89R5163 RAL-D
By: Meza H.B. No. 1473
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to monetary assistance provided by the Department of
Family and Protective Services to certain relative or designated
caregivers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 264.752(c), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary
to implement this subchapter. [The rules must include eligibility
criteria for receiving assistance and services under this
subchapter.]
SECTION 2. Section 264.755, Family Code, as amended by
Chapter 315 (H.B. 4), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2017, is amended by reenacting and amending Subsections
(a), (b), (b-1), (c), and (f) to read as follows:
(a) The department shall, subject to the availability of
funds, enter into a caregiver assistance agreement with each
relative or other designated caregiver to provide monetary
assistance and additional support services to the caregiver. [The
monetary assistance and support services shall be based on a
family's need, as determined by Subsection (b) and rules adopted by
the executive commissioner.]
(b) The department shall provide monetary assistance under
this section to each relative or other designated [a] caregiver
[who has a family income that is less than or equal to 300 percent of
the federal poverty level]. Monetary assistance provided to a
caregiver under this section may not exceed 50 percent of the
department's daily basic foster care rate for the child. [A
caregiver who has a family income greater than 300 percent of the
federal poverty level is not eligible for monetary assistance under
this section.]
(b-1) The department shall disburse monetary assistance
provided to a caregiver under Subsection (b) in the same manner as
the department disburses payments to a foster parent. The
department may not provide monetary assistance to an eligible
caregiver under Subsection (b) after the first anniversary of the
date the caregiver receives the first monetary assistance payment
from the department under this section. The department, at its
discretion and for good cause, may extend the monetary assistance
payments for an additional six months.
(c) Monetary assistance and additional support services
provided under this section may include:
(1) case management services and training and
information about the child's needs until the caregiver is
appointed permanent managing conservator;
(2) referrals to appropriate state agencies
administering public benefits or assistance programs for which the
child, the caregiver, or the caregiver's family may qualify;
(3) family counseling not provided under the Medicaid
program for the caregiver's family for a period not to exceed two
years from the date of initial placement;
(4) [if the caregiver meets the eligibility criteria
determined by rules adopted by the executive commissioner,]
reimbursement of all child-care expenses incurred while the child
is under 13 years of age, or under 18 years of age if the child has a
developmental disability, and while the department is the child's
managing conservator; and
(5) [if the caregiver meets the eligibility criteria
determined by rules adopted by the executive commissioner,]
reimbursement of 50 percent of child-care expenses incurred after
the caregiver is appointed permanent managing conservator of the
child while the child is under 13 years of age, or under 18 years of
age if the child has a developmental disability.
(f) If a person [who has a family income that is less than or
equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level] enters into a
caregiver assistance agreement with the department, obtains
permanent managing conservatorship of a child, and meets all other
eligibility requirements, the person may receive an annual
reimbursement of other expenses for the child, as determined by
rules adopted by the executive commissioner, not to exceed $500 per
year until the earlier of:
(1) the third anniversary of the date the person was
awarded permanent managing conservatorship of the child; or
(2) the child's 18th birthday.
SECTION 3. Section 264.755(b-2), Family Code, is repealed.
SECTION 4. Section 264.755, Family Code, as amended by this
Act, applies to a caregiver assistance agreement entered into
before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.