BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1155 By: Hull Human Services Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, parents with children removed from their home by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) are required to complete a family plan of service (FPOS) before an applicable court will consider returning their children to them. The author of the bill has informed the committee that these families are often economically disadvantaged and may have spent up to a year attempting to complete the FPOS while simultaneously trying to find or maintain basic family necessities, such as employment, housing, and transportation. In addition to the substantial requirements involved in these DFPS cases, the removal of children from a parent's care may itself result in the family losing many of its support systems. C.S.H.B. 1155 seeks to provide temporary financial assistance to families with an income less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level and for whom economic factors are a significant barrier to reunification. The assistance is designed to be a temporary stipend to aid the family in building necessary supports to facilitate the monitored return of their children to their home, including sustained access to food, medical and psychological care, child care, transportation, housing, and utilities. CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1155 amends the Family Code to require the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), if the court in a child protection suit has rendered a temporary order providing for the monitored return of a child to a parent, to provide monetary assistance for the duration of the monitoring period to a parent who has a family income that is less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level and who demonstrates to DFPS that economic factors, including unemployment or inability to afford housing, transportation, utilities, food, medical care, mental health care, or child care are a significant barrier to reunification. The bill requires DFPS to disburse the monetary assistance in the same manner as DFPS disburses payments to a foster parent, including making a rate increase effective on the same date DFPS implements a rate increase for the minimum daily foster care reimbursement rate. The bill caps that monetary assistance at 50 percent of DFPS's daily basic foster care rate for the care of a child. The bill authorizes DFPS, at its discretion and for good cause, to extend the monetary assistance payments for a time period not to exceed an additional six months after the date the case is dismissed to support family stability after reunification but requires DFPS to decrease the payments by 25 percent each month the payments are extended. The bill applies to a court order rendered before, on, or after the bill's effective date. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025. COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE While C.S.H.B. 1155 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill. While the introduced required DFPS to provide the monetary assistance to a qualifying parent who demonstrates the economic factors are the main barrier to unification, the substitute specifies that the economic factors are instead significant barriers. Both the introduced and the substitute require DFPS to disburse monetary assistance to an applicable parent in the same manner as DFPS disburses payments to a foster parent. However, the substitute includes a limitation absent from the introduced that caps the monetary assistance at 50 percent of DFPS's daily basic foster care rate for the care of a child. With respect to the authorization in the introduced for DFPS to extend the payments for an additional six months after the date the case is dismissed, the substitute includes a specification absent from the introduced providing the extension may not exceed six months. The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced requiring DFPS to decrease the payments by 25 percent each month the payments are extended.
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1155
By: Hull
Human Services
Committee Report (Substituted)
C.S.H.B. 1155
By: Hull
Human Services
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, parents with children removed from their home by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) are required to complete a family plan of service (FPOS) before an applicable court will consider returning their children to them. The author of the bill has informed the committee that these families are often economically disadvantaged and may have spent up to a year attempting to complete the FPOS while simultaneously trying to find or maintain basic family necessities, such as employment, housing, and transportation. In addition to the substantial requirements involved in these DFPS cases, the removal of children from a parent's care may itself result in the family losing many of its support systems. C.S.H.B. 1155 seeks to provide temporary financial assistance to families with an income less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level and for whom economic factors are a significant barrier to reunification. The assistance is designed to be a temporary stipend to aid the family in building necessary supports to facilitate the monitored return of their children to their home, including sustained access to food, medical and psychological care, child care, transportation, housing, and utilities.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1155 amends the Family Code to require the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), if the court in a child protection suit has rendered a temporary order providing for the monitored return of a child to a parent, to provide monetary assistance for the duration of the monitoring period to a parent who has a family income that is less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level and who demonstrates to DFPS that economic factors, including unemployment or inability to afford housing, transportation, utilities, food, medical care, mental health care, or child care are a significant barrier to reunification. The bill requires DFPS to disburse the monetary assistance in the same manner as DFPS disburses payments to a foster parent, including making a rate increase effective on the same date DFPS implements a rate increase for the minimum daily foster care reimbursement rate. The bill caps that monetary assistance at 50 percent of DFPS's daily basic foster care rate for the care of a child. The bill authorizes DFPS, at its discretion and for good cause, to extend the monetary assistance payments for a time period not to exceed an additional six months after the date the case is dismissed to support family stability after reunification but requires DFPS to decrease the payments by 25 percent each month the payments are extended. The bill applies to a court order rendered before, on, or after the bill's effective date.
EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE While C.S.H.B. 1155 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill. While the introduced required DFPS to provide the monetary assistance to a qualifying parent who demonstrates the economic factors are the main barrier to unification, the substitute specifies that the economic factors are instead significant barriers. Both the introduced and the substitute require DFPS to disburse monetary assistance to an applicable parent in the same manner as DFPS disburses payments to a foster parent. However, the substitute includes a limitation absent from the introduced that caps the monetary assistance at 50 percent of DFPS's daily basic foster care rate for the care of a child. With respect to the authorization in the introduced for DFPS to extend the payments for an additional six months after the date the case is dismissed, the substitute includes a specification absent from the introduced providing the extension may not exceed six months. The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced requiring DFPS to decrease the payments by 25 percent each month the payments are extended.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Currently, parents with children removed from their home by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) are required to complete a family plan of service (FPOS) before an applicable court will consider returning their children to them. The author of the bill has informed the committee that these families are often economically disadvantaged and may have spent up to a year attempting to complete the FPOS while simultaneously trying to find or maintain basic family necessities, such as employment, housing, and transportation. In addition to the substantial requirements involved in these DFPS cases, the removal of children from a parent's care may itself result in the family losing many of its support systems. C.S.H.B. 1155 seeks to provide temporary financial assistance to families with an income less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level and for whom economic factors are a significant barrier to reunification. The assistance is designed to be a temporary stipend to aid the family in building necessary supports to facilitate the monitored return of their children to their home, including sustained access to food, medical and psychological care, child care, transportation, housing, and utilities.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1155 amends the Family Code to require the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), if the court in a child protection suit has rendered a temporary order providing for the monitored return of a child to a parent, to provide monetary assistance for the duration of the monitoring period to a parent who has a family income that is less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level and who demonstrates to DFPS that economic factors, including unemployment or inability to afford housing, transportation, utilities, food, medical care, mental health care, or child care are a significant barrier to reunification. The bill requires DFPS to disburse the monetary assistance in the same manner as DFPS disburses payments to a foster parent, including making a rate increase effective on the same date DFPS implements a rate increase for the minimum daily foster care reimbursement rate. The bill caps that monetary assistance at 50 percent of DFPS's daily basic foster care rate for the care of a child. The bill authorizes DFPS, at its discretion and for good cause, to extend the monetary assistance payments for a time period not to exceed an additional six months after the date the case is dismissed to support family stability after reunification but requires DFPS to decrease the payments by 25 percent each month the payments are extended. The bill applies to a court order rendered before, on, or after the bill's effective date.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1155 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
While the introduced required DFPS to provide the monetary assistance to a qualifying parent who demonstrates the economic factors are the main barrier to unification, the substitute specifies that the economic factors are instead significant barriers.
Both the introduced and the substitute require DFPS to disburse monetary assistance to an applicable parent in the same manner as DFPS disburses payments to a foster parent. However, the substitute includes a limitation absent from the introduced that caps the monetary assistance at 50 percent of DFPS's daily basic foster care rate for the care of a child.
With respect to the authorization in the introduced for DFPS to extend the payments for an additional six months after the date the case is dismissed, the substitute includes a specification absent from the introduced providing the extension may not exceed six months.
The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced requiring DFPS to decrease the payments by 25 percent each month the payments are extended.