide continuity of the delivery of
foster care services and services for relative and kinship
caregivers if a contract with a single source continuum contractor
ends prematurely;
(3) delineate and define the case management roles and
responsibilities of the department and the department's
contractors and the duties, employees, and related funding,
including calculations for the transfer of state- and
catchment-level resources, that will be transferred to the
contractor by the department;
(4) identify any training needs and include long-range
and continuous plans for training and cross-training staff,
including plans to train caseworkers using the standardized
curriculum created by the human trafficking prevention task force
under Section 402.035(d)(6), Government Code, as that section
existed on August 31, 2017;
(5) include a plan for evaluating the costs of and
tasks associated with each contract procurement, including the
initial and ongoing contract costs for the department and
contractor;
(6) include [the department's contract monitoring
approach and] a detailed plan that describes how the department
will monitor contracts and conduct an evaluation that is performed
by an entity that is independent of the department to assess [for
evaluating] the transfer of responsibilities to each contractor,
the performance and contract outcomes of each contractor and the
contractor's community-based care catchment area or areas compared
to their performance before community-based care and to other
regions of the state directly served by the department workforce.
[system as a whole that includes an independent evaluation of each
contractor's processes and fiscal and qualitative outcomes];
(7) include a report on [transition] issues that
impede transition to community-based care; [resulting from
implementation of community-based care.]
(8) include an evaluation of each contractor's
processes and fiscal and qualitative outcomes concerning the
children and families in its care conducted by an entity based in
Texas that is independent of the department and has demonstrated
expertise in statistical, financial, actuarial, logistical, and
operational analysis; and
(9) transmit all reports and evaluations required
under this subsection immediately upon their receipt by department
to the relevant oversight committees of the Texas Legislature and
the Office of the Governor.
(10) create a specific implementation plan for each
catchment area identified for expansion of community-based care
that includes a timeline for the transfer of services as described
in Section 264.155 in coordination with local stakeholders,
including any of the following:
(A) community and faith-based entities;
(B) the judiciary;
(C) court-appointed special advocates;
(D) child advocacy centers;
(E) service providers;
(F) foster families;
(G) biological parents;
(H) foster youth and former foster youth;
(I) relative or kinship caregivers;
(J) child welfare boards, if applicable;
(K) attorneys ad litem; and
(L) attorneys that represent parents involved in
suits filed by the department;
(b) The department shall annually by the end of the fiscal
year[:]
[(1)] update the implementation plan developed under
this section and post the updated plan on the department's Internet
website. [and;]
[(2) post on the department's Internet website the progress
the department has made toward its goals for implementing
community-based care.]
SECTION 4. Section 264.154, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) To enter into a contract with the commission or
department to serve as a single source continuum contractor to
provide [foster care] service delivery under this subchapter, an
entity must be a nonprofit entity with a majority of its board
members residing in Texas that has an organizational mission
focused on child welfare or a governmental entity.
(b) In selecting a single source continuum contractor, the
department shall consider whether a prospective contractor for a
catchment area has demonstrated experience in providing services to
children and families in the catchment area.
(c) The department shall involve local stakeholders in the
catchment area in the selection of a single source continuum
contractor, including any of the following:
(A) community and faith-based entities;
(B) the judiciary;
(C) court-appointed special advocates;
(D) child advocacy centers;
(E) service providers;
(F) foster families;
(G) biological parents;
(H) foster youth and former foster youth;
(I) relative or kinship caregivers;
(J) child welfare boards, if applicable;
(K) attorneys ad litem; and
(L) attorneys that represent parents involved in
suits filed by the department.
