Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1517 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R20165 BDP-F
2	2	By: Frank, Rose, Noble H.B. No. 1517
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1517:
4	4	By: Rose C.S.H.B. No. 1517
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to an independent assessment of the Health and Human
10	10	Services Commission's rules, minimum standards, and contract
11	11	requirements that apply to certain residential child-care
12	12	providers.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
15	15	is amended by adding Section 42.027 to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 42.027. INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT. (a) Not later than
17	17	March 31, 2024, the commission shall contract with an independent
18	18	entity that has demonstrated expertise in evaluating state child
19	19	welfare systems and conducting statistical and operational
20	20	analysis to conduct an assessment of:
21	21	(1) the commission's rules, minimum standards, and
22	22	contract requirements that apply to child-placing agencies,
23	23	residential child-care facilities, relative caregivers, and
24	24	adoptive homes; and
25	25	(2) the standards or oversight requirements
26	26	prescribed by law to determine:
27	27	(A) the relevance of the standard or oversight
28	28	requirement;
29	29	(B) whether the standard or oversight
30	30	requirement complies with federal laws, rules, or guidelines; and
31	31	(C) whether the standard or oversight
32	32	requirement is the best practice.
33	33	(b) Not later than September 30, 2024, or the date of the
34	34	next comprehensive review required under Section 42.042(b),
35	35	whichever occurs first, the independent entity shall complete the
36	36	assessment and submit to the commission and the department a report
37	37	that includes the findings of the assessment and recommendations
38	38	for:
39	39	(1) simplifying the commission's minimum standards for
40	40	the purposes of:
41	41	(A) prioritizing the health, safety, and
42	42	well-being of children residing in a residential child-care
43	43	facility or the home of a relative caregiver or an adoptive parent;
44	44	and
45	45	(B) reducing any barriers to opening a
46	46	child-placing agency or a residential child-care facility or
47	47	becoming a relative caregiver or an adoptive parent;
48	48	(2) adjusting the commission's system for assigning
49	49	weights to minimum standards to ensure that the system is
50	50	methodical, consistent, and reflective of a strategic model for
51	51	increasing the focus on the health, safety, and well-being of
52	52	children residing in a residential child-care facility or the home
53	53	of a relative caregiver or an adoptive parent, including an
54	54	explanation of the recommended adjustments;
55	55	(3) taking into consideration the model licensing
56	56	standards recommended by the Administration for Children and
57	57	Families of the United States Department of Health and Human
58	58	Services, eliminating any minimum standards that are weighted as
59	59	low, medium-low, or medium by the commission and are not directly
60	60	related to child safety;
61	61	(4) addressing any licensing, training, or oversight
62	62	requirements that are barriers to retaining high-quality
63	63	residential child-care facilities, relative caregivers, or
64	64	adoptive parents;
65	65	(5) updating licensing standards for the purposes of:
66	66	(A) prioritizing the health, safety, and
67	67	well-being of children residing in a residential child-care
68	68	facility or the home of a relative caregiver or an adoptive parent;
69	69	and
70	70	(B) reducing any barriers to the hiring and
71	71	retention of high-quality leadership, administrators, and staff at
72	72	child-placing agencies and residential child-care facilities;
73	73	(6) providing flexibility in applying standards to
74	74	ensure that services are provided in response to the needs of each
75	75	individual child residing in a residential child-care facility or
76	76	the home of a relative caregiver or an adoptive parent;
77	77	(7) defining the commission's role in licensing,
78	78	investigating, contract oversight, and any other regulatory
79	79	activity to eliminate duplicate functions among divisions within
80	80	the commission; and
81	81	(8) promoting transparency and clarity of the
82	82	commission's expectations for child-placing agencies, residential
83	83	child-care facilities, relative caregivers, and adoptive parents.
84	84	(c) The independent entity conducting the assessment under
85	85	this section shall make any recommendations for legislative action
86	86	necessary to implement the entity's recommendations described by
87	87	Subsection (b).
88	88	(d) In conducting the assessment, the independent entity
89	89	shall solicit and consider the input of relevant stakeholders,
90	90	including those affected by the commission's rules, minimum
91	91	standards, and contract requirements that apply to child-placing
92	92	agencies, residential child-care facilities, relative caregivers,
93	93	or adoptive parents.
94	94	(e) The commission shall publish the independent entity's
95	95	report on the commission's Internet website and submit a copy of the
96	96	report to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the
97	97	house of representatives, and the standing committee of each house
98	98	of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over the commission.
99	99	(f) Not later than the 90th day after the date the
100	100	commission receives the independent entity's report, the
101	101	commission, in collaboration with the department, shall submit to
102	102	the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
103	103	representatives, and the standing committee of each house of the
104	104	legislature with primary jurisdiction over the commission a report
105	105	that includes a description of:
106	106	(1) the commission's and department's plan to
107	107	implement the independent entity's assessment recommendations; and
108	108	(2) any recommendation the commission or department
109	109	decides not to implement and a written justification for not
110	110	implementing the recommendation.
111	111	(g) This section expires September 1, 2025.
112	112	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
113	113	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
114	114	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
115	115	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
116	116	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.