88R15793 AMF-F
By: Howard, Hull, Rose H.B. No. 1796
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1796:
By: Ramos C.S.H.B. No. 1796
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to family violence center services for victims of family
violence.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.002, Human Resources Code, is amended
by amending Subdivisions (1), (2), and (9) and adding Subdivisions
(1-a), (1-b), and (8-a) to read as follows:
(1) "Dating relationship" has the meaning assigned by
Section 71.0021(b), Family Code.
(1-a) "Dating violence" means an act, other than a
defensive measure to protect oneself, by an individual against
another individual with whom the actor has or has had a dating
relationship and that is:
(A) intended to result in physical harm, bodily
injury, assault, or sexual assault;
(B) a threat that reasonably places an individual
in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or
sexual assault; or
(C) intended to inflict emotional harm,
including an act of emotional abuse.
(1-b) "Family" has the meaning assigned by Section
71.003, Family Code.
(2) "Family violence" means:
(A) an act by a member of a family or household
against another member of the family or household that:
(i) [(A)] is intended to result in physical
harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or that is a threat
that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent physical
harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, but does not
include defensive measures to protect oneself; or
(ii) [(B)] is intended to inflict emotional
harm, including an act of emotional abuse; or
(B) dating violence.
(8-a) "Trauma-informed" in regard to a service or
service model means that the service or service model is provided in
a manner that recognizes and responds to the signs and symptoms of
trauma in, and the risks of trauma to, a victim of family violence
to better support the victim and promote the victim's choice,
trust, dignity, connection, and healing.
(9) "Victim of family violence" means:
(A) an adult member of a family or household who
is subjected to an act of family violence; [or]
(B) a member of the household of the adult
described by Paragraph (A), other than the member of the household
who commits the act of family violence, including an act of
emotional abuse; or
(C) an individual who is subjected to an act of
dating violence.
SECTION 2. Sections 51.004(a) and (b), Human Resources
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) To be eligible for a contract under Section 51.003(a), a
family violence shelter center must:
(1) provide temporary lodging and direct delivery of
services for adults and their dependents;
(2) have been in actual operation offering shelter
services 24 hours a day with a capacity for not less than five
persons for at least one year before the date on which the contract
is awarded;
(3) demonstrate that the center, through the services
it provides, is addressing a need in the community consistent with
the plan for family violence services under Section 51.0021; [and]
(4) demonstrate that the center is using a voluntary
and trauma-informed advocacy service model; and
(5) submit a contract application on forms prescribed
by the commission.
(b) To be eligible for a contract under Section 51.003(a), a
family violence nonresidential center must:
(1) provide, as its primary purpose, direct delivery
of services to adult victims of family violence;
(2) demonstrate a system of referring victims of
family violence to at least one family violence shelter center or
other safe temporary lodging;
(3) have been operating and providing comprehensive
services, including the services described by Section
51.005(b)(3), to victims of family violence for at least one year
before the date on which the contract is awarded;
(4) demonstrate that the center, through the services
it provides, is addressing a need in the community consistent with
the plan for family violence services under Section 51.0021; [and]
(5) demonstrate that the center is using a voluntary
and trauma-informed advocacy service model; and
(6) submit a contract application on forms prescribed
by the commission.
SECTION 3. Section 51.005, Human Resources Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) The contracts shall require the persons operating a
family violence center to:
(1) make a quarterly and an annual financial report on
a form prescribed by the commission;
(2) cooperate with inspections the commission makes to
ensure services standards and fiscal responsibility; and
(3) provide, as its primary purpose, voluntary and
trauma-informed services to victims of family violence that
include:
(A) 24-hour-a-day shelter, except that a family
violence nonresidential center may provide access to a
24-hour-a-day shelter;
(B) a 24-hour-a-day crisis hotline, except that a
family violence nonresidential center may provide access to a
24-hour-a-day crisis hotline operated by another organization
located in the nonresidential center's service area;
(C) access to emergency medical care;
(D) crisis and intervention services, including
[safety planning,] understanding and support, information,
education, referrals, and other resource assistance;
(E) access to emergency transportation;
(F) advocacy focused on:
(i) economic and housing stability;
(ii) physical, behavioral, and mental
health;
(iii) the needs of children who are victims
and the children of victims; and
(iv) [legal assistance in] the civil and
criminal legal [justice] systems, including:
(a) [(i)] identifying individual
needs, legal rights, and legal options; and
(b) [(ii)] providing support and
accompaniment in pursuing those options;
(G) ongoing safety planning services in
collaboration with the self-stated priorities and needs of the
victim of family violence [information about educational
arrangements for children];
(H) community education regarding family
violence and family violence prevention efforts [information about
training for and seeking employment];
(I) counseling services [cooperation with
criminal justice officials]; and
(J) peer support services led by victims of
family violence, including activities and other efforts that
facilitate connections and the creation of community among victims
of family violence [community education;
[(K) a referral system to existing community
services; and
[(L) a volunteer recruitment and training
program].
(b-1) The contracts shall:
(1) specify that participation in services by a victim
of family violence is voluntary; and
(2) prohibit the persons operating a family violence
center from requiring a victim of family violence to participate in
other services as a condition of receiving shelter.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a contract entered into or amended on or after the effective date of
this Act. A contract entered into or amended before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
contract was entered into or amended, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2024.