SECTION 5. Section 264.155, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.155. REQUIRED CONTRACT PROVISIONS. (a) A
contract with a single source continuum contractor to provide
[community-based care] services as described under this subchapter
in a catchment area must include provisions that:
(1) establish a timeline for the implementation of
community-based care in the catchment area, including a timeline
for implementing:
(A) case management services for children,
families, and relative and kinship caregivers receiving services in
the catchment area; [and]
(B) family reunification support services to be
provided after a child receiving services from the contractor is
returned to the child's family; and
(C) family preservation services as defined
under this subchapter;
(2) establish conditions for the single source
continuum contractor's access to [relevant] department data and
require the participation of the contractor in the data access and
standards governance council created under Section 264.159;
(3) require the single source continuum contractor to
create a single process for the training and use of alternative
caregivers for all child-placing agencies in the catchment area to
facilitate reciprocity of licenses for alternative caregivers
between agencies, including respite and overnight care providers,
as those terms are defined by department rule;
(4) require the single source continuum contractor to
maintain a diverse network of service providers that offer a range
of foster capacity options and that can accommodate children from
diverse cultural backgrounds;
(5) allow the department to conduct a performance
review of the contractor beginning 18 months after the contractor
has begun providing case management and family reunification
support services to all children and families in the catchment area
and determine if the contractor has achieved any performance
outcomes specified in the contract;
(6) following the review under Subdivision (5), allow
the department to:
(A) impose financial penalties on the contractor
for failing to meet any specified performance outcomes; or
(B) award financial incentives to the contractor
for exceeding any specified performance outcomes;
(7) require the contractor to give preference for
employment to employees of the department:
(A) whose position at the department is impacted
by the implementation of community-based care; and
(B) who are considered by the department to be
employees in good standing;
(8) require the contractor to provide preliminary and
ongoing community engagement plans to ensure communication and
collaboration with local stakeholders in the catchment area,
including any of the following:
(A) community faith-based entities;
(B) the judiciary;
(C) court-appointed special advocates;
(D) child advocacy centers;
(E) service providers;
(F) foster families;
(G) biological parents;
(H) foster youth and former foster youth;
(I) relative or kinship caregivers;
(J) child welfare boards, if applicable;
(K) attorneys ad litem;
(L) attorneys that represent parents involved in
suits filed by the department; and
(M) any other stakeholders, as determined by the
contractor; and
(9) require that the contractor comply with any
applicable court order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction
in the case of a child for whom the contractor has assumed case
management responsibilities or an order imposing a requirement on
the department that relates to functions assumed by the contractor;
(10) specify state and catchment-level FTEs and other
resources to be transferred to the contractor for the purpose of
providing necessary implementation, case management, operational,
and administrative functions, and outlining the methodology for
calculating the transfers;
(11) include a risk-sharing funding model that
strategically and explicitly balances financial risk between the
state and the contractor and mitigates the financial effects of
significant unforeseen changes in the contractor’s duties and
responsibilities or its contract population; and
(12) review and adjust funding annually based on
updated cost and finance methodologies including changes in policy,
foster care rates, and regional service utilization.
(b) Contracts entered into by the department pursuant to
this section shall be consistent with the requirements of
applicable law and may only include terms authorized by Texas
statute or the Texas administrative code.
(c) In regions identified for the implementation of
community-based care or in regions where community-based care
currently operates, a contractor may apply to the department for a
waiver from statutory and regulatory requirements to increase
innovation and flexibility for achieving contractual performance
outcomes.
SECTION 6. Sections 264.156(a),(b) and (d), Family Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall develop and apply standard
criteria [a formal review process] to assess the ability of a single
source continuum contractor to satisfy the responsibilities and
administrative requirements of delivering services as identified
under this subchapter [foster care services and services for
relative and kinship caregivers], including the contractor's
ability to provide:
(1) case management services for children and
families;
(2) evidence-based, promising practice, or
evidence-informed services [supports] for children and families;
and
(3) sufficient available capacity for inpatient and
outpatient services and supports for children at all service levels
who have previously been placed in the catchment area.
(b) As part of the readiness review process, the single
source continuum contractor must prepare a report that defines:
[plan detailing the methods by which the contractor will avoid or
eliminate conflicts of interest. The department may not transfer
services to the contractor until the department has determined the
plan is adequate]
(1) the practice model and process by which it will
meet contractual performance outcomes and requirements; and
(2) the methods by which the contractor will eliminate
conflicts of interest including financial incentives for a single
source continuum contractor that refers a child for foster care
services to itself or to a subcontractor in which that contractor
has a majority financial stake.
(d) If after conducting the review process developed under
Subsection (a) the department determines that a single source
continuum contractor is able to adequately deliver services
described under this subchapter [foster care services and services
for relative and kinship caregivers] in advance of the projected
dates stated in the timeline included in the contract with the
contractor, the department may adjust the timeline to allow for an
earlier transition of service delivery to the contractor.
SECTION 7. Sections 264.157(a),(b), and (c), Family Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than the last day of the fiscal biennium
[December 31, 2019], the department shall:
(1) identify [not more than eight] catchment areas in
the state where it will expand [that are best suited to implement]
community-based care; and
(2) following the implementation of community-based
care services in those catchment areas, engage an entity based in
Texas that is independent of the department to conduct an
evaluation of [evaluate] the implementation process and single
source continuum contractor performance in each catchment area.
(b) Notwithstanding the process for the expansion of
community-based care described in Subsection (a), [and in
accordance with the community-based care implementation plan
developed under Section 264.153, beginning September 1, 2017,] the
department shall accept and evaluate unsolicited proposals [begin
accepting applications] from entities based in Texas to provide
community-based care services in a geographic service [designated
catchment] area where the department has not expanded
community-based care. An entity that submits a proposal to provide
community-based care services must ensure that it meets all
criteria outlined in this subchapter and it must demonstrate
established connections to the area that it proposes serving. The
Texas Health and Human Services Commission in concert with the
department shall create rules to ensure that proposals submitted
under this subsection are not in violation of procurement
regulations.
(c) In expanding community-based care, the department may
change the geographic boundaries of catchment areas as necessary to
align with specific communities or to enable satisfactory
unsolicited proposals for community-based care services to be
accepted and implemented.
SECTION 8. The heading to Section 264.158, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 264.158. TRANSFER OF [CASE MANAGEMENT] SERVICES TO
SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTOR.
SECTION 9. Section 264.158, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read
as follows:
(a) In [each initial] catchment areas [area] where
community-based care has been or will be implemented [or a contract
with a single source continuum contractor has been executed before
September 1, 2017], the department shall transfer to the single
source continuum contractor [providing foster care services in that
area]:
(1) foster care services as defined under this
subchapter [the case management of children, relative and kinship
caregivers, and families receiving services from that contractor];
[and]
(2) the case management of children, relative and
kinship caregivers, and families receiving services from that
contractor; and [family reunification support services to be
provided after a child receiving services from the contractor is
returned to the child's family for the period of time ordered by the
court]
(3) family preservation services as defined under this
subchapter.
(d) Except as provided by Section 264.163, a single source
continuum contractor providing services under this subchapter in a
catchment area must, either directly or through subcontractors,
assume the statutory duties of the department as defined in Section
264.161 in connection with the delivery of foster care services,
family preservation services, and services for relative and kinship
caregivers, and case management services in that catchment area.
The department shall enumerate all duties as such in its contract
with a single source continuum provider.
(e) A single source continuum provider may implement its own
model to execute its statutory duties and is not required to follow
the policy and procedures that the department employs to carry out
statutory duties.
SECTION 10. Section 264.159, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 264.159. DATA ACCESS AND STANDARDS GOVERNANCE COUNCIL.
(a) The department shall create a data access and standards
governance council to develop protocols for the interoperable
electronic transfer of data from single source continuum
contractors to the department to allow the contractors to perform
case management functions and additional contracted services by the
department.
(b) The council shall develop protocols for the access,
management, and security of case data that is electronically shared
between [by] a single source continuum contractor and [with] the
department.
(c) The council shall develop protocols for the access,
management, and security of data shared with the independent entity
engaged to conduct the independent evaluations required under this
subchapter. The protocols shall ensure that the entity has full,
unrestricted access to all relevant data necessary for performing a
transparent evaluation.
(d) The council shall be comprised of single source
continuum contractors with active contracts with the department and
representatives from the department's data, legal, and information
technology staff and from Child Protective Services. The council
shall meet at least quarterly within each year with its membership.
SECTION 11. Section 264.161, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 264.161. STATUTORY DUTIES ASSUMED BY CONTRACTOR.
Except as provided by Section 264.163, a single source continuum
contractor providing services as described in this subchapter
[foster care services and services for relative and kinship
caregivers] in a catchment area must, either directly or through
subcontractors, assume the statutory duties of the department in
connection with the delivery of [foster care] services [and
services for relative and kinship caregivers] in that catchment
area.
SECTION 12. Section 264.162, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 264.162. REVIEW AND MONITORING OF CONTRACTOR
PERFORMANCE. (a) The department shall implement [develop] a
[formal review] process to monitor and evaluate a single source
continuum contractor's performance in achieving contract outcomes
[implementation of placement services and case management
services] in a catchment area.
(b) The contract performance outcomes specified in a
contract under this subchapter must be consistent with the purposes
described under Section 264.151. The contract must permit the
contractor operational discretion in meeting performance outcomes.
The contract must clearly define the manner in which the
contractor's performance will be measured and identify the
information sources the department and, if applicable, the
independent evaluator administrator will use to evaluate the
performance.
SECTION 13. Section 264.156(c), Family Code, is repealed.
SECTION 14. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
to a contract for foster care services entered into or renewed on or
after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.